A high-rise apartment block burns after Russian strikes on Odesa, Ukraine, July 19, 2025
Friday’s Coverage: EU Nears 18th Sanctions Package on Russia
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1418 GMT:
Journalists from the Kyiv Independent spend 24 hours inside the embattled city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, which Russian forces have been trying to overrun for a year.
UPDATE 1109 GMT:
Cyber-specialists in Ukraine’s military intelligence agency HUR carried out a large-scale attack against the network infrastructure of Russian energy giant Gazprom, causing significant disruptions, says an HUR official.
Thursday’s operation targeted systems used by Gazprom and its subsidiaries. The official reported the destruction of large volumes of data and installation of custom software designed to further damage Gazprom’s information systems.
Access to Gazprom’s internal systems was disabled for nearly 20,000 system administrators, and backup copies of key databases were wiped. Approximately 390 subsidiary companies and branches, including Gazprom Teplo Energo, Gazprom Obl Energo, and Gazprom Energozbyt, were affected.
“The degradation of Russian information systems to the technological Middle Ages continues,” the source said. “We congratulate Russian ‘cyber-specialists’ on this new achievement and recommend they gradually replace their mice and keyboards with hammers and pincers.”
UPDATE 1056 GMT:
At least seven civilians have been murdered and 31 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past 24 hours.
Air defenses downed 185 of 344 drones, and 129 were lost to electronic counter-measures. Of 35 missiles, 23 were intercepted and seven were jammed.
In the Donetsk region in the east, five people were killed near the frontline in the Pokrovsk area and nine wounded.
In Odesa city in the south, a woman perished and six people were injured, including a child.
In the Kherson region in the south, one person was slain and 12 wounded. A high-rise building, nine private houses, a local fire department building, a garage, and private cars were damaged.
In the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, a 64-year-old man was killed in drone and artillery attacks across 18 settlements.
Casualties were also reported from the Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Dnpropetrovsk Governor Serhii Lysak said of the assault on Pavlohrad, a key humanitarian aid hub for those evacuating the front lines, “A hellish night and morning….The most massive attack on the city. Explosion after explosion. Russian terrorists struck with missiles and drones.”
Fires were set and damaged was reported nine high-rise buildings, a house, and an educational institution.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky commented:
Joint weapons production, investment in drone manufacturing in Ukraine — especially interceptor drones — the provision of air defense systems and missiles for them, and the ability to manufacture them here in Ukraine: all of this saves lives and is needed by Ukraine right now.
UPDATE 0710 GMT:
Henri Proglio, a board member of French defense contract Dassault Aviation, continues to manage the assets of the Kremlin elite and frequently travels to Moscow, reports independent Russian outlet The Insider.
Dassault supplies Ukraine with Mirage 2000 fighter jets and air defense systems.
But Proglio owns three companies registered in Russia: Henri Proglio Consulting LLC, AP Energy Advisory LLC, and Mezhproect LLC. Offering consulting services, they have generated more than 633 million rubles ($8 million) in revenue since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Proglio has served on the board of directors of ABR Management, established in 2011 by businessmen close to Vladimir Putin, since at least November 2013. The company has been under US sanctions since 2016, and members of its board were blacklisted by the European Union, UK, and Canada in 2022.
UPDATE 0617 GMT:
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says Ukraine is unlikely to join the European Union before the end of the bloc’s next budget cycle in 2034.
Speaking after a meeting with Romanian President Nicusor Dan, Merz said:
For us, the absolute top priority is, first and foremost, to do everything possible to end this war. Then we’ll talk about the reconstruction of Ukraine…but that’s going to take a number of years. It will probably not even affect the EU’s current medium-term financial outlook.
Ukraine applied for EU membership shortly after Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion and was granted candidate status later that year.
UPDATE 0606 GMT:
Australia has delivered US-made M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine after the Trump Administration lifted its ban.
The first group of 49 tanks is now in the hands of the Ukrainian military, the Australian Defense Ministry announced on Friday. Kyiv has received the majority, and the final tranche is expected to arrive “in the coming months”.
The tanks were promised to Kyiv in October 2024, but delivery has been held up for months amid the US restrictions on military assistance to Kyiv.
The Administration has eased its position this month amid Donald Trump’s frustration with Vladimir Putin’s refusal of a ceasefire and escalating attacks on Ukrainian civilians.
“The M1A1 Abrams tanks will make a significant contribution to Ukraine’s ongoing fight against Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion….Australia remains steadfast in our support for Ukraine and seeing a just and lasting peace,” said Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: At least one civilian has been killed and three injured by Russia’s overnight strikes on the port city of Odesa in southern Ukraine.
Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper posted just after 1 a.m., “The enemy launched a massive attack on Odesa with strike drones. Despite the active work of our air defense forces, there is damage to civilian infrastructure.”
A fire was set from the 6th to 9th floors of a 9-story residential building. Five people were rescued from burning apartments, but one of the women died.
Casualties are being clarified. Temporary shelter and relief are being provided at a local day care center where an operational headquarters has been established.
Zelensky and Commander Discuss “More Impactful” Ukraine Response
President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on Friday that he and military commanders discussed an effective Ukrainian response to the Russian assaults, including counter-attacks on Moscow’s military and facilities supporting the invasion and attacks on Ukraine’s civilians.
The situation remains difficult in the border areas of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions. The Russian army continues to torment our people in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, attacking civilians with various types of drones. Our response will be felt.
The President and military leaders also considered a report by Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi on the frontline situation, “above all, defense in the Pokrovsk and other directions of the Donetsk region” in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has made gradual advances in Donetsk but has not succeeded in overrunning the town of Pokrovsk, a logistics hub, in a year-long offensive.
Zelensky assured:
Each Russian attempt to break through must receive a proper fire response from Ukrainian forces. In particular, we are eliminating Russian sabotage groups that try to advance and infiltrate Ukrainian cities and villages. No such Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group will have any chance of survival.
