Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,242
Fighting
Russian forces launched a missile attack on Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, killing two people and damaging 'an outpatient clinic, a school and a cultural institution', according to the central region's governor, Serhiy Lysak.
Another Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa killed at least one person overnight and wounded six others, including six children, officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces launched 'more than 300 strike drones and over 30 missiles' against Ukrainian cities during the overnight attack.
The attacks also damaged critical infrastructure in the Sumy region, 'leaving several thousand families without electricity', the Ukrainian president added.
In Russia, the Mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, said early on Sunday that Russian air defences downed at least 15 Ukrainian drones heading for the capital.
Russia's Ministry of Defence said early on Sunday that its air defence units destroyed 40 Ukrainian drones, including 21 over the Bryansk region, on the Ukrainian border.
This came hours after the ministry said its air defence units shot down six missiles and 349 drones over Russian territory on Saturday.
Earlier, Russia had to suspend trains for about four hours overnight in the southern Rostov region when it came under a Ukrainian drone attack, which injured one railway worker.
The acting governor of the Rostov region, on Ukraine's eastern border, said Ukrainian drones had also caused fires and knocked down power lines.
Politics and diplomacy
Zelenskyy said Ukraine sent Russia a proposal offering a new round of peace talks to take place next week, after negotiations stalled last month.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of deporting Ukrainians to Georgia and leaving them stranded there without proper documents, hundreds of miles from their home. He said Ukraine has brought back 43 people so far, but more people remain in 'difficult conditions' at the border.
Earlier, Volunteers Tbilisi, an aid group, said at least 56 Ukrainians, mostly prisoners who completed their sentences and were subsequently ordered to leave Russia, were being held in 'inhumane' conditions in a basement near the Russian-Georgian border.
India said it did not support 'unilateral sanctions' by the European Union, after Brussels imposed penalties on Russia that included a Rosneft oil refinery in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
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Will Israel ever get blowback for bombing its neighbours?
In the last two years, as well as its war on Gaza and increasingly violent occupation of the West Bank, Israel has launched attacks on Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. The most recent attacks on Syria were launched this week, going so far as to hit the country's Ministry of Defence. Of course, the Israelis point to their justifications for the attacks on Syria – principally, in Israel's telling, to defend the Syrian Druze minority. A US-brokered ceasefire has taken effect, but whether it holds remains to be seen. In Lebanon, Israel claimed it wanted to stop the threat posed by Hezbollah. The attacks on Iran, it said, were to end that country's attempt to build a nuclear bomb. And in Yemen, Israel's bombing was a response to attacks from the country's Houthi rebels. Explanations aside, the question becomes whether the Israelis can continue to act in a manner that has many around the world, and particularly in the Middle East, seeing them as the aggressor. Impunity over relationship-building The Israeli argument is that all these conflicts – and the more than 58,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza – are necessary because Israel faces an existential battle that it has no choice but to win. The Israeli government, in its current far-right makeup, at least, does not seem to care if its neighbours do not like it. Rather, it seems to care that they fear it. And as the most powerful military force in the region, with the backing of the most powerful military force in the world, the Israelis feel that they can largely do what they want. Israel is taking advantage of a weakening international order and a moment of flux in the way the world is run, particularly with the United States under President Donald Trump openly moving towards a more transactional foreign policy. Western countries had previously attempted to maintain the idea of a liberal international order, where institutions such as the United Nations ensure that international law is followed. But Israel's actions, over decades, have made it increasingly hard to maintain the pretence. The world has been unable to stop Israel from continuing its occupation of Palestinian land, even though it is illegal under international law. Settlements continue to be built and expanded in the West Bank, and settlers continue to kill unarmed Palestinians. Human rights organisations and international bodies have found that Israel has repeatedly violated the rules of war in its conduct in Gaza, and have accused the country of committing genocide, but can do little more. Taking advantage No other power wants, or feels strong enough, to take on the mantle the US is arguably vacating. And until the rules get rewritten, it increasingly feels like might equals right. Israel, the only nuclear power in the region, is taking advantage. Supporters of Israel's actions in the past two years would also argue that those predicting negative consequences for its attacks have been proven wrong. The main perceived threat to Israel was the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance, and the argument was that these countries and groups would strike Israel severely if the latter went too far in its attacks. Israel did escalate, and the reaction from Iran and its allies was, in many cases, to choose to stand down rather than risk the total devastation of their countries or organisations. Iran did attack Israel in a way that the country had not experienced before, with Tel Aviv being directly hit on numerous occasions. But some of the worst-case scenario predictions did not take place, and ultimately, the direct conflict between Israel and Iran lasted 12 days, without the outbreak of a wider regional war. In Lebanon, Israel can be even happier with the result. After an intensified bombing campaign and invasion last year, Hezbollah lost its iconic leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and much of its military capacity, as well as some of its power in Lebanon. It is now, at least in the short term, no longer much of a threat to Israel. Israeli hubris? Israel seems to believe weak neighbours are good for it. Much as in the case of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, the perception is that there is no real need to provide an endgame or next-day scenario. Instead, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demonstrated, Israel can maintain chaos as far away as possible from its borders, as long as it maintains security inside. But the current situation in Syria is an interesting example of what can go wrong, and when Israeli hubris may go too far. Netanyahu has maintained that Syria south of Damascus must remain demilitarised. 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Al-Sharaa, presumably with the acquiescence of Israel, announced that Syrian government forces would deploy in Suwayda to end the ongoing clashes there, and a new ceasefire was declared on Saturday. As it happens, the presence of a strong state with control over its territory may be more effective than allowing anarchy to reign. Blowback If anything, Israel's actions in Syria will increase its regional isolation and raise eyebrows among countries that could have been seen as potential allies. Saudi Arabia has emphasised its support for the new Syrian government, and Israel's behaviour will add to Riyadh's feeling, post-Gaza, that any 'Abraham Accords' normalising ties cannot happen in the short term. For many countries in the Middle East, particularly in the Gulf, Israeli hegemony, especially with the rise of messianic far-right forces in its government, leads to war, expansionism, chaos, and security risks. And Israel's short-term military gains run the risk of blowback elsewhere. Iran's military capabilities may have been heavily damaged in its war with Israel, but Tehran will likely seek to shift tactics to undermine Israel in other ways in the years to come, while improving its defences and potentially focusing on achieving a nuclear weapon. As mentioned, the opinions of regional countries may not be the highest priority to the current crop of Israeli leaders, as long as they continue to have US support. But that does not mean that – in the long term – Israel will not increasingly face blowback for its actions, both diplomatically and in terms of its security. Domestically, constant wars, even if beyond Israel's borders, do not provide a sense of long-term security for any populace. The percentage of military reservists answering call-ups has already reportedly been decreasing. In a country where the majority of the military personnel are reservists who have jobs, businesses and families to take care of, it is difficult to maintain a permanent military footing indefinitely. That has contributed to an increasing divide in Israel between a dominant ultranationalist camp that wants to fight first and ask questions later, annex Palestinian land, and force regional acceptance through brute force, and a more centrist camp that – while perhaps not prioritising alleviating Palestinian suffering – is more sensitive to international isolation and sanctions, while attempting to hold on to a 'liberal Zionist' image of Israel. Should current trends continue, and the ultranationalist camp retain its dominance, Israel can continue to use its military power and US backing to yield short-term successes. 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Al Jazeera
15 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,242
This is how things stand on Sunday, July 20: Fighting Russian forces launched a missile attack on Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, killing two people and damaging 'an outpatient clinic, a school and a cultural institution', according to the central region's governor, Serhiy Lysak. Another Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa killed at least one person overnight and wounded six others, including six children, officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces launched 'more than 300 strike drones and over 30 missiles' against Ukrainian cities during the overnight attack. The attacks also damaged critical infrastructure in the Sumy region, 'leaving several thousand families without electricity', the Ukrainian president added. In Russia, the Mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, said early on Sunday that Russian air defences downed at least 15 Ukrainian drones heading for the capital. Russia's Ministry of Defence said early on Sunday that its air defence units destroyed 40 Ukrainian drones, including 21 over the Bryansk region, on the Ukrainian border. This came hours after the ministry said its air defence units shot down six missiles and 349 drones over Russian territory on Saturday. Earlier, Russia had to suspend trains for about four hours overnight in the southern Rostov region when it came under a Ukrainian drone attack, which injured one railway worker. The acting governor of the Rostov region, on Ukraine's eastern border, said Ukrainian drones had also caused fires and knocked down power lines. Politics and diplomacy Zelenskyy said Ukraine sent Russia a proposal offering a new round of peace talks to take place next week, after negotiations stalled last month. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of deporting Ukrainians to Georgia and leaving them stranded there without proper documents, hundreds of miles from their home. He said Ukraine has brought back 43 people so far, but more people remain in 'difficult conditions' at the border. Earlier, Volunteers Tbilisi, an aid group, said at least 56 Ukrainians, mostly prisoners who completed their sentences and were subsequently ordered to leave Russia, were being held in 'inhumane' conditions in a basement near the Russian-Georgian border. India said it did not support 'unilateral sanctions' by the European Union, after Brussels imposed penalties on Russia that included a Rosneft oil refinery in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
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Zelenskyy says Ukraine sent Russia offer of new peace talks
Ukraine has proposed to hold a new round of peace talks with Russia next week after negotiations stalled last month. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Saturday that Defence Council secretary Rustem Umerov made the offer of a meeting with Russian negotiators for next week. 'Everything should be done to achieve a ceasefire,' Zelenskyy said in his evening address to the nation. 'The Russian side should stop hiding from decisions.' Ukraine's leader also reiterated his readiness to have a face-to-face sit-down with Putin. 'A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace – lasting peace,' he said. There was no immediate response from Russia. Secretary of the NSDC proposed a new meeting with Russia next week. They must stop hiding from decisions. Ceasefire. Prisoner exchanges. Return of children. End to the killings. And a meeting at the level of leaders is needed to truly ensure a lasting peace. Ukraine is ready. — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 19, 2025 Umerov, a former defence minister, was appointed last week as the head of the National Security and Defence Council and tasked with adding more momentum to the negotiations. He headed his country's delegation in two previous rounds of talks in Turkiye earlier this year, which yielded little more than an agreement to exchange prisoners and soldiers' remains. In previous rounds, Russia outlined a list of hardline demands that were not acceptable to Ukraine, calling on it to cede four Ukrainian regions it claims as its own and reject Western military support. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Friday indicated that Moscow agreed with a statement by Zelenskyy that peace efforts needed 'more momentum'. The shift came after United States President Donald Trump, who initially appeared to adopt a conciliatory approach towards Russia after entering office, upped the pressure on Moscow. This week, Trump set a 50-day deadline for Moscow to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine or face '100 percent tariffs' and the prospect of secondary sanctions being imposed on countries that buy Russian oil. He also promised to ramp up arms shipments to the war-battered country. Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the ministry, said on Thursday that Russia would not accept the 'blackmail' of Washington's sanctions ultimatum, and the decision to resume weapons deliveries was a signal to Ukraine to 'abandon the peace process'. Ongoing exchange of fire Kyiv extended its invitation for more talks with Moscow after Russian forces staged a massive drone attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa early on Saturday, killing at least one resident and injuring six others, according to Zelenskyy. Posting on X on Saturday, the Ukrainian president said Russia launched more than 30 missiles and 300 drones during its overnight assault that affected 10 regions of the country. Russia, meanwhile, had to suspend trains for about four hours overnight in the southern Rostov region when it came under a Ukrainian drone attack, which injured one railway worker. On Saturday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that Russian air defence systems shot down three drones en route to the city. Two Moscow airports – Vnukovo and Domodedovo – suspended arrivals and departures for safety reasons, but later resumed operations, Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said. The Russian Defence Ministry said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 27 Ukrainian drones in total from 3pm to 7pm Moscow time (12:00-16:00 GMT). Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II, with estimates suggesting 1.2 million people have been wounded or killed.
