Russia is launching several duty-free shops accessible only to diplomats, employees of embassies, consulates, international organizations, and their families. The shops will open in Moscow and St. Petersburg with prices listed in rubles, U.S. dollars, and euros and will be operated by the Russian foreign ministry and another local entity chosen in a competition. The idea resembles that of Beriozka stores, state-run shops in the USSR to which only foreign tourists with hard currency had access.
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Ukraine war latest: Drones attack Russia's Black Sea Fleet; Russian pipelines explode in country's Far East, HUR says
Pipelines supplying Russian military explode in Russia's Far East, HUR source says
Ukrainian drone strike on Russian airfield hits bomb depot, aircraft
Drones reportedly attack Russia's Black Sea fleet
'Impeccable results' — New Skynex video shows Ukrainian forces destroying Russian drones with German gun
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Saturday, July 19
(Updated: )
At least one person was killed and three were injured as a fire engulfed a residential building amid a Russian drone attack on Odesa overnight on July 19.
Russian strikes killed at least seven people and injured 31 others in multiple regions over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian regional authorities said on July 19.
(Updated: )
Ukrainian hackers wipe databases at Russia's Gazprom in major cyberattack, intelligence source says.
The cyberattack allegedly destroyed large volumes of data and installed custom software designed to further damage the company's information systems.
Russia has lost 1,040,950 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on July 19.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on July 18 signed an order withdrawing Moscow from a military technical cooperation agreement with Germany amid strained relations between the two countries.
The "Darts" twin-engine strike drone is capable of traveling over 40 kilometers (25 miles) and carries a payload of 12-14 kilograms as opposed to the company's pre-existing single engine drone which can handle a maximum of 8 kilograms.
Saturday, July 19
Russian air defense units intercepted 13 drones flying towards Moscow in under two hours, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported at around 1:46 a.m. local time on July 19.
The U.S. will send its next Patriot system to Germany rather than Switzerland, in order to speed up Berlin's shipment of two Patriot batteries to Ukraine, officials said.
The tanks were promised to Kyiv in October 2024, but delivery was reportedly delayed due to resistance from the U.S. The remaining tanks will arrive "in the coming months."
"I will be looking for a person to lead this area," First Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote.
"The enemy continues to use small infantry groups, but they are powerless in their attempts to capture Pokrovsk," Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, reported July 18.
"For us, the absolute top priority is, first and foremost, to do everything possible to end this war," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.
The Russian oil giant has been trying to sell its 49.13% stake in India's Nayara refinery, but the EU's latest sanctions package could make such a deal too risky for buyers.
