Russian forces advance in Kharkiv, Donetsk and ballistic attack on Kyiv
The Ukrainian capital Kyiv and its surrounding areas witnessed an intensified Russian missile attack on Saturday night and early Sunday, July 19, which was described as the most violent in weeks.
Ukrainian media reported that Russian forces fired more than 20 ballistic missiles, killing and wounding at least 14 people, coinciding with an internal political crisis ravaging the country following the dismissal of Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that Russian ballistic strikes resulted in large-scale fires in residential buildings, student dormitories and a supermarket, as well as the destruction of administrative facilities and commercial warehouses in the Svyatoshensky, Dniprovsky and Shevchenkivsky neighborhoods.
Klitschko pointed out that the force of the explosions led to the activation of car alarms in the city center, while rescue teams of the State Emergency Authority moved to search for those trapped under the charred rubble, at a time when Ukraine's defenses suffer from a severe shortage of American-made ballistic repelling systems.
The Russian attack came in response to Ukrainian drones on Saturday targeting warehouses belonging to a major Russian e-commerce company in the Moscow and Tambov regions, killing 8 people and setting out huge fires in Russian industrial zones.
Zelensky discusses military adjustments
On the domestic political front, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced intensive consultations with outgoing Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Army Chief Oleksandr Syrsky.
In his evening speech, Zelensky stressed that he would listen to the demands of the street, promising to formulate imminent decisions and reforms related to the Ukrainian army, without revealing their details, in an attempt to calm the deteriorating situation on the ground and political.
Popular protests continue in the streets of the capital Kyiv for the third day in a row, denouncing the decision to dismiss Fedorov, 35, who for six months led efforts to digitize the army and develop the drone weapon, with demonstrators holding banners demanding the dismissal of army chief Sersky.
Fedorov launched a sharp attack on Syrsky, accusing him of stalemate and dividing the country, while intelligence officer Yevhenny Chamara took over as acting defense minister pending a parliamentary vote.
Broad Russian Advance and New Control
On the ground, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Valery Gerasimov, announced that the Zapad (West) group of forces is advancing flexibly on a wide front, stressing the extension of full control over the town of Mirnoy, and the nearness to the control of the towns of Shevchenko, Krasnoyarskoye, and Svetli, amid the continuous retreat of Ukrainian forces due to the lack of supplies and air cover.
Russian military expert Andrei Marochko explained that Russian forces managed to expel Ukrainian units from the town of Volokkhovskoye in Kharkiv Oblast, and began fierce battles for control of the neighboring town of Zakharovka, making tangible progress towards the strategic Volchansk sector, and fully expanding its security belts over the past week.
In the Slavyansk and Kramatorsk directions of the Donetsk Oblast, units of the Russian Third Army took control of the town of Peskovka and reached the outskirts of Nikolaivka, with advancing forces stationed less than 5 kilometers from the eastern outskirts of the city of Kramatorsk.
In parallel, the Russian "Center" group continues its advance north of the city of Krasnoarmysk, where it is currently engaged in fierce battles inside the cities of Dubrovole and Anovka.