There are several news regarding Russian foreign policy. As regards relations with Washington, FBI director Cash Patel is planning a visit to Russia, presumably on October 14 and 15, as reported by Politico, citing some sources.
Moscow’s relations with the Italian government also continue to be tense. The Italian military attaché and a colleague have been expelled from Russia, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced. On July 9, Italy expelled two military attachés from the Russian embassy in Rome.
India has summoned Russian Chargé d’Affaires Vladimir Ladanov following the death of four Indian sailors in an attack on a ship in the Black Sea, Hindustan Times reports. The deaths of the Indian sailors were reported on 20 July. The cargo ship MV Golden Leo was leaving the Ukrainian port of Odessa. Its crew consisted of Indian and Syrian citizens. India’s Foreign Ministry had previously condemned the attack on the vessel, but did not mention Russia in its statement.
However, relations with Pyongyang and Beijing remain solid. The DPRK’s position on Ukraine remains unchanged; Pyongyang will actively support Moscow, as announced by the North Korean Foreign Minister, while Putin has extended visa-free entry for Chinese citizens until the end of 2027. China has also extended the visa-free regime for Russian citizens until December 31, 2027, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry website. The visa-free regime allows Russian citizens to stay in China for up to 30 days without a visa for reasons such as business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, participation in exchange and transit programs. Russians will be able to enter China several times without a visa during the period of validity of the visa-free regime. There are no restrictions on the number of trips and the total number of days of stay.
According to reports from the UK Ministry of Defence, a Russian warship (the patrol vessel Neustrashimy) conducted live-fire exercises 74 km off the coast of Great Britain. Putin has no plans to have any contact with the new British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, according to Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president’s spokesman. He also noted that the Kremlin does not expect relations between Russia and the United Kingdom to improve following the inauguration of the new Prime Minister. London itself reiterated its support for Ukraine. The new British Defense Minister Wes Streeting has made his first statement on Ukraine and made an important promise. Streeting publicly underlined that the new British government’s main priority is to ensure the country’s security and stand firmly by its international allies, especially Ukraine. Zelensky actually spoke with the new British Prime Minister. A meeting has reportedly been agreed upon shortly. The main theme will be further cooperation, in particular within the framework of the anti-missile coalition.
Regarding the internal politics of Kiev, the Ukrainian president held a special meeting with the commanders. As Zelensky pointed out, for the first time there was direct and immediate communication between major manufacturers of weapons and equipment and army corps commanders, during which they agreed to establish a regular format of such communication between army corps, manufacturers and government structures, under the coordination of the Ministry of Defense and the National Security and Defense Council. In the defense sector, although Russian social media channels reported the opposite, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces denied the news of Syrskyi’s removal from the position of commander in chief, ensuring that he continues to carry out his duties. However, new protests took place in Kiev against Fedorov’s resignation. Participants of the rally also demand that the president remove Syrskyi as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Commander of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Mykhailo Drapatiy would be the most likely candidate for the position of commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Bloomberg reported, citing a source.
And now a look at the front line updated at 3.30pm on July 21st. According to what was reported by the Russian social sphere, on the morning of July 21st, the Russians continued to launch heavy attacks against military ships near the ports of the Odessa region. Crimea and Sevastopol were also hit overnight.
In Sumy Oblast, attack drones continued to strike gas stations and other Major logistical infrastructure (the Epicenter hypermarket in Sumy) has been damaged. In Sumy Oblast, the Sever (Northern) Group of Forces is engaged in light-weapons fighting in Ulanovo and near Malaya Slobodka. In Sumy Oblast, firefights continued in Ryzhevka, Pisarevka, Mogritsa, Maryino, the village of Novaya Sich, the village of Khotyn, and wooded areas south of Ivolzhanskoye.
In Belgorod Oblast, an attack on a bus in Shebekino injured 23 people, five of whom died. Subsequently, also in Belgorod, one man was killed and ten others sustained varying degrees of injury. Attacks on vehicles, residential buildings, and businesses also resulted in three more civilian deaths and 32 injuries. According to Ukrainian social media channels, Belgorod was attacked by missiles that likely hit energy infrastructure. Local authorities confirmed the missile attack. They say there were no injuries, but did not provide details of the damage.
In the Kursk region, enemy drones struck Lgov, near the train station (temporarily closed due to the anti-terrorist operation), wounding five railway workers.
In Kupyansk, Ukraine is reportedly attempting to bring in reinforcements, and firefights are ongoing. Further south, no significant changes have been reported.
In Kostyantynivka, Ukraine attempted a demonstration attack.
In the Dobropillya sector, fighting continues for Bilytske. The control zone around the town of Myrne is expanding.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, forces of the “East” Group of Forces have taken control of the village of Volne.
In the eastern part of the Zaporizhia region, west of Rivne and Kopan, Primorsky troops have broken through Ukrainian defense lines and consolidated their positions. The region’s governor informed Russian President Putin that the Novorossiya highway had been fully secured, failing to mention the situation in Vasylivka and Energodar. On the morning of July 21, Ukrainian social media reported that Russia attacked Zaporizhia with KABs. The death toll from the attack later rose to two, according to the prosecutor’s office.
In the Kherson region, it was reported yesterday that a drone strike on a children’s beach in Skadovsk, which occurred the previous day, seriously injured a woman and a man. Damage to infrastructure and property was reported in Antonovka, Brilevka, Velyki Kopani, Hola Prystan, Kalanchak, Kostogryzove, Nova Kakhovka, Nova Mayachka, Sivash, and Skadovsk.
Finally, also in connection with the conflict, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized the Cyberpartizans and Silent Crow hacker groups as extremists, according to TASS. This is due to the hacker groups’ collaboration with the Ukrainian armed forces.
Lorenzo Serafinelli
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