Saturday, July 15

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A Ukrainian soldier embraces a woman on a train platform on July 14, 2023. (Jose Colon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Pentagon: Wagner not fighting in Ukraine. The Wagner Group is not taking part in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, the Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said on July 14, as cited by the Voice of America.

Border Guard Service: Russia pulls almost all its troops from Belarus. As part of the latest military rotation, Russia has withdrawn almost all its troops from Belarus, the State Border Guard Service’s spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said on July 14.

Belarusian Defense Ministry announces ‘roadmap’ with Wagner Group. The armed forces of Belarus and leaders of the Wagner mercenary company have agreed on a “roadmap” for future cooperation, the press service of the Belarusian Defense Ministry announced via Telegram on July 14.

Military intelligence comments on next reported transfer of Ukrainian POWs to Hungary. The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is planning another transfer of Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary, the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) spokesperson Andrii Yusov told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on July 14.

Ministry: Ukraine needs additional 4.5 million workers for next 10 years. Ukraine will have to attract additional 4.5 million employees to the labor market over the next 10 years for a successful recovery, the Economy Ministry said on July 14.

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Zaluzhnyi on Ukrainian strikes inside Russia: ‘It is up to us to decide how to kill this enemy’. In an interview with the Washington Post, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, defended his army’s right to strike Russian soil, adding that such attacks are carried out only with Ukraine-made weapons.

Yermak: US is ‘very close’ to decision on ATACMS for Ukraine. Washington is “very close” to making a decision on whether to provide Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles, Ukraine’s Presidential Office head Andrii Yermak told journalists on July 14.

Ukrainians Oksana Zabuzhko, Oleg Sentsov awarded French Legion of Honor order. The French Embassy in Ukraine presented the Legion of Honor, the highest French order of merit, to Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko and filmmaker-turned-soldier Oleg Sentsov at a ceremony in Kyiv on July 14.

Moscow-backed Orthodox Church metropolitan taken into custody. Kyiv’s court changed the measure of restraint for Russian-led Orthodox Metropolitan Pavlo (Petro Lebid) from 24-hour house arrest to detention, Suspilne news outlet reported on July 14. He is accused of inciting hatred and justifying Russia’s war against Ukraine.

National Guard: Ukraine advances 1,700 meters in Melitopol direction. Ukrainian forces advanced over 1,700 meters in the Melitopol direction in a week, said Colonel Mykola Urshalovych, the deputy director of the Department of Application Planning of the National Guard, as cited by ArmyInform on July 14.

Moscow denies agreeing to extend Black Sea grain deal. The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia didn’t make any statements about agreeing to prolong the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russian state-owned news agency Interfax reported on July 14.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: US close to making decision on ATACMS, Kyiv says

President’s Office Head Andrii Yermak told journalists on July 14 that the U.S. is “very close” to deciding whether to provide Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles.

Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynold via Getty Images

Ukraine gets a fraction of what it wanted at NATO summit

Ukraine collected many promises at Vilnius, except the one it craved the most.

Photo: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian attacks kill at least 4, injure 10. Russian forces targeted 10 oblasts over the past day as at least four people were killed and 10 were wounded over the past day, local officials reported on July 14.

General Staff: Russia has lost 236,590 troops in Ukraine. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on July 14 that Russia had lost 236,590 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year.

International response

Pentagon: Ukraine battlefield situation currently ‘not ideal’ for F-16 deployment. The battlefield conditions in Ukraine are currently “not ideal” for the employment of F-16 fighter jets, said Lieutenant General Douglas Sims, the director of operations of the Joint Staff, on July 13.

Media: US to repurchase Taiwan’s Hawk missiles for Ukraine aid. Washington will repurchase decommissioned HAWK air defense missiles it sold to Taiwan and deliver them to Ukraine as part of a military aid package, the China Times reported on July 14, citing its sources.

Media: Bulgaria joins EU ammunition for Ukraine initiative. Bulgaria has decided to join the EU initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine, the Sofia Globe reported on July 14, citing information from the government.

Bloomberg: EU, European Central Bank argue over plan to tax sanctioned Russian assets. Officials from the EU’s executive branch have opposed ECB President Christine Lagarde’s warnings that measures against sanctioned holdings could endanger the eurozone’s financial stability and the liquidity of the common currency, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Scholz: Germany to provide Ukraine with over $19 billion in weapons over 5 years. In a July 14 press conference, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany expects to provide Ukraine with $19 billion, or 17 billion euros, in arms deliveries until 2027.

South Korea to offer $52 billion for Ukraine’s reconstruction projects. South Korea will offer assistance worth $52 billion to Ukraine’s reconstruction projects, the Korea Herald reported on July 14, citing South Korea’s presidential office.

This Week in Ukraine Ep. 16 -

Why is Ukraine still not in NATO?

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