Key updates on July 23:
- Ukraine confirms Russian ferry 'seriously damaged' in attack on Crimea
- Ukraine shoots down another Russian Su-25 jet in Donetsk Oblast
- 55% of Ukrainians oppose territorial concessions to achieve peace, poll finds
- Ukraine and Moldova in talks about returning draft dodgers
- Russian attacks against Ukraine injure 36 over past day
A Ukrainian attack on occupied Crimea overnight resulted in a ferry used by Russian forces to transport military equipment being "seriously damaged," the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on July 23.
It did not specify what was used to carry out the attack but Russia earlier claimed its forces downed 21 Ukrainian drones over Crimea and the Black Sea early on July 23, while local Telegram channels reported explosions on the peninsula.
The drones attacked the ship at the Port of Kavkaz, which lies in the Kerch Strait separating the peninsula from Russia's Krasnodar Krai, the region's governor, Veniamin Kondratyev, claimed.
According to Kondratyev, one person was killed and "there were injured" in the attack.
Traffic was reportedly halted on the Kerch Bridge connecting mainland Russia with occupied Crimea, Astra reported.
In a post on Telegram, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces identified the ferry as the "Slavyanin."
"The occupiers used this ferry to transport railway wagons, motor vehicles and containers for military purposes," it said.
"Slavyanin is the third and last railway ferry that the Russian Federation had in the specified region."
The ferry crossing, representing a key logistical connection between the occupied peninsula and mainland Russia, was hit several times in late May with Ukrainian drones and missiles.
Nate Ostiller
Ukraine shoots down another Russian Su-25 jet in Donetsk Oblast
Ukrainian soldiers shot down a Russian Su-25 attack jet near Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, the Khortytsia group of forces said on July 23.
Anti-air units shot the plane down as it was attempting to fire on Ukrainian positions, the statement said. The Khortytsia group of forces also shared a video that showed an anti-aircraft missile being launched and striking a plane in the distance.
The Soviet-designed Su-25, nicknamed "Frogfoot" by NATO, is a heavily armored ground-attack aircraft. It has seen extensive use by both sides in Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
Four days earlier, the Khortytsia group of forces said it had shot down another Russian Su-25 jet near Pokrovsk.
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said earlier on July 23 that Russia has lost 362 airplanes since the beginning of the full-scale war.
The area near Pokrovsk, a town less than 50 kilometers (around 30 miles) northwest of occupied Donetsk, has become one of the hottest parts of the front in the past months.
Chris York
55% of Ukrainians oppose territorial concessions to achieve peace, poll finds
The number of Ukrainians opposed to territorial concessions to Russia in exchange for peace has continued to fall in recent months, reaching 55% in May, according to a poll released by the Kyiv International Institute for Sociology (KIIS) on July 23.
Similar KIIS polls conducted in February and December 2023 found that 65% and 74% were opposed, respectively.
Correspondingly, the number of respondents who said they would accept ceding territory in order to "achieve peace and preserve independence" has risen to 32% in May, the poll found.
There was some geographical variation in the results, with the highest level of opposition to any kind of territorial concession coming from the west of the country (60%) and the lowest from the south (46%).
When asked about a possible set of acceptable conditions for peace, the highest number of respondents (62%) said that a situation in which Ukraine regains all occupied territories and becomes a member of the EU but refuses to join NATO would have the broadest level of support.
Another proposal, in which Ukraine de facto ceded control of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, as well as Crimea, but regained full control of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts and joined NATO and the EU, came in second place at 53%.
Despite the shifting attitudes over territorial concessions over time, "Ukrainians are against 'peace on any terms,'" said KIIS Director Anton Hrushetskyi.
"The priority requirement is safety and really convincing guarantees. If there is no convincing security configuration, Ukrainians will not accept such an option."
The notion of offering territorial concessions in exchange for peace has continued to be controversial in Ukraine. Many fear that such a move would only create a temporary cessation of fighting that would, in turn, allow Russia to reconstitute its forces and lead to a resumption of the war in the future.
There is also increasing external pressure on Ukraine to accept territorial concessions as a means of securing a ceasefire.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has repeatedly touted a plan to bring the war to an immediate end if he wins in November. The plan reportedly involves ceding territory to Russia, though Trump has provided minimal details on the specifics of his proposal.
Trump will run alongside his vice presidential running mate, Senator JD Vance, who is thought to be an even more outspoken opponent of U.S. support for Ukraine, and has openly endorsed territorial concessions as part of a potential peace deal.
Owen Racer
Ukraine and Moldova in talks about returning draft dodgers
Kyiv and Chisinau are discussing the possibility of returning Ukrainian draft dodgers staying in Moldova, some of whom have been granted asylum in the country, Ukraine's ambassador Marko Shevchenko said on July 23.
Men of draft age are banned from leaving Ukraine during martial law, with several exemptions.
There are no official figures for the number of people who have illegally left the country but a November 2023 report by the BBC indicated around 20,000 Ukrainian men have crossed into bordering countries and escaped mobilization.
The majority of these attempts occur on Ukraine's border with Moldova and Romania, while the border with Poland sees the largest number of attempts to leave Ukraine through checkpoints with forged documents, State Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko, said in April.
"When I talk to colleagues, I say that if we cannot solve a big problem, it's better to solve smaller ones individually—what to do with people whom Moldova has denied asylum," Shevchenko said in comments reported by RBC Ukraine.
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, there have been multiple reports of men attempting to illegally flee Ukraine by swimming the Tysa River, which flows along the border with Hungary, Romania, and Moldova.
Francis Farrell
Russian attacks against Ukraine injure 36 over past day
Russian attacks across Ukraine injured at least 36 people over the past day, including children, regional authorities reported early on July 23.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down seven of the eight Shahed-type kamikaze drones launched overnight, the Air Force said.
One Kh-69 cruise missile was diverted from its target by active countermeasures, according to the report.
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, five people were injured during Russian attacks against the Nikopol district, Governor Serhii Lysak said.
Two five-story buildings, around 10 houses, and other civilian property were damaged, he added.
In Donetsk Oblast, 15 people were injured during Russian strikes over the past day, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin.
Four suffered injures in Kostiantynivka, other four in Perebudova, two in Rozdolne, two in Hrodivka, and one each in Holubivka, Lyman, and Sontsivka, the governor said.
A Russian drone attack against Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast shortly after midnight on July 23 injured a 42-year-old man, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Three women and one man were injured during Russian attacks across the oblast on July 22, Syniehubov reported.
Russian attacks against Kherson Oblast injured seven people over the past day, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Around 30 houses, a gas pipeline, and other property were damaged, he said.
Four people, including a 17-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl, were injured during a Russian artillery attack against Ochakiv on Mykolaiv Oblast early on July 23, Governor Vitalii Kim said.
An apartment building was damaged in the strike, he added.
Chernihiv, Luhansk, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts also came under attack, but no casualties were reported.
Nate Ostiller
