Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1615: Russia’s ship strikes choke Ukraine’s grain corridor

Exclusives

Russia's ship strikes stall Ukraine's grain corridor. The damage is moving inland. Not one ship passed through the corridor on 22 July, at the height of harvest. The choke is now reaching Ukraine's farmers and its railways.

Ukraine's strikes left Crimea's prepaid fuel coupons worthless—and the biggest chain won't refund them. It is invoking a 14-day return law, a Russian lawyer says doesn't apply—he calls it unjust enrichment.

Military

Oil sites 1,300 km east, a port terminal near the front—Russia's deep rear had one loud night. The strikes ran from about 250 kilometers behind the front line to targets some 1,300 kilometers inside Russia, in the Udmurt Republic — one of the country's farthest interior regions.

Russia spent a fortune on this air-defense system—watch a drone undo it in seconds. New footage shows the moment a Ukrainian strike drone reaches a parked S-400 launcher and a radar in occupied Crimea.

Intelligence and technology

Look at this huge airport fire truck that Ukraine's Emergency Service just received from Luxembourg. Ukraine's State Emergency Service received a Rosenbauer Panther 8×8 airport firefighting vehicle, donated with support from Luxembourg's Defense Ministry and partner organizations.

Ukraine's new remote turret trades heavy machine gun for twin AK-74s and relies on Starlink when signal drops. Ukraine's Roboneers codified the "ShaBlya K-2," a remote-controlled turret pairing two AK-74 rifles in one mount to double fire density for covering infantry at close range.

Saving Western aid: Ukraine's new armored recovery tractor can haul 30-ton MRAP off battlefield. Ukraine codified the INGUAR-4, a 6×6 armored recovery vehicle that hauls damaged MRAPs up to 30 tons off the battlefield faster and cheaper than tracked recovery vehicles.

Moscow struggles to stockpile all the missiles it needs—so it fires them straight off the line, Ukraine says. Ukraine's Air Force reads the factory stamps on downed rockets as a sign the Kremlin has lost its cushion of stockpiled firepower.

Political and legal developments

Euractiv: Italy and Greece win a fur pass for Russia inside the EU's newest sanctions round. The two nations buy more Russian sable than anyone else in the bloc, and they lobbied to keep the pelts flowing while finished coats stay off-limits.

Caught before the strike—the student mapping Poltava's grid for Russian missiles. Ukrainian counterintelligence says it exposed her in advance, seizing the devices she used to work for the enemy.

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