Russia-Ukraine War: List of main events, day 873 | Russia-Ukraine war news

As the war enters its 873rd day, these are the key developments.

This is where the war is on Wednesday, July 17, 2024:

Fighting:

• Ukrainian drone strikes in Russia’s Kursk region sparked a fire at an electrical equipment factory and injured at least six people, according to local governors. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones overnight, including one over the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine.
• Russian authorities have announced plans to restrict civilian access to 14 villages in the southern Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, due to relentless Ukrainian shelling.
• Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov thanked Russian forces for capturing the village of Urozhaine in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and “set new tasks for future activities,” according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
• Russian investigators said they were looking into the killing of a wounded Russian soldier by Ukrainian forces in a video posted online by Ukraine’s Azov Brigade.
• Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said it is providing its resource-poor military with munitions that were sent to be dismantled before the Russian invasion. The munitions would undergo thorough quality checks before being distributed to Ukrainian forces at the front, he said.

Politics and diplomacy

• The Kremlin responded cautiously to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s apparent invitation to a future peace summit, saying Moscow needs to understand what Kiev means before participating in the talks. The Ukrainian president said Russia “should” be represented at a second war summit, following high-level talks last month in Switzerland, which Moscow did not attend.
• Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a member of the country’s security council, said that Ukraine’s accession to NATO would be a declaration of war against Moscow and that only “prudence” on the part of the alliance could prevent the planet from being torn apart.
• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban sent a letter to European Union leaders, saying US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is ready to “immediately” act as a peace mediator in the Russia-Ukraine war if elected in November.
• European Council President Charles Michel responded to Orban’s letter by telling the Hungarian leader that he had no EU mandate for war talks. Michel also rejected Orban’s claim that the EU had pursued a “pro-war” policy in Ukraine.
• Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania formally notified Russia and Belarus that they would abandon a 2001 agreement that kept the three Baltic countries linked to an electricity transmission system controlled by Moscow. The move is part of an effort to sever ties with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
• At the United Nations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the US of demanding “unquestionable obedience” from allies and threatening multilateralism.
• The Russian Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan has fired a priest who opposed Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Hieromonk Lakov advocated the creation of a dissident Orthodox Church, free from Moscow’s influence.
• Meanwhile, Japan is making final preparations to lend $3.3 billion to Ukraine using interest on frozen Russian assets, about 6% of the total $50 billion G7 package, Kyodo news agency reported, citing diplomatic sources.

Economy

• Ukraine’s parliament voted to eliminate taxes and fees on imports of energy equipment – ​​including for wind and solar generation – as the country faces a serious energy crisis due to Russian bombings.
• Ukrainian state-owned company Ukroboronservice and Czech ammunition manufacturer Sellier and Bellot have signed an agreement to build an ammunition factory in Ukraine, the two countries announced.
• Russia-based global cybersecurity company Kaspersky announced it would cease operations in the US after Washington sanctioned its top officials and banned the sale of its popular antivirus software.
• Meanwhile, Russia’s communications regulator demanded that Google reinstate more than 200 Russian YouTube channels that the US company blocked for broadcasting pro-Kremlin content, including about the conflict in Ukraine.