WAR IN UKRAINE: July 27, 2023
My personal essay from Odesa in the form of a CNN OpEd was mentioned last night on CNN’s Outfront With Erin Burnett
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 519
Overnight, a Russian Kalibr missile again hit the port infrastructure of Odesa. An employee died after it hit the administration building of the port. The production equipment of one of the cargo terminals was also damaged. A military spokeswoman said because the missile, which was fired from the Black Sea, flew at low altitude it was difficult to shoot down. Ukrainian officials want more Patriot missile defence batteries to shoot down such advanced missiles.
Also overnight, the Kharkiv, Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk regions came under Russian attacks overnight - Suspilne
Ukraine has committed more forces to its counteroffensive in the southeast after nearly two months of slow progress, according to two US officials — a sign that Kyiv has identified potential weaknesses in Russian defensive lines - CNN
The general in charge of Ukraine's stuttering counter-offensive in the south has said Russian defences are making it difficult for military equipment, including Western tanks and armoured vehicles, to move forward. Gen Oleksandr Tarnavskyi says his forces are struggling to overcome multi-layered minefields and fortified defensive lines. "That is why most of the tasks have to be performed by troops." He says Russia's military has displayed "professional qualities" by preventing Ukrainian forces from "advancing quickly". "I don't underestimate the enemy," he adds - BBC
Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting several African heads of state at a summit in St. Petersburg. In a sign of Russia's diplomatic isolation, numbers attending are less than half than in a similar summit in 2019 - CNN
In the afternoon of July 26, anti-aircraft fire shot down 2 Kalibr cruise missiles launched by the Russians in the suburbs of Vinnytsia, 5 people were injured due to falling debris, all of them received the necessary medical assistance. It is reported that fragments of one rocket fell in the area of the hotel complex, and of the second - in the greenhouse - Ukrainska Pravda
Military equipment and vehicles believed to belong to the private Wagner mercenary group continue to move to a site in the village of Tsel in eastern Belarus that is believed to be a site where troops from Yevgeny Prigozhin's company have settled after its aborted mutiny in Russia last month.