Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,243

On Monday, July 21, 2018, this is how things are going.

Fighting

• According to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency, Russian forces have taken control of the village of Bila Hora in eastern Ukraine.
• A 78-year-old woman was killed in a Russian attack on the Sumy region of Ukraine, according to Governor Oleh Hryhorov.
• Local governors claim that there were six more fatalities in Russian attacks on Synelnykove and Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region, as well as Kostiantynivka, Pokrovsk, and Raiske in the Donetsk region.
• Governor Ivan Fedorov reported that three women were hurt in a third Russian attack on the Zaporizhhia and Vasylivka districts of Ukraine, adding that Russia had already launched 457 attacks on 18 settlements in the area on Sunday.
• Ukraine’s Air Force reported shooting down 18 of 57 Russian drones overnight into Sunday.
• Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported on Telegram that several Ukrainian drones “flying toward Moscow” had been shot down eight times in total over the course of 24 hours. In each case, he stated, “Emergency services are working at the location of the debris fall.”
• Russian forces shot down 216 Ukrainian drones in total, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, on Sunday at 11:20 p.m. (Moscow time).

diplomacy and politics

• Vladimir Putin, the country’s president, said Moscow’s main goal was to reach its goals, despite the fact that spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that the Kremlin was ready to pursue a peace agreement with Ukraine. The comments were made days after Donald Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to accept a ceasefire or be subject to more stringent sanctions.
• Russian conductor Valery Gergiev’s performance was canceled as part of Russian efforts to use “culture as a tool of propaganda,” according to the Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• According to the Kyiv Independent, Ukraine has sanctioned former Ukrainian lawmakers Natalia Korolevska and Hennadiy Balashov, as well as exiled Russian journalist Yulia Latynina and Ukrainian blogger Andrii Serebrianskyi, who allege they had assisted in spreading Russian propaganda.
• The sanctions against India’s Nayara Energy refinery by Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil producer, were criticized by the EU as being unlawful and unjustifiable, claiming they directly threatened India’s energy security.