The Ukrainian military destroyed another ammunition depot of the Russians near Nova Kakhovka in the temporarily occupied Kherson oblast. According to local residents, the warehouse was located near the village of Raiske, near Nova Kakhovka.
Russian troops are trying to advance from Lysychansk towards Bakhmut, mobilized men from recently occupied cities of the oblast are thrown into battle. According to Serhii Haidai, the head of the Luhansk Oblast, 10-15% of the population remained in the large cities of the oblast, which the Russians captured this summer. At present, the occupiers in this direction are being held back.
As of July 18, Russia has already fired about three thousand missiles of various types over Ukraine. The occupiers are increasingly using old Soviet missiles. Also, in recent weeks, the Russian army began to hit ground targets with anti-aircraft missiles from the S-300 complex, the main purpose of which is to destroy air targets. In particular, Russia again hit the Odesa oblast with missiles from the Black Sea. Of the four missiles, one was shot down, two hit a military infrastructure facility, and another hit a bridge across the Dniester estuary, which Russia has been destroying since April. According to the Operational Command "South", there are no casualties.
The occupiers also shelled Mykolaiv and its surroundings. According to preliminary data, no one was injured. In Toretsk, Donetsk oblast, a house collapsed due to Russian shelling. The bodies of five dead people were recovered from the rubble, one more person died in the hospital. Dnipropetrovsk oblast was also under fire. One attack hit the school, and another missile hit the elevator, where warehouses with more than 5,000 tons of grain were destroyed. On the night of July 17-18, Russian troops continued shelling Kharkiv and the oblast, two people were killed.
The Russian invaders invaded Ukraine, guided by topographic maps from the last century, namely 1969. The SBU reports that these maps were found by the Russians in the occupied areas of the Kharkiv oblast. Saltivka in Kharkiv, Travyanske and Murom reservoirs are completely missing from these maps. And the state border between Ukraine and Russia was drawn by the occupiers with a pen since it was not on the maps at all. Apparently, the Russian reconnaissance and sabotage groups in the village of Dementiivka, Kharkiv oblast, which was destroyed by the Ukrainian military, was guided by these maps. During the battle, 36 occupiers were eliminated, and the commander of the group was captured.
The EU Council approved the fifth tranche of military aid to Ukraine for €500 million, reports the head of the European Council, Charles Michel. EU military equipment support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine currently amounts to €2.5 billion.
Switzerland refused to accept Ukrainians wounded during the Russian invasion because of its policy of neutrality. But it will continue to send humanitarian aid to Ukrainian hospitals.
Another big company is coming from Russia. It is now the Swedish retailer H&M. Their stores in Russia will open soon, but only to sell off the remaining goods.
And finally, the continuation of the story with the dismissal of Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova and the head of the Security Service of Ukraine Ivan Bakanov. For the time being, the duties of the Prosecutor General will be performed by Venediktovaʼs deputy Oleksiy Symonenko and Vasyl Malyuk, the first deputy of the head of the SBU, will head the SBU. Who they are — read in our review.