The aftermath of the Mykolaiv attack. Photo: Oleksand Senkevych on Telegram
The Ukraine war has been on for 512 days. Russia’s military attacked Mykolaiv and Odesa. Some people were killed, and at least 22 people were injured. A girl was killed by a drone attack in Crimea, four administrative buildings were damaged.
The US will provide another military aid package worth $1.3 billion, including NASAMS air defence systems.
Protesters broke into Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad and set the building on fire.
Find out what happened overnight in Novaya Gazeta Europe’s 20 July round-up.
Russia has attacked Mykolaiv and Odesa, some people were killed and injured
The Russian military has attacked downtown Mykolaiv, says local governor Vitali Kim. An unspecified number of people were killed, and 18 people were injured, including five children. Nine people were admitted to hospital. The attack set a three-storey residential building and a garage on fire.
At least five residential blocks and around 15 garages were damaged, says the local mayor. The rescue operation continues.
The fire caused by the attack in Mykolaiv. Photo: Oleksand Senkevych on Telegram
Russia’s military also attacked downtown Odesa, as per Oleh Kiper, the local governor. Two people were admitted to hospital. The attack caused multiple damages and a fire, Kiper says. There was on more hit in the region he adds, providing no further details.
Natalia Humeniuk, the spokeswoman for Ukraine’s Southern Command, reports four people injured by the attack in the Odesa region. She says an administrative building had been destroyed in the heart of the city, and several warehouses were damaged. Russia’s military used missiles and drones in the attack.
Damaged caused by the Odesa attack. Photo: Novosti Odesa
Girl killed in Crimea following drone attack
A settlement in northwest Crimea was attacked by a drone, says Sergey Aksyonov, the Russia-installed governor of the peninsula. A teenage girl was killed in the attack, he says, and four administrative buildings were damaged.
US to provide Ukraine with NASAMS, drones, other weapons worth $1.3 bn
The US has announced a new security assistance package worth $1.3 billion to support Ukraine, including four National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and munitions, artillery rounds, vehicles, Phoenix Ghost and Switchblade UAVs, as per the Pentagon.
CNN cites its sources and says another package worth $400 million will follow later this week and will include missiles for NASAMS and Patriot systems, as well as missiles for HIMARS, Javelin, and TOW systems and artillery rounds.
Protesters break into Swedish embassy in Baghdad, set it on fire
Protesters against the act of burning a copy of the Quran that happened recently before the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm broke into Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad. They have set the building on fire, Reuters reports.
The news agency’s source says none of the embassy staff were injured.
The demonstration was called by supporters of Shi’ite cleric Muqtada Sadr to protest the second planned Koran burning in Sweden in weeks, Reuters says.
Sweden’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that all its personnel are safe and in touch. The agency also noted that the embassy arson is “a serious violation of the Vienna convention”. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry has reported investigating the incident and condemned the actions of the protesters.
“The Ministry confirms that the Iraqi government has instructed the security authorities to conduct an urgent investigation and take the necessary security measures in order to uncover the circumstances of the incident and identify the perpetrators of this act and hold them accountable according to the law,” the statement says.
