The updated US sanctions bill against Russia provides for a reduction in maximum tariffs for the five largest buyers of Russian oil and gas from 500% to 100%. The provision will also apply to the five countries that Washington believes are contributing to sanctions evasion. However, the document provides for exceptions.
President Donald Trump told Fox News that he believes the conflict in Ukraine could end before the end of his term.
The EU will deny temporary protection to Ukrainians subject to military service starting in 2027. The Council of the EU has extended the temporary protection regime for Ukrainian refugees until March 2028, excluding those subject to military service. EU ambassadors failed to reach an agreement on the 21st package of sanctions against Russia. Talks have been postponed until next week, a diplomatic source in Brussels told media. European diplomats have agreed to keep the price cap on Russian oil unchanged until July 23, while discussions on sanctions continue.
Greece has opposed the adoption of the 21st EU sanctions package, as the initiative would imply a ban on the transport of Russian LNG to third countries, the Financial Times reports, citing sources. According to the publication’s sources, Greece’s efforts are aimed at protecting the Dynagas shipping company, owned by Greek tycoon George Prokopiou. Greece’s Permanent Representative to the EU told colleagues on Wednesday that the planned sanctions would “ruin” Dynagas. According to data from the maritime information portal Equasis, Dynagas operates 27 gas carriers. These include the Arc7 tankers, built to meet safety requirements for operations in the frigid Arctic waters near the Yamal LNG plant.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who was on an official visit to Ukraine yesterday, was welcomed by his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiha and Ukrainian Ambassador to Ankara Nariman Dzhelyapov in Independence Square. Fidan laid flowers and paid tribute to the fallen soldiers. “Turkey agrees to assume the naval component of Ukraine’s security guarantees as part of a potential peace agreement.” According to Fidan, Ankara has a common understanding on this point with its allies. “The naval forces of the interested allied countries are also planning this,” Anadolu reports. The Turkish minister also called for preventing an escalation of hostilities in the Black Sea.
There are many tensions surrounding the new government; according to the Ukrainian news agency Strana, Zelenskyy has decided to remove Fedorov from his role as Defense Minister because the West is reportedly promoting him for the presidency. Specifically, he listed the reasons for his dissatisfaction with Fedorov. These included his “independent political game,” supported by circles funded by funds close to NABU and the SAP.
Mykhailo Fedorov, meanwhile, confirmed on social media that he would be leaving his post as Defense Minister. He admitted that during his tenure, he had failed to complete the transformation of the Ministry of Defense in line with NATO standards and “common sense.”
The Verkhovna Rada appointed Fedorov as head of the military department on January 14. Earlier, Verkhovna Rada MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak had stated that Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko could become Defense Minister.
Following Fedorov’s resignation, the deputy commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Colonel Pavel Elizarov, resigned following the dismissal of the Defense Minister, according to RBC. “Unfortunately, in the fifth year of the war, I have submitted my resignation from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. I believe that the removal of Minister Fedorov represents a serious damage to the country’s defense capability,” Yelizarov wrote on social media.
In Kiev, according to RBC-Ukraine and Reuters, people took to the streets to protest the resignation of the Defense Minister. The Strana news agency also reports that people are gathering on the streets of Lviv in support of Fedorov. Protests over Fedorov’s resignation as Defense Minister have spread to nine other cities across the country, according to Ukrainian media. Earlier, demonstrations were reported in Kiev, Zhytomyr, Odessa, and Lviv.
Zelenskyy’s Defense Ministerial candidate, Klymenko, has refused the post, said Maria Mezentseva, a member of parliament from the Servant of the People party. Revelations emerge about the ongoing conflicts between former Defense Minister Fedorov and the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky: “They live in two different worlds. Misha wants to digitize everything, build a technology-based system. The military simply wants to be listened to. They ask for the purchase of certain types of weapons, but he refuses and funds other sectors.” “They simply stopped listening to each other,” one MP quotes Zelensky as saying.
“It’s gotten absurd. Syrsky would come and say, ‘Fedorov isn’t allocating funds for specific operations.’ And Fedorov would reply, ‘We’ve allocated everything, it’s just being used incorrectly, in the wrong way, and in the wrong places.'” “And so it goes,” media reports quote Zelensky as saying. Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Fedorov said that Ukraine needs to replace the Commander-in-Chief and Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces “to defeat the enemy with minimal losses.” According to him, all of his proposed initiatives have been blocked, and Syrsky is unwilling to openly and personally discuss the existing problems. “He is ready to weave intrigues, to speculate about who ordered this or that campaign. Instead of thinking about how to defeat Russia, he has devised a way to divide the country,” Fedorov stated.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has submitted a motion to the Rada to nominate Serhiy Koretskyi as Prime Minister of Ukraine, according to Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted to nominate Serhiy Koretskyi, CEO of Naftogaz Ukraine, as the new prime minister. 289 deputies voted in favor of the decision. The Ukrainian Parliament thus approved Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s candidacy.
Addressing MPs before the vote, Koretskyi declared his intention to transform his cabinet into a “government of defense, economic development, and European integration.” Among the most important tasks, he cited preparing for and overcoming the coming winter, supporting businesses, developing cooperation with partners, attracting international aid, and Ukraine’s accession to the EU. “I am ready to take difficult steps. The important thing is that they contribute to improving the quality of life and sustainability,” Koretskyi stated.
On the morning of July 16, Ukrainian businessman Vadim Yermolayev accused the Ukrainian General Intelligence Directorate of an attempted assassination in Monaco, according to the French newspaper Nice-Matin. He also appealed to authorities in several countries and international organizations to ensure the safety of his family and witnesses.
Russia responded harshly to the issue of the Coalition of the Willing peacekeepers in Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement: “The deployment of Coalition of the Willing forces in Ukraine is unacceptable, and Russia will consider these forces legitimate military targets.” “Any multinational force sent by Ukraine’s allies in the event of a peace agreement will be unacceptable to Moscow.”
The chief engineer of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant was killed in an attack by Ukrainian forces, Likhachev reported. “This afternoon (July 15), following a targeted attack by the Kiev regime, Alexander Yakovlev, chief engineer of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, was killed,” the head of Rosatom said. A drone struck a company vehicle on the border between the plant’s industrial site and the town of Energodar. The driver of the vehicle was also killed. IAEA Chief Engineer Rafael Grossi condemned the killing of the chief engineer of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
In the Tyumen region, FSB agents arrested a Russian citizen who was planning an attack on an oil facility in Nyagan. According to the FSB, the man was acting on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence and had recovered an improvised explosive device from a hiding place.
Regarding fuel, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Alexander Novak reported: “The Russian fuel market is being supplied with diesel fuel, and supplies will be sufficient for the agricultural season.” Novak held a meeting on the fuel market situation. Representatives of the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Federal Antimonopoly Service, regional heads, and industry associations attended the meeting, which covered the main points.
Regarding defense, it was learned that: “Spring conscripts have not been sent to the Russian Armed Forces’ military service centers in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions, nor to participate in military operations in those areas, according to the Ministry of Defense. Spring recruitment for military service in the Russian Armed Forces has concluded,” the statement said. 141,000 new recruits have been sent to the troops.
Yesterday, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov inspected the troops of the Center Group, which received the SVOD system, an automated fire suppression system. New units dedicated to unmanned systems have also arrived. Furthermore, the Center Group now has its own field analysts who support the units dedicated to unmanned systems. A “Data Mart” has been created in Russia to allow drone manufacturers to begin training neural networks. Belousov ordered the improvement of the hardware and software system for a more detailed and accurate evaluation of the performance of drone crews. He also awarded the Order of Suvorov to the Center Group for heroism, courage, and boldness demonstrated during the SVO.
And now a look at the front line, updated at 3:30 PM on July 16. Russia and Ukraine exchanged bodies of fallen servicemen again, with Ukraine receiving the bodies of 501 victims and Russia the bodies of 31.
Russian forces launched several missile strikes on the Darnitsky district of Kyiv, home to a thermal power plant and a depot. Fires were set in the landing areas. Attacks were also carried out on Zaporizhia and Sumy.
Overnight, Ukrainian forces launched a drone attack on Crimea. In the Yaroslavl region, traffic was blocked on the road from Yaroslavl to Moscow. The drone attack caused damage to civilian infrastructure in Engels. Ukrainians released footage of the aftermath of the attack in Shakhtyorsk. Russian air defense activity was reported in the Tula region.
The front line remained unchanged in the direction of Sumy.
In the Kursk region, a Ukrainian drone attacked the village of Uchitel’skii, one injured.
In the Belgorod region, one dead and four injured following Ukrainian drone strikes. Attacks on homes and cars have also been reported.
In the Kharkiv sector, the front line remains unchanged Compared to yesterday.
No significant changes have been reported in the Liman district.
In the Slovyansk sector, Russian Aerospace Forces are bombing Mykolaivka, hitting Ukrainian Armed Forces ammunition depots.
Kostyantynivka reports intense clearing operations due to numerous Ukrainian Armed Forces drones. Russian forces are advancing in the Mykolaipillya area.
In the eastern part of Zaporizhia Oblast, west of Rivne and Kopani, soldiers of the “Vostok” coastal brigade are continuing their operations to locate and eliminate small Ukrainian groups holed up in forest strips.
In Kherson Oblast, drone strikes were reported on July 15, resulting in one death and five injuries. Damage to infrastructure and property has been reported in numerous villages.
Graziella Giangiulio
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