This is where the war stands on Friday, July 19, 2024:
Fighting
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Russian attacks on Ukraine’s front-line Donetsk region have killed five civilians and injured three, damaging private houses and a residential building, the Reuters news agency reported, citing prosecutors. A couple was killed by artillery shelling in the village of Pleshchiivka, while three women were killed in a strike in the village of Hrodivka.
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The Russian military also dropped two guided bombs on the village of Velyka Novosilka in Donetsk, injuring a man and his wife inside their house, authorities in eastern Ukraine said.
- Ukrainian aerial and maritime drones struck Russian military targets on the Russia-annexed Crimean peninsula, a defence source in Kyiv told the AFP news agency. The attack is yet “another reminder to the enemy that Ukrainian Crimea is turning into a trap for Russians, where they will be systematically destroyed,” the source said.
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Debris from a downed Ukrainian drone wounded two people in the Russian city of Kursk, the acting regional governor, Alexei Smirnov, said on the Telegram messaging app.
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Russia’s Ministry of Defence said 19 drones had been destroyed overnight, including 11 over the Kursk region, the Interfax news agency reported.
- Ukraine has acknowledged that its defensive positions around the village of Krynky on the left bank of the Dnipro river in the southern Kherson region had been destroyed. Despite the setback, Ukrainian military spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy said on state television that combat work on the left bank of the Dnipro river is continuing.
Politics and diplomacy
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed any attempts to cut deals with Moscow behind Kyiv’s back after Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an address in the United Kingdom, Zelenskyy called for “unity” in support of his country as it fights Russia’s invasion.
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Zelenskyy said he discussed security and bilateral relations with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic on the sidelines of the European Political Community meeting in Britain. In a statement on X, he wrote that Ukraine appreciates “the financial and humanitarian assistance provided to our country”.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was re-elected to the bloc’s top job, criticised Orban’s visit to Moscow to discuss ways for ending the war in Ukraine, calling it an “appeasement mission”.
- Zelenskyy congratulated von der Leyen on her second term saying Ukraine was ready to contribute to peace, security and prosperity in Europe.
- Outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said it was “extremely important” that the United States maintains its backing for Ukraine, after former President Donald Trump chose a sceptic of aiding Kyiv as his running mate.
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Russia said it has doubts about Trump’s assertion that he could quickly end the Ukraine war if he returns to the White House, given that he had promised a Middle East peace breakthrough but failed to achieve it during his presidency.
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Senior executives from British defence firms have met Zelenskyy to discuss the need to boost military support for the country, British Defence Secretary John Healey said in a statement.
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Sweden has announced it will be sending 13 diesel-powered backup generators to Ukraine as several urban hubs are suffering long periods without electricity after Russian attacks on power plants.
Economy
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Slovakia and Hungary said they have stopped receiving oil from key supplier Lukoil, after Ukraine imposed a ban last month on the transit of resources from the Russian energy company via its territory.
