Ukraine

Наслідки ураження аеродрому «Енгельс-2» у Саратовській області Службою безпеки України в ніч на 16 липня. Знищено стратегічний бомбардувальник-ракетоносець Ту-95МС.

France has granted political asylum to Alexei Moskalev and his daughter, Masha, according to inTransit, the human rights group that assisted the family.

A joint report by the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD), Beyond the Battlefield: Russia’s Information War Against Ukraine’s European Future (opens pdf), shows that Russia’s attempts to undermine Ukraine’s EU path are systematic, coordinated, and persistent. They are not isolated ‘fake news’ stories. They are part of a wider Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) ecosystem designed to weaken Ukraine, divide European societies, and damage confidence in enlargement.

…the fires destroyed thousands, or even tens of thousands, of items belonging to sellers who work through Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer. Very rough, preliminary estimates put the damage at more than 50 billion rubles. Up to 15% of the company’s total warehouse space may have been affected…

In Kryvyi Rih, a 43-year-old man who is raising a minor son on his own was mobilized. The child was sent to an orphanage.

The European Court of Justice said people running free, donation-funded websites can qualify as “operators” under the EU’s Russia sanctions, even if they are not traditional broadcasters.

https://mod.gov.ua/en/news/total-russian-combat-losses-in-ukraine-as-of-july-19-2026

…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8enIdaTgrps

https://mod.gov.ua/en/news/total-russian-combat-losses-in-ukraine-as-of-july-18-2026

Japan is reassessing how it prepares for war, turning to Ukraine’s battlefield experience and low-cost drones capable of intercepting Shaheds as tensions around Taiwan and Chinese military activity continue to rise, The Japan Times reported on July 14.

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has confirmed that an investigation is underway into former Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó’s relationship with Russia, while also announcing new public safety measures for Budapest and providing updates on major transport and energy projects.

https://mod.gov.ua/en/news/total-russian-combat-losses-in-ukraine-as-of-july-17-2026

[Q&A with Alicia García-Herrero is Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis and a Senior Fellow at Bruegel.]

Never underestimate the ability of authoritarian idiots to convince themselves the strategy that has failed 100 times will succeed because they came up with the strategy.

The Black Sea vessels seen in the SBS video are ocean-going ships, far larger than the flat-bottomed river couriers Ukraine has been burning along the Azov feeder route. The footage from the FP-1 or FP-2 attack drones shows the operators aiming mostly for the deck structures rather than the bridges, with follow-up drones filming the fires that spread after the first strikes.

…"We expect that by the end of 2026, our Ukrainian team will have the technical capability to produce U.S. missiles,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 15.

Ukraine has conducted test launches of a domestically developed ballistic missile of an undisclosed type, according to statements by former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and the Militarnyi defense news outlet.

Fines issued to Russian drivers for parking and stopping violations while they waited in line for gasoline will be canceled, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said.

https://mod.gov.ua/en/news/total-russian-combat-losses-in-ukraine-as-of-july-16-2026

“The movement of the S-300/400s is not merely a redeployment of forces. The multi-layered structure that Russia has built has been significantly undermined, the [Anti-Access/Area Denial] A2/AD bubble that has been responsible for strategic deterrence against NATO has shrunk, and surface-to-air air defense in the Bastion strategy has been weakened, forcing a transformation of the defense structure,” it adds.

Honestly these russian heli pilots seem clueless…

“Hungary must rebuild trust with its allies, and as for the Russians, we are shutting the door on them,” Hungarian Defense Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said during a panel discussion at the Budapest Energy and Strategy Talks organized by the think tank Egyensúly Intézet (Equilibrium Institute).

171 destroyed, 60 damaged; 3 artillery brigades neutralized; 81% reduction in muscovite artillery activity in zones in the eastern front

To date, 175 fire and rescue vehicles, 9 boats, 87 generators, and personal protective equipment (PPE) for over 7,500 firefighters have been delivered via the initiative to Ukraine, including a 21-truck convoy delivered in July 2026. During the most recent delivery, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, commented that FIRE AID has become the largest international fire service support initiative ever undertaken by the United Kingdom, emphasizing, “These are not just numbers. They represent saved lives, protected cities, and the ability of our emergency responders to continue their mission under the most extreme conditions of war.”

https://mod.gov.ua/en/news/total-russian-combat-losses-in-ukraine-as-of-july-15-2026

The situation on Crimea somehow continues to deteriorate, as the peninsula runs out of food, fuel, water, electricity, and even cash. I discuss the latest developments, and why things are about to get so much worse as the Sea of Azov has been effectively shut down.

This is also a counter to fighter-bombers and glidebombs once you knock out radars and air defense, though that may be a more one way use.

He is quoted by RIA Novosti and Interfax here, therefore pretty reliable that he actually said it. The fact that he said anything at all is itself very, very telling. Here’s why:

Context: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE4v_mKP47I

Seams like telegram is down, and I noticed that mod.gov.ua (the official website of Ukraine MOD) have begun posting the numbers again, so I don’t have to get them from telegram.

Салат.. чи як його там.. Політікой не інтересуемся, АВТ-6 згоріла.