WAR IN UKRAINE: July 10, 2023

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 502

  • Ukrainian and Russian forces are locked in fierce battles in multiple locations on the front line as Kyiv is continuing its counteroffensive in the south, the military said on July 10, as Moscow's incessant shelling continued to claim victims among Ukrainian civilians. The intense fighting comes as NATO is preparing to hold a key summit this week in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, where the war in Ukraine and the alliance's ties with Kyiv are expected to take center stage. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's participation in the summit has not yet been officially confirmed - RFE/RL

  • Since the start of the offensive on the Melitopol and Berdyansk axes, the Ukrainian Defense Forces have liberated 169 square kilometers of Ukrainian land from the Russians. This is roughly the size of the city of Odesa, reports the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Mine clearance is currently underway in the liberated areas. Meanwhile, on the Bakhmut axis, Ukrainian troops liberated 4 square kilometers of land from Russian forces last week. In total, the liberated area near Bakhmut is 24 square kilometers - Hromadske International

  • US President Joe Biden has landed in the UK ahead of a Nato summit in Lithuania later this week - which comes after several allies questioned his call to send cluster bombs to Ukraine. The UK and Canada are among those who voiced concern about supplying the bombs, which are widely banned because of the danger they pose to civilians. The US says they are needed because Ukraine's weapon stocks are dwindling - BBC

  • Biden said in an interview prior to his departure that Ukraine is not ready for membership in the alliance, asserting that the war with Russia must end before an invitation can be issued.

  • Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said on July 9 that Russia should attack Ukrainian nuclear power plants and nuclear facilities in Eastern Europe if an alleged Ukrainian attack on a Russian nuclear plant is confirmed - Kyiv Independent

Michael BociurkiwComment