Daily Briefing From Ukraine

·      Top 5 Headlines

·      President Zelensky’s Message of the Day

·      Ukraine Summer Offensive Summary

Top Headlines

1.     The Kremlin targeted Kyiv with Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones last night – with falling debris killing one Ukrainian civilian and injuring at least four others. The fatality occurred in the city’s Podil district and the injuries in the Darnytsia and Shevchenkivsky districts, according to Kyiv’s Mayor Vitaly Klitschko. The Ukrainian Air Force reported destroying approximately 10 incoming drones during the attack, which was the third in three nights on Kyiv.

2.     “NATO is stronger, more energized, and yes, more united than ever in its history, and more crucial to our shared future,” US President Joe Biden said after the NATO Summit in Lithuania. Speaking about the full-scale war in Ukraine, Biden said that Vladimir Putin’s calculation of a NATO split was proven wrong.

3.     President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday welcomed a commitment by G7 nations to provide bilateral security guarantees and support to Ukraine for as long it takes to defeat Russia. The G7 plan provides an “umbrella” under which individual nations will agree deals with Kyiv about weapons they will give if Russia ups the ante. President Biden, who opposed granting Kyiv an invitation timetable to NATO at the Vilnius Summit, insisted the G7 plan shows that world powers are by Ukraine’s side while it fights off Russia and establishes the conditions of NATO membership. “We're going to help them build a strong capable defense across land, air and sea,” Biden said, at a ceremony with Zelensky and the leaders of the other G7 powers – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Several more countries have also signed up to the G7 document, including Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Other Topics of Interest

British Defence Intelligence Update Ukraine 23 December 2024

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

4.     Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he handed over the Azovstal defenders because President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked him to. “When we received this request, we handed over these commanders,” Erdogan said. However, he does not believe that this has affected relations with Russia. “At first, Russia was outraged, and then it turned into a positive thing,” he said.

5.     More than 24,000 Ukrainians are now listed as missing persons with the fate of 7,000 of them completely unknown, according to Ukraine’s Commissioner for Persons Missing in Special Circumstances Oleh Kotenko. He reported that since the official register of missing persons was started in May 2023 “there is some progress because we have already found more than 8,000 people, about 60 percent of them are living people who were in captivity.”

President Zelensky’s Message

Ukraine Summer Offensive Summary

Snapshot

Ukraine’s Bakhmut 2.0 push continues; some success in western Zaporizhzhia; Russia increases “war from the sky” with increased airstrikes and artillery assaults on population points.

General Developments

The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces continued offensive operations in the Bakhmut, Melitopol (western Zaporizhzhia region), and Berdyansk (Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia regional border area) directions.

Russian conducted 60 airstrikes, an increased rate, and 64 MLRS attacks on Ukrainian positions; Ukraine conducted 6 airstrikes.

Some 95 Ukrainian population settlements, an increased number, across the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions were shelled by Russian forces.

US President Joe Biden has confirmed that he is still considering providing Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles. “We are working on that,” he told journalists.

At the NATO Summit, Canada pledged a further $410 million package to support Ukraine and strengthen transatlantic security. The package includes drone capacity and training of Ukrainian troops.

Australia will send an additional 30 Bushmaster armored vehicles to Ukraine.

Norway will provide an additional NASAM (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) support package, including two additional fire control centers, two launch units, and spare parts.

Japan will provide Ukraine with $30 million in non-lethal equipment including drone detection systems.

Operational Aspects in Bakhmut

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said that Ukrainian forces “advanced today on the Bakhmut front, on the southern flank around Bakhmut. There is an advance. Now our defenders are consolidating their positions on the taken frontiers.”

The Ukrainian General Staff also reported that Ukrainian forces achieved partial success along the Bila Hora-Andriivka and Bila Hora-Kurdyumivka lines (up to 13 km southwest of Bakhmut).

Operational Aspects in Luhansk, Avdiivka, Maryinka, Kherson, and other areas

Russian and Ukrainian forces reportedly conducted limited ground attacks along the Kupyansk-Svatove line, according to ISW.

Russian and Ukrainian forces continued skirmishes in the Kreminna area, where Russian forces reportedly made limited gains, according to ISW.

Russian and Ukrainian forces conducted ground attacks along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line.

A Pro-Russian milblogger stated that Russian forces “managed to advance towards Torske, a key settlement through which the entire Ukrainian grouping on the left bank of the Zherebets River is supplied.”

Operational Aspects on Boundary of the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions and in Western Zaporizhzhia

“In recent weeks, our defenders in the south have significantly undermined the enemy's offensive and defensive capabilities. So, due to the destruction of a large number of ammunition depots, the number of enemy attacks has now decreased,” Malyar said.

Ukrainian forces achieved partial success and advanced along the frontline in the Berdyansk direction, according to the senior Ukrainian commander for the region.

Pro-Russian milbloggers also claimed that Ukrainian forces advanced at Pryyutne southwest of Velyka Novosilka, Donetsk region, and at Robotyne south of Orikhiv, western Zaporizhzhia region, where, according to the General Staff, “the enemy is concentrating forces to prevent further advance of our troops.”

Ukrainian forces continued limited mechanized assault operations in western Zaporizhzhia region, according to ISW.

At least 18 people, including 6 children, were injured in a Russian drone attack on Zaporizhzhia, the head of the Regional Military Administration, Yuriy Malashko, reported.

Explosions rang out in the temporarily occupied city of Mariupol in the evening of July 12, according to exiled city officials. It was also reported that Russian air defense systems were active.