President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree to fire Ruslan Demchenko, first deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (RNBO), on July 25. Demchenko has occupied the post since June 2020. According to an investigation by RFE/RL's program Schemes published in November 2021, Demchenko lobbied for the signing of the so-called Kharkiv accords in 2010, an agreement between Ukraine and Russia that in exchange for some discounts on gas allowed Russia to extend the lease of its naval base in Crimea and eventually helped Russia in its 2014 occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula.
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Ukraine war latest: Drones attack Russia's Black Sea Fleet; Russian pipelines explode in country's Far East, HUR says
Pipelines supplying Russian military explode in Russia's Far East, HUR source says
Ukrainian drone strike on Russian airfield hits bomb depot, aircraft
Drones reportedly attack Russia's Black Sea fleet
'Impeccable results' — New Skynex video shows Ukrainian forces destroying Russian drones with German gun
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Friday, July 18
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The package targets 105 vessels of Russia's shadow fleet, the Russian banking system, Nord Stream pipelines, and lowers the price cap on Russian crude oil.
Rustem Umerov previously served as Ukraine's defense minister, a post he had held since September 2023.
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Allied capabilities now allow NATO to "take that (Kaliningrad) down from the ground" faster than ever before, U.S. Army Europe and Africa commander General Chris Donahue said.
Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down 11 Shahed-type drones overnight as Russia launched a wave of 35 attack drones, including decoy drones, primarily targeting eastern frontline regions. Six additional decoys were jammed or lost.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said four drones were shot down on approach to the capital, with blasts heard near Zvenigorod, Istra, and Zelenograd — suburban districts and satellite towns located to the west and northwest of central Moscow.
"Fighters from the 31st Separate Mechanized Brigade and the 505th Separate Marine Battalion have raised their battle flags in the settlements of Voskresenka and Yalta in Donetsk Oblast," the 20th Corps said in a statement on social media.
The number includes 1,180 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
Russian forces launched a series of overnight attacks across Ukraine on July 18, killing one person and injuring at least five others, according to local officials.
Friday, July 18
"We reject Hungary's manipulations, and we will not tolerate such disrespect for our military. Ukraine reserves the right to take appropriate action in response," Foreign Minister Adrii Sybiha.
All negotiating options have been exhausted for now, and continuing our blocking position would now endanger our interests," Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said.
European commercial satellites that Russia believes are aiding Ukraine are a legitimate target for signal jamming, Russia has told international regulators.
Germany will provide Ukraine with new long-range missiles "very shortly, very soon," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, without mentioning the name of the weapons being supplied.
The "Test in Ukraine" initiative will allow foreign companies and governments to create solutions for real war challenges while receiving immediate feedback from military personnel and improving products based on combat experience.
