WAR IN UKRAINE: July 20, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 512
In Odesa, during the night attack, four people were injured, reported the head of the press center of the Southern Defense Forces Humenyuk. In the city, an administrative building was destroyed, and houses were damaged by the blast wave. Warehouses were hit in the region - Suspilne
Ukraine’s Air Force said that it had “destroyed” five of 19 cruise missiles fired at the country overnight. Just two of the five destroyed cruise missiles were in Odesa, according to Oleh Kiper, head of Odesa's regional military administration “As a result of the nighttime Russian attack, we have one dead in Odesa,” Kiper said on Telegram. “The victim was a security guard of a civilian building, born in 2002. Our sincere condolences to the family and friends.” The Air Force also said it had destroyed 13 of 19 Shahed attack drones. “Unfortunately, not all missiles were destroyed, including supersonic missiles such as the Kh-22 and Oniks, which are extremely difficult to destroy,” Kiper said in a separate update on Telegram - CNN
A total of 18 people were wounded in overnight strikes on Mykolaiv, the governor Vitaliy Kim has said. Nine were taken to hospital, including five children. Two people were rescued from the rubble, he said on Telegram. “It is a miracle they were saved,” he said
Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi said Russian strikes on Odesa ports had destroyed 60,000 tonnes of grain and damaged considerable parts of grain export infrastructure.
Wheat prices have risen sharply on global markets after Russia said it would treat ships heading for Ukrainian ports as potential military targets. Wheat prices on the European stock exchange soared by 8.2% on Wednesday from the previous day, to €253.75 per tonne, while corn prices were up 5.4%. US wheat futures jumped 8.5% on Wednesday, their highest daily rise since just after Russia's invasion of Ukraine - BBC
About 72 hours after the first convoy arrived, hundreds of vehicles from Wagner Group convoys are filling a disused military base in Belarus, according to satellite imagery taken by Planet Labs PBC. And on Wednesday, video emerged that appears to show the group's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin greeting his fighters in Belarus, in what would be his first public appearance since he led an armed rebellion in Russia last month - CNN
The head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, says they will continue to fight in African countries where they are already present. "There was no, and there will be no, reduction in our programmes in Africa," Mr Prigozhin told Afrique Média TV. BBC Verify has analysed the audio and confirms it is Mr Prigozhin's voice. He did not appear on camera during the interview with Afrique Média, which is a pro-Kremlin news channel that targets French-speaking African countries and has been linked to the Wagner group - BBC
Elderly and vulnerable Ukrainians were taken into Russian territory, stripped of their citizenship, forced to give blood and left in agony from botched medical procedures, a Telegraph investigation has found. The senior citizens were placed in the Russian care system after Vladimir Putin’s forces occupied their hometowns and villages in the early stages of the war. Those who managed to escape back to Ukraine have told how they were “treated with disdain” and abused. Putin, the Russian president, has been accused of war crimes for the illegal deportation and mistreatment of children. But little is known about elderly, vulnerable adults and the disabled who were taken into the Russian system when they invaded. The Telegraph spoke to elderly and disabled Ukrainians, as well as relatives who rescued their family members from behind enemy lines - Telegraph
Poland will not open the border with Ukraine for grain products after 15 September, if the European Commission's moratorium on importing Ukrainian grain expires, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said. "I want to make it clear on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland that we will not open this border. Either the European Commission will agree to develop regulations extending this ban jointly, or we will do it ourselves,” he said. He stressed that Warsaw is taking this step "not against Ukraine", but "for Polish farmers". Earlier on 19 July, five Central European members of the European Union – Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia – jointly appealed to the EU to extend the ban on imports of Ukrainian grain after 15 September. Central European countries fear that the termination of the grain deal by Russia may lead to increased grain flows and bottlenecks in these five countries.