Ukraine attacked Belgorod Oblast, Russian governor claims

In what could be one of the last visits by journalists to Pokrovsk, the Kyiv Independent spent 24 hours in the front-line city, embedded with a drone team of Ukraine’s 68th Jaeger Brigade.

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.

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.

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.