Here are the key events on day 1,249 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Here is how things stand on Sunday, July 27:
Fighting
- Debris from destroyed Ukrainian drones disrupted railway power supply and train operations in part of the Volgograd region in Russia’s south, the local administration reported on Sunday. There were no injuries, according to Governor Andrei Bocharov.
- Russia downed 99 drones overnight in various Russian regions, including the Crimean Peninsula and the Black Sea, as per the Russian Ministry of Defence.
- Russia launched a missile and drone attack overnight, killing three individuals in Ukraine’s Dnipro and the surrounding region. Ukraine’s air force stated they intercepted 183 drones and 17 missiles, but ten missiles and twenty-five drones hit locations.
- Moscow and an industrial facility in Penza oblast were targeted by drones, according to the respective mayors. In the Rostov region, Ukrainian drones caused two deaths, while another was reported in Russia’s Kursk region.
- On Saturday, Russia’s Defence Ministry announced capturing two villages in eastern Ukraine, namely Zelenyi Hai in Donetsk and Maliivka in Dnipropetrovsk regions.
- Ukrainian drones attacked a radio and electronic warfare equipment plant in Russia’s Stavropol region on Saturday, with further strikes continuing on Sunday. The SBU security service stated this would affect Russia’s military capabilities.
Weapons and military aid
- India’s Ideal Detonators Private Limited, which exported $1.4m worth of the explosive compound octogen with military applications to Russia in December, claims compliance with India’s rules, stating their shipment was for civilian industries. The US government has identified the compound as critical for Russia’s war efforts and advised financial institutions against facilitating its sale to Moscow.
Diplomacy
- Russia is set to launch direct passenger flights from Moscow to Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sunday, according to Russian authorities. This move aims to strengthen ties with North Korea, a former communist bloc ally, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This also follows the resumption of Moscow-Pyongyang passenger rail services in June for the first time since the early 1990s.
- Pope Leo discussed the Ukraine conflict with Metropolitan Anthony, a senior figure in the Russian Orthodox Church, possibly to ease tensions aggravated by Russia’s invasion.
Ceasefire
According to Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, peace talks and a settlement in Ukraine were never a priority for the West. In her first remarks on negotiations following talks on Wednesday between Russian and Ukrainian officials, Zakharova stated that a genuine peace agreement would require halting arms supply to Kyiv.
