Day 516 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Russia is Systematically Destroying the Grain of Ukraine

Ukraine | July 24, 2023, Monday // 10:13|  views

@novinite.com

Day 516 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

  • Russia is systematically destroying the grain of Ukraine
  • Russia has accused Ukraine of a drone attack on Moscow
  • An ammunition depot in Crimea was hit
  • Ukraine reported a Russian attack on port infrastructure in Odesa Oblast
  • Ukrainian pilots will begin training on F-16 fighter jets in August, Oleksii Reznikov said
  • The counteroffensive was delayed due to a lack of ammunition and weapons, Zelensky said


Russia is systematically destroying the grain of Ukraine

The Ukrainian city of Reni was attacked by drones for nearly four hours in the early hours of today, the regional authorities reported, quoted by BTA.

"This time the target of the Russians was the port infrastructure on the Danube River. Reni was attacked with Shahed-136 drones. Three drones were destroyed by the Air Defense Forces," the Odesa Regional Military Administration announced on its Facebook page.

As a result of the impact, a grain hangar was destroyed, cargo warehouses were damaged. A fire broke out in one of the technical premises, which has already been extinguished, added the regional military administration.

Six people were injured in the attack in Reni. Four moderately to severely injured were hospitalized. All were given medical attention.

Nina Ivanova, the vice-president of the Bulgarian society "Fatherland" in the Ukrainian city, said that for the first time since the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine, Reni was subjected to intense bombing and the residents experienced a "very scary night".

"For the first time since the beginning of the war, we were experiencing a very terrible night. From 3 o'clock at night to 5:50 a.m. there were constant explosions, about 10 here. They were very loud. We were scared. My son from Odesa brought the grandchildren early last week, when the rocket attacks started there, to our place in Reni to a safer place. However, that night our city was also subjected to drone attacks. The children were scared, I barely calmed them down," said the woman.

The Bulgarian community in Odesa Oblast is the third largest in number and numbers over 150,000 people according to the official census in Ukraine in 2001.

About 8,500 Bulgarians live in Reni and the Reni district.

The Ukrainian Danube city is located 24 kilometers from the Romanian city of Galati.

3 days ago, Russia hit a grain terminal in Odesa Oblast with Kalibr missiles. Two people were injured in the attack. Then the head of the Joint Coordination Center of the Defense Forces South, Nataliya Gumenyuk, explained that the missiles were flying very low, so their hit came at the same time as the air alert signal. The strike was carried out in two waves with two missiles. At a moment when rescuers at the scene of the accident were trying to extinguish the fire, the second blow was delivered. Agricultural machinery and fire trucks were damaged.

Governor Oleg Kiper explained that this is the fourth Russian attack in Odesa Oblast in a week and specified that 100 tons of peas and 20 tons of barley were destroyed.

Russia has accused Ukraine of a drone attack on Moscow

Russia said it had destroyed two Ukrainian drones in Moscow and accused Kyiv of carrying out a "terrorist act" against the Russian capital. An air alert was declared again tonight in the Ukrainian city of Odesa.

"An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist act with two drones on objects in the territory of the city of Moscow has been terminated," the Russian Ministry of Defense announced. The drones were destroyed, no one was injured. One of the drones crashed near the Russian Ministry of Defense and the other hit a business center.

Explosions were again heard in the Odesa region last night. The Air Force has warned that there is a threat of Russian attack drones in the city area.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with CNN that since the start of its counteroffensive, Ukraine has regained about 50% of the territories occupied by Russia. According to him, Moscow has already lost the war from the point of view of the set goals, namely - to erase Ukraine from the map, to eliminate its independence, its sovereignty, to be annexed to Russia. Blinken, however, admitted that Ukraine's mission to regain territories captured by Moscow would be a "very uphill battle".

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would replace exports of Ukrainian grain, foodstuffs, fertilizers and other goods to Africa. He added that Russia could do this "on both a commercial and a free basis." Earlier this month, Russia pulled out of a deal allowing Ukrainian grain to be transported safely across the Black Sea after complaining that a related agreement to allow Russian food and fertilizer exports was not being respected. Moscow has announced that it will consider cargo ships traveling to Ukraine via the Black Sea as potential military targets.

An ammunition depot in Crimea was hit

An ammunition depot was hit early on Monday in the Dzhankoi region of Crimea, with Russian air defense forces able to intercept 11 drones over the area, the Russian-appointed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said, Reuters reported.

Aksyonov also said that a residential building in the area was damaged.

It is currently unclear whether the ammunition depot was directly hit by a drone or was damaged by falling debris from a drone.

Russia has an air base near Dzhankoi. Ukrainian officials have long said the city and surrounding areas have been turned into Moscow's largest military base in Crimea.

Sergey Aksyonov also indicated on Telegram that "for safety reasons" railway and car traffic in the area has been suspended.

Reuters could not independently verify reports of the attacks. There was no immediate comment from the Ukrainian side about the alleged attack either.

Kyiv almost never takes public responsibility for attacks in Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine, but in recent months it has said that the destruction of Russian military infrastructure is helping the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Ukraine reported a Russian attack on port infrastructure in Odesa Oblast

Russian forces carried out an attack with "Shahed-136" kamikaze drones against the port infrastructure of the Danube River in Odesa Oblast, the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform reported.

Ukrinform refers to the Southern Military Command of Ukraine.

"Three drones were destroyed by the air defense forces. As a result of the strikes, a grain hangar was destroyed and tankers with other cargo were damaged. A fire broke out in one of the production sites, which was quickly extinguished," the southern command said in a statement.

According to unconfirmed information, four port officials were injured in the attack. Ukrinform notes that it is trying to obtain confirmation of this information.

On the night of Saturday and Sunday, Russian forces launched a devastating missile attack on Odesa.

Ukrainian pilots will begin training on F-16 fighter jets in August, Oleksii Reznikov said

Ukrainian pilots will begin training how to fly American F-16 fighter jets in August and the training will take at least six months, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said, as quoted by Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.

Ukrinform clarifies that Reznikov said this in an interview with CNN.

In addition, Ukraine must create the necessary infrastructure for these fighters, the Ukrainian minister pointed out. According to Reznikov, there is an opportunity for Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 in the spring of next year.

In the interview, Reznikov emphasized that if Ukraine had such fighters now, they would certainly have led to greater progress in the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian forces.

The training, which, according to Reznikov, will take place in Denmark and the Netherlands, and perhaps also in the United Kingdom or Poland, will also include intensive training of employees who will take care of the technical maintenance of the planes, which, according to the Ukrainian minister, is a "serious task."

The counteroffensive was delayed due to a lack of ammunition and weapons, Zelensky said

Ukraine had hoped to launch its long-awaited counteroffensive earlier in the spring, but did not do so because it lacked the necessary weapons, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as quoted by Politico.

"We had plans to start it in the spring. But we didn't do it because, frankly, we didn't have enough ammunition and weapons and we didn't have enough brigades properly trained for these weapons, especially since the training missions were conducted outside Ukraine," Zelensky said in an interview broadcast Sunday on CNN.

Because the counteroffensive started later, Zelensky noted, speaking through a translator, "it gave Russia time to mine all our lands and build several defensive lines. And they definitely had even more time than they needed." "Hence the slower pace of our counteroffensive actions. We didn't want to lose our people, our personnel. And our servicemen didn't want to lose equipment because of this," the president added.

In May, Zelensky went on a three-day tour of Europe that included stops in Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, pressing allies to send more weapons as his army prepared for a planned counteroffensive.

Zelensky acknowledged that progress in pushing back Russian forces was "slower than desired." But during a virtual appearance at the Aspen Security Forum last week, he told international leaders that his military was "nearing (the moment) when action can gain momentum.”

Ukraine's forces are encountering heavy Russian shelling in the eastern part of the country during the counteroffensive, the general staff of the Ukrainian army announced, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.

Last night's information from the Ukrainian General Staff on the situation over the past day indicated that Russian attacks continued between Donetsk in the east and Kupiansk in the northeastern part of Kharkiv Oblast. According to the information, during the past 24 hours, there were 27 battles along the front line with a length of about 230 kilometers.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army stated that its troops were subjected to intense shelling by Russian artillery and aviation. More than 60 villages in the frontline area are said to have come under Russian rocket and artillery fire.

The information provided by the Ukrainian General Staff has not been confirmed by independent sources, DPA notes.

Novinite is still the only Bulgarian media that publishes a summary of events and highlights related to the conflict, every single day. Our coverage began on day one - 24.02.2022 and will not stop until the war has concluded. Despite the pressure, our independent media will continue to provide its readers with accurate and up-to-date information. Thank you for your support! #stayinformed

Follow Novinite.com on Twitter and Facebook

Write to us at editors@novinite.com

Информирайте се на Български - Novinite.bg

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!


Tags: Ukraine, Russia, Crimea, Moscow

Back  

» Related Articles:

Search

Search