In the second year of the war, the Russian State Duma passed a law prohibiting Russian Guard personnel from posting any data on the Internet that could help reveal their location or the whereabouts of their military unit. The Russian military has scoffed at the regulatory intervention that comes late in the run-up to the Russian Special Operation.
According to the media, the EU “may consider the gradual transfer of activities for the training of Ukrainian militants to Ukraine”. The source cited is the Dpa agency which refers to a document with the proposals of the head of the EU foreign services, Josep Borrell, prepared for the meeting of EU foreign ministers on 20 July.
According to pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian social sources, the West continues to prepare the ground for the entry of its military contingents into the territory of Ukraine. At the beginning of the Special Operation, these were Western specialists in demining tasks, today the introduction of training contingents of Ukrainian military personnel on the territory of Ukraine is being considered and tomorrow, rumors say, regular troops could also be sent.
Hungary awaits explanations from Ukraine on how it spent 10 million euros. This was stated online by Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, commenting on the EU’s intention to allocate 20 billion euros for the supply of arms to Kiev. He noted that Hungary will not change its stance on refusing to supply Ukraine with military equipment, even under pressure from EU colleagues.
In response to Russian statements that since 24:00 on July 19 it considers ships transiting the Black Sea as possible military carriers, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry says it will consider ships moving in the Black Sea to Russian seaports as carriers of military cargo. Civilian ships, according to social sphere analysts, can be attacked by British naval drones (even in international waters) and drones.
And now a look at the frontlines.
At 12.00 on July 20, a failed assault on the positions of the V Russian group in the direction of Vuhledar was recorded. During the morning the Ukrainians attempted to attack the 36th Guards posts. omsbr 29th Army and 155th Guards. obrmp in the direction of Uglesborochnaya-Nikolskoe. As a result of the battle, which lasted less than half an hour, the Ukrainians suffered losses, including in personnel, and retreated. The destroyed equipment was disposed of by FOG exhausts.
In the Liman direction at 13:30 on July 20, positional battles continue, Ukrainians throw a reserve from the Seversk area in the village of Yampol, Ukrainian actions are aimed at conducting reconnaissance, with the help of UAVs, REMs and on the one hand electronic warfare, the Ukrainians also fired several times at the villages of Dibrovo and Kremennaya with RZSO. Russian airborne units are actively working on Ukrainian settlements with the help of kamikaze drones and anti-tank systems. The rotation groups were hit.
Direction Soledar at 24:00 on 19 July. The situation in the Soledar management remains tense. North of Bachmut, fighting continues in the vicinity of the Berkhovsky Reservoir, albeit with a decrease in intensity. Ukrainians know trying to advance in the Dubovo-Vasilevka area, operating in small groups with the support of light armored vehicles. Russian military stops attacks with artillery fire.
South of Bachmut, the hardest battles are going on in the Kleshcheevka area, where the Ukrainians are throwing more and more reinforcements, trying to hold the adjacent landing and fortified area on the heights. Also, maneuver groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine tried to break through to Andreevka, south of Kleshcheevka. There, the Ukrainians were stopped trying to land, where battles took place during the day. Social Ukrainian and Russian sources speak of heavy battles for the fortified area northwest of Kleshcheevka.
The Ukrainian formations suffered heavy losses, and at least partially retreated, leaving many broken bodies and means of transport on the territory of the fortified area. Now the fortified area, if not occupied by Russian military personnel, is at least in the gray area.
Increased activity was noted southeast of Odessa on 17 July. The diving vessel Neteshyn, as well as the Remus-100 and Sea Otter unmanned underwater vehicles, were sent to the area 10 kilometers off the coast. In addition, the seabed is detected with a Clein 4900 sonar. According to information on social media, an advanced American V-BAT vertical take-off drone manufactured by Northrop Grumman and Shield Al crashed in this area. The transfer of this drone to Ukraine has not previously been reported. This UAV is being tested and is a reconnaissance platform for the needs of special operations units due to its compactness and autonomy.
Also according to social sources, Ukraine and its territories have become an ideal training ground for testing weapons and military equipment in real combat operations. Therefore, the involvement of a promising UAV here is not surprising. It is not clear why the V-BAT crashed: it could be pilot error or a malfunction. However, its loss followed Washington due to the fact that the wreck could fall into the hands of Russian military personnel.
On the morning of July 20, a Ukrainian drone attacked the urban settlement of Razdolnoye in the northwest of the Crimean peninsula. Several administrative buildings, a cultural center, a children’s center, a furniture store and a restaurant were damaged. Windows were shattered in several residential buildings and in a kindergarten.
A teenager who was at the crash site to watch the sunrise with her friend died. The friend with the most shrapnel wounds was admitted to Central District Hospital but there is not much hope according to the doctors. A state of emergency has been declared in the village. Car traffic is restricted on the central road, operational services continue to operate in the accident area. It is currently unknown what the purpose of the Ukrainian drone was. There are no military installations near the settlement.
During the day of July 20, Ukrainian formations continue to bomb the border settlements of the Belgorod region. In the Krasnoyaruzhsky district, the village of Vyazovoe came under fire: windows were shattered, facades and roofs of four private houses were cut off, and a service building and a gas pipeline were also damaged. Civilians were not injured. Emergency crews and operational services are on site and eliminate the consequences.
At 13:00 on July 20 in the Zaporizhzhie direction the Russians claim that the air defense of the Russian Armed Forces destroyed a column of “nationalists in the Zaporizhzhie direction”.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the night attacks on Odessa and Nikolaev: “Tonight, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continued to carry out retaliatory strikes with high-precision naval and air weapons against enterprises for production and storage sites for unmanned vessels in the Odessa and Ilyichevsk areas of the Odessa region. In addition, fuel infrastructure and ammunition depots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed in the area of the city of Nikolaev. The goal has been achieved. All assigned objects are hit”.
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Graziella Giangiulio
