War in Ukraine: New Russian troops near Kharkov

According to the FSB: explosives found in German parcels in St. Petersburg

3:50 p.m.: The Russian According to its own statement, the domestic secret service FSB claims to have discovered explosives and detonators for possible terrorist attacks in packages from Germany and Italy in St. Petersburg. The FSB also released a video claiming to show explosives experts removing components from shock absorbers from a German manufacturer and distributing them. The recordings and information provided by the FSB could not be verified.

According to the FSB, there was a delivery channel for auto parts through a transport company that brought the packages to Russia. The FSB said there were several arrests, without giving details.

The identified and arrested suspects were instructed and directed from Ukraine, the report said. In the statement, the secret service blamed the deputy head of the presidential office in Kiev, Roman Mashovets, for organizing terrorist attacks in Russia. Russia has put Mashovets on a wanted list.

According to the company, the FSB has also informed the European secret services and asked for administrative assistance in identifying the masterminds of terrorist acts and sabotage in Russia. The questions have not been answered to date, the company said.

Combat operations decreased somewhat

05:10 am: Fighting in Ukraine has slowed down somewhat this weekend. The General Staff in Kiev reported only 58 armed clashes on various sectors of the front, usually over 100. The heaviest fighting was reported in the regions around Kharkov and Kupyansk in the east. “Our steadfast defenders are thwarting the plans of the occupiers and inflicting irreparable losses on the enemy by their professional actions in extremely difficult conditions,” the statement said.

New Russian troops near Kharkov

Monday July 22, 4:00 PM: The Ukrainian military is keeping a wary eye on Russian troop reinforcements in eastern Ukraine. New units have been deployed near Hlubokoye in the Kharkiv region, Nazar Voloshin, spokesman for Ukrainian forces defending the area, reported. Among the units brought into the area were an assault force of Russian Pacific Fleet marines and elements of a rifle division.

The Russian army launched a major operation against Kharkov in early May. The aim of the attack, however, was not to capture the large city, but rather to establish a buffer zone between the Ukrainian positions and the nearby Russian border. Moscow wanted to stop the constant Ukrainian artillery attacks on Russian territory.

Klitschko puts Ukraine referendum in play – Zelenskyi risks political suicide

Sunday July 21, 4:32 PM: In the fight for a solution to the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may have to resort to a referendum, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said. “Because I don’t believe that he can make such painful and important agreements on his own without the legitimacy of the people,” Klitschko said in an interview with the Italian Daily newspaper “Corriere della Sera”.

According to Klitschko, the debates on possible scenarios for a peace agreement with Russia pose major problems for the president. The coming months would be very difficult for Zelensky, he said. “Will he continue the war with new deaths and destruction or will he consider a territorial compromise with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin?” Klitschko asked. “Whatever he decides, our president risks political suicide.”

Either scenario could leave him needing an explanation. In particular, potential territorial concessions, where territory would have to be given to Russia to end the war, could be difficult to convey to Ukrainians. “How can he explain to the country and its people that it is necessary to give up parts of our territory that cost the lives of thousands of our fighting heroes?” Klitschko continued.

Forming a coalition of national unity, as happened in Israel after the Hamas massacre on October 7, could be a way for Ukraine to provide stability and more support, Klitschko said. However, he is not sure whether President Zelensky is ready to give up the power he holds in his hands, which has guaranteed him martial law since the first day of the Russian invasion.

Klitschko and Zelenskyi are considered political rivals, and the former world boxing champion is said to have presidential ambitions. When asked about their relationship, Klitschko now said: “To be clear, I have always had good relations with him, he is the one who has bad relations with me.” At the same time, Klitschko stressed that given Zelenskyi’s end of term in office, he would vote in the May elections, which is currently considered incorrect.

Assassination plot? Prominent Ukrainian politician dies from gunshot wounds

Saturday July 20, 1:53 PM: In western Ukraine, right-wing nationalist former MP Iryna Farion, known for her anti-Russian statements, was killed by a gunshot to the head. The 60-year-old died of her injuries in hospital in Lviv. Police and secret service agents are looking for the perpetrator, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Above all, Farion fought with radical statements against the Russian language, which is widespread in Ukraine. Your right-wing nationalist party Svoboda therefore suspects that there is a Russian leadership in the murder case.

President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack on Farion and ordered Interior Minister Klymenko and intelligence chief Vasyl Malyuk to investigate the crime. Those responsible must be held accountable, the head of state said. Farion was seriously wounded by a shot in the temple outside her home on Friday night. In the hospital, doctors fought for her life without success.

Possible Russian trail and contentment in Moscow

Interior Minister Klymenko sees a connection between the murder and Farion’s social activities. “The basic versions that are currently being considered are personal hostility, social and political activities of Mrs. Farion. We do not exclude the possibility that it is a contract killing,” the minister wrote on Telegram. He also did not rule out a Russian lead.

Farion also had problems with the Ukrainian judiciary because of statements that were directed against the Russian-speaking population. After student protests, she temporarily lost her job at the university where the philologist taught Ukrainian. The professor was, among other things, sharply critical of the fact that many Ukrainian soldiers at the front continued to speak their native language, Russian. According to her own statements, she also bought drones herself to fight the Russian war of aggression.

Child killed in rocket attack on major Ukrainian city

21:54 hrs: At least three people, including a child, have been killed in a residential area in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv by a Russian missile strike. “An impact on a children’s playground near an ordinary house,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram. Five other people were injured. Zelensky offered his condolences to the families of the victims and reiterated his call for more support for the country under Russian attack.

Ukraine has been defending a Russian invasion for over two years. As a result of the ongoing missile and drone attacks that have killed civilians, Kiev continues to pressure its Western allies for new supplies of anti-aircraft weapons.

American journalist Evan Gershkovich has been sentenced to 16 years in prison in Russia

Friday July 19, 2:12 PM: The Russian justice system has sentenced American reporter Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in a harsh camp prison in a controversial trial for alleged espionage, Russian news agencies reported from the court in the Ural city of Yekaterinburg.

On the third day of the trial, which took place behind closed doors, the court found the espionage proven. Gershkovich, who worked as a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Russia, the American newspaper itself and the American government have always rejected the accusations as unfounded. Gershkovich maintained this in court. “The defendant has not admitted guilt,” a spokeswoman for the court said.

Washington is demanding his release. The 32-year-old American reporter was arrested in March 2023. The Russian domestic intelligence service FSB has leveled espionage charges against him. According to the indictment, he allegedly conspired to gather information on the Uralvagonzavod arms factory on behalf of the American intelligence service CIA. The defense said that Gershkovich was investigating the region as a journalist. In their plea, the prosecution demanded 18 years of strict camp imprisonment.

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