Dismissed commander of the Joint Forces of Ukraine, Lt. Gen. Yurii Sodol: “A notoriously gruesome service” (Andrii Nesterenko/Global Images Ukraine/Getty)

Monday’s Coverage: Russian Officials Criticized Over Kyiv’s Missile Strikes on Occupied Crimea

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1715 GMT:

The European Union has formally launched membership talks with Ukraine and its neighbor Moldova.

Delegations met in Luxembourg, following the European Council’s clearance of the candidacies last week.

Both countries lodged applications soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted:

Moldova President Maia Sandu added, “Congratulations to President Zelenskiy and the Ukrainian people on the formal launch of EU accession negotiations today. Together, we stand united for a peaceful and prosperous future.”

UPDATE 1136 GMT:

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Russia’s former Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and the military head Gen. Valery Gerasimov over attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine.

The two men are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Ukraine Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak reacted, “Shoiygu and Gerasimov bear individual responsibility….[They] will held be responsible for evil.”

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy commented:

This decision is a clear indication that justice for Russian crimes against Ukrainians is inevitable. It clearly demonstrates that no military rank or cabinet door can shield Russian criminals from accountability.

We look forward to more arrest warrants in order to deprive Russia of its sense of impunity. The feeling that has fueled Russian crimes for decades. Accountability is the only way to put a stop to them.

UPDATE 1028 GMT:

The European Court of Human Rights has found that Russia committed multiple human rights violations since it occupied Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in spring 2014.

Ruling in a case brought by Ukraine, the court said the breaches include violations of the right to life, the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment, freedom of religion, and freedom of expression.

Ukraine cited a Russian pattern of persecution of Ukrainians for their political stance or activity.

The ECHR ruled, “The Court held unanimously…that Russia had to take measures as soon as possible for the safe return of the relevant prisoners transferred from Crimea to penal facilities located on the territory of the Russian Federation.”

UPDATE 0724 GMT:

The head of Ukraine military intelligence, Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, says Western military assistance is arriving in Ukraine. However, it will likely not be at a scale significantly affecting the frontline until mid-July at the earliest.

“There is a question of volume,” Budanov said. “No Armageddon will emerge” [on the frontline], but the situation will remain difficult for at least a month.

A unit commander in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, where a Russian offensive is trying to seize territory, said there were no further fears of running short of 155 mm shells.

There was “shell hunger”. Ammunition was rationed quite severely. It had an impact on infantry. They [Russians] crept from all sides, it hurt the infantrymen.

Now, there is no more shell hunger and we work well.

Budanov said a sufficient supply of American long-range ATACMS missiles could enable Ukrainian forces to strike the Kerch Strait Bridge, connecting southwest Russia with occupied Crimea. This would finally sever an important Russian ground line of communication, isolating Crimea.

The Kerch Bridge, Vladimir Putin’s flagship project opened in 2018, was damaged by Ukrainian attacks in October 2022 and July 2023.

UPDATE 0659 GMT:

The Ukraine Navy says it destroyed 120 Iran-type drones in a strike on a Russian storage and training facility on Friday.

The strike was on the the 726th Air Defense Training Center in the Krasnodar region in southwest Russia. Posting footage, the Navy also claimed casualties among Russian instructors and technical staff.

UPDATE 0638 GMT:

The US will announce a $150 million military aid package to Ukraine on Tuesday.

Two US officials confirmed that the package will include HIMARS rockets, anti-armor weaponry, small arms, grenades, and 155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has replaced a senior military commander accused of unnecessarily causing heavy losses among troops, as the Ukrainians try to hold back a Russian offensive in the east.

Zelenskiy announced on Monday that he replaced the Joint Forces Commander, Lt. Gen. Yurii Sodol, with Brig. Gen. Andrii Hnatov.

On Sunday, Lt. Col. Bohdan Krotevych, an Azov Brigade commander, revealed that he filed an official complaint to the State Bureau of Investigation seeking an inquiry: “I wrote to the SBI calling for an investigation into one military general, who, in my opinion, has killed more Ukrainian soldiers than any Russian general.”

In his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskiy referred to Sodol’s dismissal without giving any reason.

Lt. Col. Krotevych responded, “Hnatov is a very good officer. I hope the news at the front will get better.”

Sodol was Commander of Joint Forces since February 11, 2024. Illia Ponomarenko, the former defense correspodent of the Kyiv Independent, said the general was an “extremely unpopular high-ranking military commander with a notoriously gruesome service”.

Hnatov had been the Deputy Commander of the Southern Operational Command since 2022, leading the successful liberation of much of the Kherson region.