Live / Journalist detained in Russia is released. Russian troops reinforce presence in Mariupol

Last Wednesday, Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, spoke to the members of the Alliance about the need to support Ukraine and was very clear about the consequences of the Russian invasion: “Yes, we pay a price. But the price we pay, as the European Union, as NATO, is a price that we can measure in currency, in money. The price they pay is measured in lives lost, every day. So we need to stop complaining and step up and be supportive. Final point.”

“Even if you don’t care about the moral value of this, supporting the Ukrainian people, you should care about their security interests. So you have to pay – pay for support, pay for humanitarian aid, pay for the consequences of economic sanctions – because the alternative is to pay a much higher price later”, whose document was updated this Monday.

Stoltenberg also recalled what Russia did in Georgia, in 2008, and in Crimea, in 2014, to stress that it is necessary for NATO countries to guarantee support for Ukraine “for a long period”.

SG @jensstoltenberg to MEPs:

“The price we pay as an EU, as #BORN, is the price that we can measure in currency, in money. The price they pay is measured in lives lost each day. Therefore, we must stop complaining and step forward and provide support. Final point. #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/zPjwOfDFUf

— EPP Group (@EPPGroup) July 15, 2022

After dismissing the head of the Security Service and the attorney general, Zelesnky appointed temporary replacements on Monday.

The changes were made through a decree already published. To the post of head of the Security Service, the Ukrainian president appointed Maliuk Vasyl, who until now was the deputy head of this unit.

And the same happens with the Public Ministry. Oleksii Symonenko, Deputy Prosecutor General, now assumes the role of Prosecutor General.

The Russian bombardments in eastern Ukraine, in the city of Torestk, belonging to the Donetsk region, caused this Monday the death of six people.

According to Reuters, authorities managed to extract five bodies from the rubble of a house. One of the victims was still rescued alive, but she ended up dying in the hospital.

Zelensky ordered the dismissal of the Head of the Internal Security Service and the Prosecutor General of Ukraine this Sunday night. We leave a summary of the main events of the last hours:

• Russian journalist Marina Ovsiannikova, who displayed a poster against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during a news program, has now been released after being detained on Sunday. This “was the first warning,” she said.
• Russian troops continue to advance into southern Ukraine through the port city of Mariupol. “A large convoy of 100 units of military equipment passed through the city to the Zaporizhia region,” the adviser to the mayor of Mariupol said on Saturday.
• The Wagner group, known as Putin’s private army, is “lowering recruitment standards”, the British Ministry of Defense announced. This army is accepting convicted people and men who were on their blacklist.

Wagner group. Kremlin men-of-war to catch Zelensky

• Since the beginning of the war, more than 350 children have been killed and more than 660 have been injured. Most of the injured children are in Donetsk, Kharkiv and kyiv.
• The Ukrainian military said the Russian shelling of Donetsk was continuing, but attempts to conquer new territory had failed. And part of Lugansk still resists the Russian occupation.
• Regarding sanctions, the H&M group announced its withdrawal from Russia, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Garment giant Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), which suspended sales in Russia in March, announced today that it will gradually withdraw from the country due to the invasion of Ukraine.

“After careful reflection, we see that it is impossible to continue our business in Russia given the situation,” the Swedish group’s CEO, Helena Helmersson, said in a statement.

In the strategy of leaving the Russian market, H&M plans to temporarily reopen its stores, which closed days after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, to sell the Values.

The governor of the Luhansk region, Serhai Haidai, revealed this morning that there is still a part of that region that is not under Russian rule. Lugansk “does not let the enemy through,” he revealed, quoted by The Guardian newspaper.

The bombings continue, as the Armed Forces had already announced on Monday, but the Russian troops also continue to lose soldiers and equipment.

In addition to the Ukrainian army, which maintains the resistance, the population is also helping to “maintain the defense”.

Russian bombing in Donetsk continues, but attempts to conquer new territories will have failed, the Ukrainian army announced on Monday. The Lugansk and Donetsk regions continue to be shelled and, in particular, the city of Lysychansk, in the eastern Lugansk region, has been attacked from the ground.

Information provided by the Ukrainian Armed Forces also reports attacks in Kharkiv.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, at least 353 children have been killed and more than 660 have been injured. According to information advanced this Monday by the Public Ministry, most of the children who were injured are in Donetsk, Kharkiv and kyiv.

In addition, more than 2,000 schools were bombed, more than 220 were completely destroyed.

The British Ministry of Defense announced that “Russia used the Wagner private military company to bolster front-line forces and mitigate manpower shortages and casualties.” This group of mercenaries is known as Putin’s private army.

At the moment, the United Kingdom advances in its daily report on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Wagner group is “reducing recruitment standards” and is accepting convicts and men who were on its blacklist. This lack of judgment could then affect the “operational effectiveness” of the group.

Defense Intelligence latest update on the situation in Ukraine – July 18, 2022

Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/FLMyNFy4J2

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— Ministry of Defense ???????? (@DefenceHQ) July 18, 2022

“We continue to register movements of soldiers through Mariupol,” Petro Andriushenko, adviser to the mayor of that port city, advanced this Sunday.

According to CNN, Russian troops are moving into southern Ukraine. “A large convoy of 100 units of military equipment passed through the city to the Zaporizhia region” on Saturday, the adviser added.

Russian journalist Marina Ovsiannikova, who appeared on Moscow state television with a banner against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has been released.

According to the information advanced on her social networks, Marina Ovsiannikova was released during the early hours of this Monday. “Now I’m home. Everything is fine,” the journalist wrote, adding that “this was the first warning.”

“Now I know it’s best to leave the house with a suitcase and a passport just in case.”

Good day,

This is our new live blog about the war in Ukraine. You can, throughout this Monday, follow all the updates on the subject.

The news that marked yesterday is still available in this live blog.

Russia is preparing for a new offensive, according to the Ukrainian secret services