Ukraine steps up counterattack
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on July 27 that the Ukrainian army had stepped up its counterattack, but suffered heavy losses in the process, according to RT.
Over the past 24 hours, Ukraine launched a major attack on Russian positions in Zaporizhzhia province, but the Russian military repelled the attack, Putin revealed while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg.
Quick view: Day 518 of conflict, Ukraine launches massive counterattack, still wary of Russia's Su-35
"The enemy used a large number of heavy armored vehicles, about 50 of them. About 39 of them, namely 26 tanks and 13 armored vehicles, were destroyed," Putin said. President Putin noted that about 60 percent of Ukrainian armored vehicles were eliminated by Russian ground forces, while the rest were attacked by Russian aircraft.
Ukrainian servicemen load ammunition into a rocket launcher in Zaporizhzhia on July 13.
Mr Putin revealed that the Ukrainian army had suffered heavy casualties in the fighting, with more than 200 soldiers killed. He acknowledged that the Russian army had suffered casualties in repelling the attack, but described the difference between the two sides’ losses as “huge”. He said Ukraine had lost 10 times more soldiers than Russia in the battle.
Earlier, Western media quoted two US defense officials as saying that Ukraine had deployed its main reserve force to join the counterattack and may have found Russia's weak spot. The offensive moved south, passing through Russian minefields and fortifications to the cities of Tomak and Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia province near the Sea of Azov.
The US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) confirmed that Ukrainian forces launched a major counteroffensive in Zaporizhzhia on July 26 and appeared to have broken through several Russian defensive positions south of Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Did the West know that Ukraine did not have enough weapons and training to counterattack?
On the other hand, the Russian Defense Ministry said on July 27 that Ukrainian forces were continuing “unsuccessful” attacks on several fronts, TASS reported. The ministry said that Russian forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks around the village of Klishchiivka near the city of Bakhmut (Donetsk region) and north of Robotyne on the front line in the Zaporizhzhia region.
On the same day, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that it had foiled a terrorist attack on a warship of the Black Sea Fleet and arrested a Russian sailor. The suspect possessed two homemade bombs and was also suspected of passing state secrets to Ukraine.
Kyiv lacks the means to defend itself against attacks on its grain infrastructure by Russia, which is blocking “virtually all” of Ukraine’s ports, Ukrainian military spokeswoman Nataliya Gumenyuk told AFP on July 26.
"We need missile defense and air defense systems. Systems that are strengthened, powerful, modern and capable of countering the types of missiles that the enemy uses against us," Gumenyuk said.
Conflict Paradox: Ukrainian Tanks Run on Russian Oil?
Ukraine has received advanced air defence systems from Western allies, including the US Patriot system, but Ms Gumenyuk said Russia was "constantly improving its tactics".
In July, Russia pulled out of a landmark deal that allowed the shipment of about 33 million tons of grain from Ukrainian ports via the Black Sea. Since the deal expired, “almost all ports are blocked, no ships can leave,” Gumenyuk said. Attacks on the southwestern region of Odessa on the Black Sea coast have increased since then.
A grain warehouse in the village of Pavlivka, Odessa region was attacked on July 20.
Ms Gumenyuk said Ukraine needed air defences quickly to protect grain production facilities from such attacks. “We won’t need them in two or three months. Because we might not have any ports left,” she warned.
Meanwhile, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian President, told The Guardian in an interview in Kyiv that Ukraine does not have enough air defense systems to cover all regions of the country.
Russian Su-35 fighter jets are the main threat to Ukraine's air force
Ukraine has only two Patriot systems from the US and Germany. Mr. Podolyak said that 10-12 more of these systems or similar systems are needed to protect the entire territory.
The Ukrainian parliament on July 27 voted to extend martial law for another 90 days until November 15, ruling out the possibility of holding parliamentary elections in October, according to Reuters.
Ukraine introduced martial law on February 24, 2022, the day Russia launched its “special military operation.” The law, which prohibits Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country, has since been extended several times.
Lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said on the messaging app Telegram that a majority of lawmakers voted to extend martial law during a session of Ukraine's parliament.
Elections cannot be held under martial law, and with the whole of Ukraine scheduled to vote in October for a new parliament, this would be the first time a major national vote has been postponed due to fighting. Ukraine is due to hold a presidential election in March next year, but it is unclear whether it will take place.
What is noteworthy about the Russia-Africa Summit?
"Boss" Wagner reappears in Russia?
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the private military company Wagner, was seen in St. Petersburg meeting with an African official on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit, according to accounts linked to the mercenary group.
The identity of the official has not yet been determined, but he was wearing a lanyard similar to those worn by other officials at the summit, CNN reported. The official is believed to be a member of the Central African Republic delegation to the Russia-Africa summit.
The photo is said to show Mr. Prigozhin and an African official in St. Petersburg.
CNN SCREENSHOT
If confirmed, it would be Mr Prigozhin’s first public appearance in Russia since last month’s armed uprising. Since the uprising, Mr Prigozhin has only been seen in public on July 19, when he appeared in a video in Belarus, welcoming Wagner members to his base in the country.
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