Ukraine war latest: General staff announces manpower allocation audit in first major reform under Drapatyi
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Key developments on July 29:
- Ukraine's General Staff announces audit of unit staffing, manpower allocation, as Drapatyi takes charge
- Major oil refinery, Wildberries warehouse hit in Ukrainian strikes on Russia's Ryazan Oblast
- Putin no longer holds upper hand in war, still won't budge on ceasefire, Zelensky says
- Russian forces kill bread van driver in Kherson as attacks injure 30 across Ukraine over past day
- Death toll from Russian strike on Kyiv arms exhibition rises to 12, Prosecutor General's Office says
Ukraine's General Staff announced on July 29 an audit of combat unit staffing and manpower allocation under its new commander, General Mykhailo Drapatyi.
The move comes after long-standing criticism of Drapatyi's predecessor as Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, over the disproportionate diversion of Ukraine's scarce mobilized recruits to newly formed brigades and assault units widely criticized as ineffective and notorious for abuse, violence, and wasteful attacks.
"The key goal is to assess the actual state of manning in brigades, regiments, and corps, analyze the effectiveness of personnel distribution among units, and identify ways to improve personnel management," the General Staff's announcement read.
The military's handling of manpower became a major source of public criticism of Syrskyi, who was dismissed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 21 after protests over the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov expanded to include demands for his removal.
Major oil refinery, Wildberries warehouse hit in Ukrainian strikes on Russia's Ryazan Oblast
Ukrainian forces struck a major oil refinery and a logistics center in Ryazan, around 360 kilometers (224 miles) from the Ukrainian border, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 29.
Ukraine's General Staff separately confirmed the strike on the Ryazan Oil Refinery, saying it caused a fire on the facility's grounds.
Owned by Rosneft, the Ryazan Oil Refinery produces upwards of 17.1 million tons of oil per year and accounts for roughly 5% of the Russia's total processing output.
The facility has been a regular target of Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil infrastructure. A strike in May forced the Ryazan Oil Refinery to temporarily halt operations, contributing to a nationwide fuel crisis as Ukraine hammered refineries across Russia.
Zelensky did not identify the logistics center, though local residents and monitoring channels earlier reported that the facility was a Wildberries warehouse.
Zelensky also confirmed a strike on a Russian Black Sea Fleet speedboat base in occupied Crimea, as well as attacks on an export terminal and military facility in Rostov Oblast, and an oil refinery in Russia's Perm Krai.
Putin no longer holds upper hand in war, still won't budge on ceasefire, Zelensky says
Russian President Vladimir Putin has lost the initiative in the war with Ukraine, but refuses to declare a ceasefire, President Volodymyr Zelensky told Fox News in an interview on July 28.
Zelensky's comments followed a busy day in Washington, D.C., where he met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House and attended the funeral of the late Senator Lindsey Graham.
The president spoke to Fox News host Sean Hannity, who delivered the eulogy at Graham's funeral earlier in the day, about the changing dynamics in the Russia-Ukraine war — both on the battlefield and in diplomatic corridors behind the scenes.
"Now, the initiative is not in the hands of Putin," Zelensky said. "And this is the main thing that's been changed."
Zelensky attributed this change to Ukraine's rapidly advancing defense technology sector, commitment to minimizing battlefield losses, and support from allies — including Graham, who championed sanctions against Russia.
Russian forces kill bread van driver in Kherson as attacks injure 30 across Ukraine over past day
One person was killed and at least 30 others, including a child, were injured in Russian attacks across six Ukrainian oblasts over the past day, local authorities reported on July 29.
The fatality was reported during the morning rush hour on July 28, when a drone struck a bread delivery van in central Kherson and killed its driver.
"The word 'bread' was clearly written in large letters on the vehicle. The Russian operator could not have failed to see it, but still directed the drone straight into the windshield. Another deliberate attack on civilians," Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
Hours earlier, Russian Shahed-type drones had struck a residential area in the same district, damaging homes and a vehicle repair shop. Three men aged 44, 48, and 50 were injured, suffering blast injuries and shrapnel wounds.
Overall, Russia launched 80 drones at Ukraine overnight, the Air Force said. Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 65, while 14 struck ten locations. Debris from intercepted drones reportedly fell at two additional sites.
Death toll from Russian strike on Kyiv arms exhibition rises to 12, Prosecutor General’s Office says
A 20-year-old man who was critically injured in a Russian ballistic missile strike on Kyiv Oblast last week has died in hospital, bringing the death toll from the attack to 12, the Prosecutor General’s Office said on July 29.
The strike on July 24 hit a site where an arms exhibition was taking place, killing civilians and injuring more than 100 people, many of them representatives of Ukraine’s defense industry.
The attack came as Russia increasingly uses ballistic missiles against Kyiv and the surrounding region, while Ukraine faces shortages of missiles capable of intercepting them.
Seeking shelter remains one of the main ways civilians can protect themselves during an attack. Ballistic missiles, however, can reach the capital within minutes, leaving people little time to find cover.
According to investigators, Armada, a weapons manufacturers' association, organized the event, which included a presentation of air defense systems, without coordinating it with the relevant authorities.
