Key updates on July 25:
- Russia will be forced to scale down its attacks in a month and a half, Ukrainian commander says
- Kherson Oblast fortifications are 97% complete, Shmyhal says
- Peace talks impossible without Russia, China at table, Czech president says
- Romania confirms Russian drone debris landed on its territory
- Kyiv uncovers suspected Russian agent network planning sabotage in Ukraine, Europe
Russia will be unable to maintain the scale of its attacks in multiple sectors for a long time because its "capabilities are not unlimited," General Oleksandr Pivnenko, the commander of Ukraine's National Guard, said in an interview with Ukrinform published on July 25.
Moscow's troops have been putting ever-growing pressure on Ukraine along the front, attempting to break through Ukrainian defenses near Pokrovsk while capturing the eastern part of Chasiv Yar.
Ukraine was also forced to withdraw from Krynky on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.
Kyiv's forces managed to halt the Russian advance near Kharkiv but Russia continues to hold a handful of settlements in the area.
"The enemy's offensive capabilities are not unlimited, considering the losses they suffer," Pivnenko told Ukrinform.
"In another month and a half, they will not be able to conduct active assaults in many directions at once and will switch to defense."
Pivnenko stressed that at a time when Russia will be replenishing its troops, Ukraine must pay attention to preparing its own reserves and armament. If Ukraine plans "one step ahead of Russia, then everything will be fine," he added.
"The most important thing that can be done now is training, development of training centers, procurement of weapons and military equipment, production of military equipment, drones, armored vehicles, air defense systems, man-portable air defense systems, and ammunition," Pivnenko said.
Natalia Yermak
Kherson Oblast fortifications are 97% complete, Shmyhal says
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on July 25 that he had inspected the construction of fortifications in Kherson Oblast.
"In Kherson Oblast, the construction works are complete at 97%," Shmyhal said on his Telegram channel.
The authorities have long been criticized for slow progress in building up fortifications along the front lines. The criticism only grew stronger after Russian forces broke into the northern part of Kharkiv Oblast in May.
"Building fortifications is a priority for the leader of every front-line oblast. This year, the government allocated Hr 2 billion (around $50 million) to Kherson Oblast for this task," Shmyhal said.
Ukraine pushed Russian forces from the west-bank side of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast in late 2022, but Moscow continues to occupy the east bank.
Reports emerged last week that Ukraine was forced to withdraw from Krynky, a key beachhead on the east bank it had held for months.
Nate Ostiller
Peace talks impossible without Russia, China at table, Czech president says
Peace negotiations on the war in Ukraine will be impossible without the participation of Russia and China, Czech President Petr Pavel told CTK in an interview published on July 25.
While around 100 countries and organizations attended Ukraine's global peace summit in Switzerland in June, Moscow was not invited to take part, and Beijing did not accept the invitation.
Kyiv has said it plans to convene a second peace summit before the end of 2024.
"Without Russia and China at the table, there really won't be any peace negotiations," Pavel told CTV.
Pavel described the peace summit in Switzerland as a "kick-off" to start the process of political negotiations toward peace. "The important thing is that the process has started."
The Czech president also singled out China as an "important global player" economically but currently not a leading power "in the politics of promoting peace."
Beijing has positioned itself as neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war but has simultaneously deepened economic ties with Moscow and backed the country against Western sanctions.
China has also emerged as one of Russia's leading sources of dual-use goods that feed the Russian defense industry.
Russia and China should be reminded "that there is a need to respect the rules we agreed upon after the Second World War, according to which the world has been operating for 80 years and should continue to operate," Pavel said.
"We should try to improve those rules, not eliminate them," Pavel added.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba arrived in China on July 23 and went on to hold talks lasting more than three hours with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Guangzhou on July 24.
Kuleba said after the meeting that China remains "unshakably" committed to Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address the same evening that China confirmed that it will not provide Russia with weapons.
"China has always been firmly committed to promoting a political solution to the crisis," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website on July 24.
Nate Ostiller
Romania confirms Russian drone debris landed on its territory
Romania's Defense Ministry confirmed on July 25 that it had found Russian drone fragments near the town of Plauru, across the Danube River from the Ukrainian city of Izmail.
The day before, the Romanian Air Force announced that it had scrambled its F-16 fighter jets in response to a Russian drone attack on Izmail district in Odesa Oblast.
It was not the first time that wreckage of drones, likely from Russia, has been found on Romanian territory, which is a NATO country. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Danube River that separates Ukraine and Romania.
"More heinous attacks have been perpetrated by Russia against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. Debris has been found on Romanian territory," Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu wrote on X.
The Defense Ministry confirmed that fragments of a Russian Geran 1/2-type drone had been found and said that an investigation into the possible locations of other debris would continue.
"While NATO has no information indicating any intentional attack by Russia against allied territory, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous," a NATO spokesperson said about the news, as cited by Reuters.
In a statement posted on its official website, the Defense Ministry said that it "sends a firm message of condemnation of these attacks carried out by Russia against some objectives and elements of Ukrainian civil infrastructure, which are unjustified and in serious contradiction with the norms of international law."
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said in September 2023 that while Russian drones are not intentionally targeting Romania, the situation is still "unacceptable."
Romania has taken measures to protect its citizens who live close to the Ukrainian border, including the construction of air raid shelters and the deployment of drone defense
Nate Ostiller
Kyiv uncovers suspected Russian agent network planning sabotage in Ukraine, Europe
Ukrainian law enforcement agencies cracked down on a Russian-run network planning arson attacks in populated areas of Ukraine and the EU, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on July 25.
The perpetrators intended to target shopping centers, gas stations, pharmacies, and markets in Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic countries on the instruction of Russian intelligence services, according to the statement.
Western intelligence services have warned about increasing Russian sabotage operations across Europe to sow social instability and undermine support for Ukraine.
The SBU said that the group consisted of 19 people based in Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. They were to be dispatched abroad under falsified documents, the agency added.
The perpetrators were then supposed to record the acts of sabotage and send the footage to Russian intelligence services, which would use it for information operations and destabilization purposes.
The searches uncovered falsified documents, assault rifles, pistols, and large sums of cash, the SBU said. The suspected organizer of the group and one of the accomplices were charged with treason and forgery, facing life in prison.
Efforts to bring the other suspects to justice are ongoing, according to the SBU.
Rachel Amran
