Russia appoints new commander of Russian forces fighting in Ukraine

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for Russia's war against Ukraine to be frozen and urged a return to peace negotiations based on a revised version of the Istanbul talks.

Regional authorities reported that a mass Ukrainian drone attack damaged a residential building, a gas pipe, and unspecified "commercial property." While the facility was not identified, the report follows a string of Ukrainian strikes on logistics centers serving the Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries.

The devastation was particularly severe in Sloviansk, a front-line Donetsk Oblast city that remains home to over 40,000 residents.

The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko embed with the 15th Brigade of Ukraine’s National Guard, also known as Kara Dag, part of the 1st Azov Corps, joining an FPV drone team living and fighting out of the city’s basements.

Air-raid sirens rang out around 11:20 a.m., with Ukraine's Air Force reporting Russian missiles heading to the Ukrainian capital.

The number includes 1,450 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

The cause of the fire remains unclear. Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry announced a drone threat over Saratov Oblast the night of the fire, and the air base has been targeted in several previous Ukrainian strikes.

Russia plans to launch a massive missile attack against Ukraine within 48 hours and is preparing for a "significant" wave of mobilization in the fall, President Volodymyr Zelensky said July 24.

Two air-dropped bombs were used in the morning attack, said regional governor Vadym Filashkin, repeating calls for the remaining residents of the city to evacuate to safer areas.

Protesters now say their campaign will continue indefinitely until Mykhailo Fedorov is returned to the Defense Ministry.

The grain corridor — a Black Sea shipping route that handles 90% of Ukraine’s agricultural exports — has not been officially closed, but it is under enormous strain as Russia steps up missile attacks on Odesa Oblast, Oleh Khomenko, CEO of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB), told the Kyiv Independent on July 24.

The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell speaks with Bohdan Krotevych, a Ukrainian military veteran, former chief of staff of the Azov Brigade, and one of the most outspoken critics of former Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.