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US accelerates delivery of weapons to Ukraine – Pentagon

July 27th 2022

The United States is moving as quickly as possible to deliver weapons and military equipment to Ukraine. The Pentagon announced this. The most attention is pointed at HIMARS coming with the latest package of defense assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Pentagon message mentions that Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov met to discuss the outcomes of the recent Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, the Ramstein-4. They also discussed ongoing security assistance to Ukraine and recent U.S. commitment of additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).

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Civilian medic commands respect on Ukraine war’s front lines

July 27th 2022

DONETSK REGION, Ukaine (AP) — All over the Donetsk region, close to the front lines of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Nataliia Voronkova turns up at Ukrainian field positions and hospitals wearing high heels. A colleague bought her running shoes, but Voronkova gave them away. A helmet and a protective vest aren’t part of her uniform, either, as she distributes first-aid kits and other equipment to Ukrainian soldiers and paramedics. She is a civilian, the founder of a medical non-profit, and looking like one is something no one can take from her, even in a combat zone. “I am myself, and I will never give up my heels for anything,” Voronkova said of the red strappy sandals, beige pumps and other elegant footwear she typically pairs with full skirts and midi dresses as she makes her dangerous rounds to secret military bases and mobile medical units. The former adviser to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry with graduate degrees in banking and finance is a familiar sight to officers and troops in eastern Ukraine. For eight years after Moscow seized Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, Voronkova dedicated her life to providing tactical medical training and equipment for Ukrainian forces fighting pro-Russia separatists. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February has created exponentially more need for her organization, Volunteers Hundred Dobrovolia, and new challenges.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Himars weapons destroy 50 Russian ammunition depots in one month

July 25th 2022

US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (Himars) have destroyed at least 50 Russian ammunition depots in less than a month on the battlefield, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said. Himars are one of the most sophisticated artillery systems in the world and have been credited for stalling Moscow’s advance through the Donbas. Today on national television Reznikov said: “This cuts their (Russian) logistical chains and takes away their ability to conduct active fighting and cover our armed forces with heavy shelling.” Artillery crews had also used the state-of-the-art systems to conduct “precise” strikes on several bridges believed to be three river crossings in the Russian-occupied Kherson region over the past week.

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Ukraine war: Kyiv’s forces moving towards occupied Kherson – Zelensky

July 23rd 2022

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says his forces are advancing “step by step” into the occupied southern region of Kherson. Kherson city fell to Russia early in the war and sits on a strategic location west of the Dnipro river. On Saturday, UK defence officials reported heavy fighting near Kherson. The Ukrainian advance meant that Russian supply lines west of the river were “increasingly at risk”, according to their assessment. Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minster Iryna Vereshchuk urged Kherson residents to evacuate the city as soon as possible to avoid becoming trapped in the city during a counteroffensive in southern Ukraine. “It is necessary to do so for the Armed Forces of Ukraine not to endanger the civilian population during offensive operations,” she told state TV. Kyiv’s forces have been targeting river crossings in the region in an effort to stretch Russia’s supply lines.

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Ukraine sailors training on ship in Scottish waters

July 22nd 2022

Ukrainian sailors are being trained onboard a Royal Navy Sandown Class Minehunter off the coast of Scotland.

While the training has been common knowledge in defence circles, many (myself included) were asked not to promote it due to security concerns. As of this morning, however, the news has been made public. A Royal Navy mine hunter captain involved in the training told BBC Scotland here: