WAR IN UKRAINE: July 20, 2022
Ukrainian bride Daria's childhood home was reduced to ruins by Russian bombing on the day before her wedding. This is her wedding portrait (Photo: @demianiv/Instagram)
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 142
Live fire this morning in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, according to Suspilne. Three people reported dead at a bus stop - including a 13-year-old boy.
The death toll of the Russian missile attack on Vinnytsia rises to 25, with 54 injured hospitalized, said the head of the oblast military administration.
Russian long range cruise missiles continued to rain down on Ukrainian cities on Tuesday. Six people were injured in Odesa. Missiles caused injuries & at least one death in central Kramatorsk and six were killed in the Donbas mining town of Toretsk
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Iran today on his first visit outside former USSR since start of the war in Ukraine. As I told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s RNBreakfast program, it will be curious whether, given his paranoia of Covid, Putin will even fist bump Iran’s leader. Drone sales, sanctions, Syria and nukes are all on the agenda. Also in Tehran is the Turkish president who will meet with Putin in an attempt to unblock Ukrainian grain and sunflower oil stuck in Black Sea ports.
Ukraine’s parliament on Tuesday voted for the removal of the head of security services - СБУ - Ivan Bakanov with an overwhelming majority of votes. Over 200 of 265 votes came from President Zelensky’s ‘Servant of the People’ ruling party. Allegations of incompetence and massive Russian infiltration have been swirling around the security service under Bakanov’s rule
German FM: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is exacerbated the climate crisis. “Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is exacerbating a global energy and food crisis that is pushing millions into poverty, hunger and starvation. And while we are still grappling with the fallout from the pandemic, the impacts of climate change are becoming even more dangerous across the world,” said Annalena Baerbock.
Canada's former chief of the defence staff Rick Hillier said Tuesday that Canada should not have agreed to return six turbines to Germany needed to keep Russian natural gas flowing into Europe. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin may see the decision as a "sign of encouragement" and a signal that Western sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine will weaken going forward. “This decision to send the turbines back would be seen in hindsight ... as the straw that broke the camel's back, and we may start to see a relenting of pressure from NATO, from the West in general," he said - CBC News
During a visit to France, Sheikh Mohamed, the president of the United Arab Emirates, made rare statement on the Ukraine war, joining French President Emmanuel Macron in calling for “urgent need to intensify diplomatic efforts to reach a solution.” The UAE is seen as a safe haven for Russian oligarchs, tourists & hidden wealth
First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday, as she began a series of high-profile appearances in Washington that will include a session with U.S. counterpart Jill Biden. “Passenger planes fly peacefully, people are not frightened by sirens and loud noises outside. It’s a strange feeling: in the fifth month of the Russian invasion, to be in a country where all this is possible. But I am now in the USA to make it possible in Ukraine too.
Russian state TV ran a bizarre segment on Sunday about a bereaved couple buying a new car with a payout from the government for losing their son to the war in Ukraine. According to independent Russian news site Meduza, the Rossia-1 segment featured the parents of Staff Sergeant Alexei Malov, who died in the early days of the invasion. The news item, filmed in western Russia's Saratovskaya region, showed Malov's parents exiting the driveway in a white Lada on a trip to the cemetery. Russian families receive what is known as "coffin money" when their relatives are killed, the segment explained - Business Insider
Required reading…
Far more comprehensive measures are required in order to prevent what could become a much greater economic collapse in Ukraine. If implemented without delay, the right steps could help safeguard Ukraine’s battered economy and set the stage for a strong post-war recovery.
While the recent Ukraine Recovery Conference in Switzerland focused on what is necessary for Ukraine’s future reconstruction, not enough emphasis was placed on what needs to be done now to halt the ongoing degradation of Ukraine’s economy.
Read this Atlantic Council Ukraine Alert blog post