On Wednesday, July 23, 2018, this is how things are going.
Fighting
- Three people were killed in the Kherson region, according to Russian-appointed local official Vladimir Saldo, when a Ukrainian drone attacked a private bus. In a Telegram post, Saldo continued, “Three more civilians were injured and are in serious condition.”
- In the Belgorod border region of Russia, a man was killed by a Ukrainian attack, according to the local governor.
- According to Oleksandr Honcharenko, head of the city’s military administration, a 10-year-old boy was killed in a Russian glide bomb attack in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. Five others were also hurt by the bomb, which set off an apartment building, according to Honcharenko.
- Russia launched numerous attacks on the Sumy region of Ukraine, including two separate drone attacks on a Putyvl gas station, which left 11 people injured, according to local officials.
- Novotoretske, a village in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, was claimed by the Russian army as having been taken by it.
- The pilot ejected safely from a French-supplied Mirage 2000 fighter jet after experiencing equipment failure during a mission, according to the Ukrainian military.
- According to Sergii Koretski, CEO of Ukraine’s state energy firm Naftogaz, a “massive” Russian drone attack severely damaged the country’s gas production infrastructure. Such attacks take place frequently. These items have no military significance, Koretski wrote on Facebook.
Ceasefire
- Moscow hasn’t yet confirmed whether it will participate in the peace talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, which were suggested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that there is “no reason for” expecting any “miracles” in the ceasefire talks.
- The Kremlin stated that it hoped to hold discussions “this week,” with Peskov adding, “We will announce the dates as soon as we are ready.”
- Zelenskyy noted that Kyiv was prepared to “secure the release of our people from captivity, return abducted children, stop the killings, and prepare a leaders’ meeting” while laying out potential topics for discussion with Moscow in Istanbul.
- Rustem Umerov, the country’s former defense minister, is expected to lead Kyiv’s delegation to the upcoming discussions.
- According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian authorities gave two Russian soldiers who needed medical care, and they were then flown home. According to the ministry, the release was made based on agreements reached in Istanbul last month, according to a statement.
Politics
- After receiving a 263 to 13 vote in the Ukrainian parliament, Zelenskyy signed a bill that would end two anticorruption organizations’ autonomy.
- Marta Kos, the European Union’s Commissioner for Enlargement, described the decision as a “serious step back” for Kyiv and said independent bodies were “essential for Ukraine’s EU path.”
- The bill, which is the first major protest against the government in more than three years of conflict against ingratiating Russian troops, was staged in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine.
- The bill was passed the day after two National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine officials were detained on suspicion of having ties to Russia, according to Ukraine’s domestic security agency.
