Did you miss the latest developments on the war in Ukraine? 20 minutes gives you an update every evening. Between strong statements, advances on the front and the results of the fighting, here is the essential information from this Monday, July 22, the 880th day of conflict.
Today’s news
Ukraine has claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a refinery in southwestern Russia. A source in the Ukrainian defense establishment said several drones attacked the refinery in Tuapse, a city on the Black Sea coast in Russia’s Krasnodar region, causing a fire. “The extent of the damage is being clarified,” the source said, adding that the refinery is owned by Russian giant Rosneft and has a port terminal and that nearly 90% of its production is exported.
Russian regional authorities said on Telegram that nearly a hundred rescuers had been deployed and had brought the flames under control by early morning. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties. Meanwhile, the Russian military announced on Monday that it had shot down 80 Ukrainian drones during the night and early morning, including 47 in the southern Rostov region alone, which borders Ukraine.
The number of the day
6.5. Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison for spreading false information about the Russian army in Ukraine, the Russian judiciary said, having not announced the trial. “This secret trial and conviction are a travesty of justice. The only just conclusion would be Alsu’s immediate release,” said Stephen Capus, president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the American media outlet that employs the journalist.
Quote of the day
” Russia will be a shadow of its former self at the Paris Olympics. The transition from Olympic power to pariah country has been swift and striking. »
These are the words of Jules Boykoff, a US-based Olympic specialist, spoken four days before the opening of the Paris Games. While the French capital is preparing to welcome athletes from around the world for an Olympic Games synonymous with harmony, Russia, which has always been a key player in the Olympic Games, is being kept at a distance from the global event because of the war in Ukraine.
Banned as a nation, Russia will not broadcast the Games at home, according to Russian media, a decision with Cold War overtones, since Moscow’s boycott of the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. The Kremlin also deemed “unacceptable” on Monday the refusal of accreditation reported by the Russian news agency Ria Novosti concerning five of its sports journalists who were to cover the 2024 Olympics in France, at a time of heightened tensions between Paris and Moscow.
Today’s trend
The Kremlin limited itself to noting the “unfriendly rhetoric” towards Russia of US Vice President Kamala Harris, who appears to be the best placed in the Democratic camp to confront Donald Trump in the presidential election, after Joe Biden’s withdrawal. “We cannot assess Harris’ potential candidacy […] “Because so far her contribution to our relations has not been significant. She has made statements with rather unfriendly rhetoric towards our country,” Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters.
Asked again about President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race for the White House, Peskov was terse, saying that nothing surprised Russia anymore when it came to the United States, a country that Moscow considers decadent and an existential threat: “Honestly, everything that has happened in recent years in the United States has taught us not to be surprised by anything. So we were not very surprised.”
Our file on the war in Ukraine
“It is not for us to judge President Biden’s decision. The development of Russian-American relations is important, but the main thing is to achieve the goals of the special military operation,” Dmitry Peskov said, using the euphemism that is de rigueur in Russia to describe the assault on Ukraine.