WAR IN UKRAINE: July 19, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 511
A second overnight missile attack in as many days on Odesa was one of the most massive in the region since the beginning of the full-scale invasion says Serhiy Bratchuk of the oblast military administration. Several cruise missile and drones. There are fragments of downed missiles and drones hitting certain locations, damaged cars, broken windows in high-rise buildings. A video posted on social media purporting to show an enormous strike on a multi-storey apartment building complex.
During the night attack, rockets hit the grain and oil terminal, damaged tanks and equipment for loading, and a fire broke out, said Vladyslav Nazarov, the spokesperson for the “South” command. In the Odesa region, an industrial facility was hit, where an employee was injured, and two warehouses in different locations were also hit – with tobacco and fireworks. Also, as a result of combat work, several apartment buildings were damaged by an explosive wave in residential complexes of Odesa. At least six residents of Odesa, including a nine-year-old boy, sought medical help after being injured by fragments of glass and other objects
During the night attack on Odesa, the Slobid cemetery was also damaged, said the mayor. Residential buildings were damaged in the Kyiv and Peresypsky districts of the city
The Russian attack on Odesa port should be seen as nothing less than a direct strike on the global food supply chain - and needs to be responded to by the West as well as sub-Sahara African countries that have been sitting on the fence and are also going to suffer with more hunger. A red line has been crossed
Russian overnight strikes on the Mykolaiv region targeted recreational infrastructure facilities in the coastal zone which were destroyed and ignited. The fire spread over a large area, but firefighters were able to control the fire even during a second wave. The blast wave damaged nearby buildings, as well as a local fire brigade vehicle - Serhij Bratchuk
More than 2,000 residents are being evacuated from four villages in Russian-occupied Crimea after a fire that triggered hours of explosions at a nearby ammunition depot. Russian-installed officials also shut a stretch of the motorway that crosses the southern half of the peninsula. They did not explain the cause of the fire at a military training ground near the city of Staryi Krim. But unconfirmed reports on social media spoke of three Ukrainian strikes. The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had been briefed on the incident - BBC
Human Rights Watch says a Russian cruise missile strike on Lviv in western Ukraine on July 6, which killed 10 civilians in a residential apartment complex, should be investigated as a possible war crime.
Ukraine and Russia both said they were seeking alternative ways to keep grain supplies flowing after an agreement that allowed exports to Africa, the Middle East, and Asia collapsed when Moscow refused to renew its participation in the deal as it expired on July 18 - RFE/RL
The European Union intends to create a special fund to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the next four years worth about €20 billion, Politico reports with reference to five diplomats familiar with the plan - Hromadske
The Ukrainian government has approved a resolution to start a reconstruction project of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on July 18. Shmyhal explained that the project is intended to take place in two stages, lasting two years - Kyiv Independent
Saudi Arabia and Turkey are trying to broker a deal to repatriate Ukrainian children abducted and forcibly deported to Russia, the Financial Times (FT) reported on July 18, citing four undisclosed sources.