John Kirby, chief U.S. National Security Council spokesperson, said on July 19 that Russia is “laying the groundwork” to annex Ukrainian territories it fully or partially controls, including Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts. Kirby said Russia has started to appoint illegitimate proxies and plans to hold “sham referenda,” transition the currency to the ruble, and force residents to apply for Russian citizenship. The Kremlin is “dusting off the playbook from 2014,” Kirby said, referring to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea.
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News Feed
Thursday, July 17
U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed weapons deal for Ukraine caught NATO allies off guard, with European diplomats saying they weren’t consulted ahead of the announcement, Reuters reported on July 16.
Russian forces dropped a 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) aerial bomb on a shopping center in Donetsk Oblast, killing at least two people and injuring 27 others, regional officials reported July 16.
Moscow needs to urgently raise more money as shrinking oil and gas revenues and a worsening economic outlook continue to strain the federal budget, a senior Russian lawmaker warned on July 16.
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"Today, I have already signed documents to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine regarding Denys Shmyhal as the new defense minister," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
German-Ukrainian defense technology company Quantum Systems has acquired a 10% stake in Frontline, a Ukrainian defense robotics firm, Quantum Systems announced in a press release on July 16.
The proposed package doubles the current Ukraine Facility budget of 50 billion euros, which was approved in February 2024 and runs through 2027.
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In a statement, the local affiliate — known as White Phoenix — praised its "comrades" for the July 10 killing of the colonel. Sources in the counter-terrorism field consider the group's claim credible, the Guardian reported.
Ukraine's parliament approved a Hr 412.4 billion ($9.8 billion) increase in defense spending in the first reading, Ukraine’s Finance Ministry announced in a press release on July 16.
The Kyiv Independent's Deputy Chief Editor Oleksiy Sorokin spoke with Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa during her visit to Kyiv on July 15, following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of his deal with NATO to arm Ukraine and his threat to impose severe sanctions on Russia if it doesn't reach a peace deal with Ukraine within the next 50 days.
"Many statements have been made, many words of disappointment have been spoken, but we want to hope that pressure is being exerted on the Ukrainian side," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
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Lilia Averianova, the mother of late MiG-29 pilot Andrii "Juice" Pilshchykov, told Suspilne that investigators came to the Kharkiv apartment on July 11 and demanded entry, threatening to break down the door.
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The move comes after President Volodymyr Zelensky tapped First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko to replace Shmyhal after he had held the office for more than five years.
The mayor of the Latvian town of Ogre, Egils Helmanis was injured while delivering vehicles and other support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
