13 votes

Weekly megathread for news/updates/discussion of Russian invasion of Ukraine - July 21

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Tags: russia, ukraine, military conflict, war, geopolitics, 2022 russian invasion of ukraine, recurring.weekly

This thread is posted weekly on Thursday - please try to post relevant content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Especially significant updates may warrant a separate topic, but most should be posted here.

If you'd like to help support Ukraine, please visit the official site at https://help.gov.ua/ - an official portal for those who want to provide humanitarian or financial assistance to people of Ukraine, businesses or the government at the times of resistance against the Russian aggression.

6 comments

  1. NoblePath
    (edited )
    Link
    Apparently, Russia is blaming their troubles in Ukraine on mutant supersoldiers. Via dailybeast via yahoo. They cite a Russian Publication Kommersant I think. @ThatFanficGuy haven’t heard from you...

    Apparently, Russia is blaming their troubles in Ukraine on mutant supersoldiers. Via dailybeast via yahoo.

    They cite a Russian Publication Kommersant I think.

    @ThatFanficGuy haven’t heard from you in a minute. Everything ok? Can you comment?

    3 votes
  2. [2]
    skybrian
    Link
    EU reaches deal to ration gas amid Russian cut-off fears [...]

    EU reaches deal to ration gas amid Russian cut-off fears

    EU energy ministers approved a draft European law designed to lower demand for gas by 15% from August through March. The legislation entails voluntary national steps to reduce gas consumption and, if they yield insufficient savings, a trigger for mandatory actions in the 27-member bloc.

    [...]

    Exemptions are allowed for countries that might have specific vulnerabilities or find themselves particularly exposed to difficulties from certain cuts.

    3 votes
    1. vektor
      Link Parent
      On that note, I'll quickly summarize NordStream1 news of the last few weeks. Since I last checked in, NS1 is back from maintenance and initially resumed with the 40% of capacity deliveries that it...

      On that note, I'll quickly summarize NordStream1 news of the last few weeks. Since I last checked in, NS1 is back from maintenance and initially resumed with the 40% of capacity deliveries that it did before the maintenance. Just yesterday, it was announced that those deliveries will be cut to 20% of capacity come Wednesday. So that's not so great.

      Different topic, but Germany is fulfilling arms deliveries. Gepard SPAAs(5 out of 30 promised), MARS MLRS (3) and Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery (7 previously +3 = 10) have arrived. Meanwhile, training of UA forces on COBRA counter battery radars and IRIS-T SAMs is starting. src

      3 votes
  3. [2]
    skybrian
    Link
    Ukraine, Russia sign grain export deal [...] [...] [...]

    Ukraine, Russia sign grain export deal

    Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements Friday with Turkey and the United Nations clearing the way for the export of millions of tons of desperately needed Ukrainian grain — as well as some Russian grain and fertilizer — across the Black Sea. The long-sought deal ends a wartime standoff that has threatened food security around the globe.

    The U.N. plan will enable Ukraine — one of the world’s key breadbaskets — to export 22 million tons of grain and other agricultural goods that have been stuck in Black Sea ports due to Russia’s invasion. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called it “a beacon of hope” for millions of hungry people who have faced huge increases in the price of food.

    [...]

    Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov signed separate, identical deals Friday with Guterres and Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar at a ceremony in Istanbul that was witnessed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Russia and Ukraine would not sign any deal directly with each other.

    [...]

    The agreement, obtained by the AP, says a U.N.-led joint coordination center will be set up in Istanbul staffed by officials from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey to run the plan, including scheduling cargo ships’ arrivals and departures.

    Inspectors representing all parties at the Bosporus in Turkey will search vessels entering and leaving Ukrainian ports to ensure no weapons or soldiers are on board.

    Under the deal, “all activities in Ukrainian territorial waters will be under authority and responsibility of Ukraine,” and the parties agree not to attack vessels and port facilities involved in the initiative. If demining is required to make the shipping lanes safe, a minesweeper from another country could clear the approaches to Ukrainian ports.

    The sides will monitor the movement of ships remotely and no military ships. aircraft or drones will be allowed to approach “the maritime humanitarian corridor” closer than a distance the center sets. The agreement will remain in effect for 120 days and can be extended automatically.

    [...]

    Volodymyr Sidenko, an expert with the Kyiv-based Razumkov Center think tank, said Ukraine apparently did not raise the issue of stolen grain in the negotiations.

    “It was part of a deal: Kyiv doesn’t raise the issue of stolen grain and Moscow doesn’t insist on checking Ukrainian ships. Kyiv and Moscow were forced to make a deal and compromise,” he said.

    2 votes
    1. cfabbro
      Link Parent
      Ukraine war: Explosions rock Ukrainian port hours after grain deal (BBC)

      Ukraine war: Explosions rock Ukrainian port hours after grain deal (BBC)

      Two missiles hit the city of Odesa in the early hours of Saturday morning, Ukraine's military said.
      Under the terms of Friday's deal, Russia agreed not to target ports while grain shipments were in transit.

      Turkey's defence minister said Russian officials had denied carrying out the strikes. "In our contact with Russia, the Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with this attack, and that they were examining the issue very closely and in detail," Hulusai Akar said in a short statement.

      EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the attack had shown Russia's "total disregard" for international law. "Striking a target crucial for grain export a day after the signature of Istanbul agreements is particularly reprehensible," he tweeted, adding that the EU "strongly condemns" the attack.

      UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres unequivocally condemned the attack, saying that full implementation of the grain deal made between Russia, Ukraine and Turkey was imperative. "These products are desperately needed to address the global food crisis and ease the suffering of millions of people in need around the globe," a UN spokesperson added.

      In a post to social media, the Ukrainian military's southern command centre said two Kalibr missiles had hit the port, while two more had been shot down by air defence systems.

      Oleksiy Honcharenko, a local MP, wrote on Telegram that the city's port had caught fire after the strike. "These scumbags sign contracts with one hand and direct missiles with the other," Mr Honcharenko wrote.

      But a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's southern command said the strike did not have a serious impact of the port. "No significant damage was caused to the port infrastructure," Nataliia Humeniuk said. "These are quite expensive rockets, so they are being used not too often. They are said to be highly accurate, so they hit deliberately."

      6 votes
  4. skybrian
    Link
    As Ukraine pounds Russian targets, U.S. sends more artillery (Washington Post) [...] [...]

    As Ukraine pounds Russian targets, U.S. sends more artillery (Washington Post)

    The latest $270 million package includes four M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, boosting the total number the United States has provided Kyiv to 16, said John Kirby, a White House spokesman. The package also includes 36,000 rounds of ammunition for howitzers and funding for up to 580 Phoenix Ghost drones, unmanned aircraft that can be used to target opposing forces directly or to perform reconnaissance for artillery strikes.

    [...]

    Ukraine already has struck more than 100 “high-value” Russian military targets, including command posts, ammunition depots, air-defense sites, radar and communication nodes, and long-range artillery positions, the senior U.S. defense official said. While Russia continues to launch thousands of artillery rounds per day, the official said, Moscow “can’t keep it up forever” and has now committed 85 percent of its army to the war in Ukraine and left other parts of Russia without military forces.

    [...]

    The HIMARS are “not a silver bullet” to beat Russia, the senior U.S. military official said, but they make it more difficult for Russia to perform offensive operations. There are signs of Russian forces digging in where they are “with the expectation that they might be attacked.”

    Russia has not made significant gains in Ukraine in the last week, the senior military official added. Ukraine, meanwhile, has begun to take back portions of some villages around the southern city of Kherson, the official said.

    1 vote