Ukraine celebrates Armed Forces Day: gratitude to the military and unwavering faith in victory

Volodymyr Horbatyuk, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, is being touted as a possible successor to Andriy Gnativ. However, as of the time of publication, no official appointment has been made.

A Ukrainian F-16 has shot down a Russian fighter jet in an air-to-air engagement for the first time. General Dan Kane, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced this aerial victory for Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered Mykhailo Fedorov a position in the government in the field of technology. The former defence minister reportedly turned down the offer, as he believes it is impossible to implement his defence strategy without the powers of the Ministry of Defence.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Mykhailo Drapaty as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He will replace Oleksandr Syrskyi once the personnel decisions have been formally finalised.

The Hungarian party Fidesz has stated that the public prosecutor’s office carried out searches at the office where its servers are housed. The party has accused the government of attempting to obstruct its activities.

According to the new church calendar, on 22 July, the faithful honour Mary Magdalene, Equal to the Apostles – one of the most famous followers of Jesus Christ. In folk tradition, this day is known as ‘Mary the Berry-Gatherer’ and ‘Fiery Mary’.

Anna Neplyakh, winner of the ‘Miss Ukraine Universe 2021’ beauty pageant, is no longer keeping her private life under wraps. The model spoke about her relationship with Kyiv-based businessman Oleksandr Gudkov and revealed the surprises they treat each other to.

Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin, who had previously expressed his support for Ukraine and had hoped to come here for a concert, unexpectedly addressed the audience in Russian during a performance in Kazakhstan. The Russians in their propaganda media are delighted with the artist’s gesture.

Singer Anna Trincher unexpectedly revealed that ever since her school days she had dreamt of marrying Vladimir Dantes, and it seems this crush has not faded to this day.

In the Polish city of Legnica, an unidentified woman attacked two 13-year-old girls from Ukraine on the evening of 18 July: the police are already investigating the incident.

The Central Bank of Russia has been reducing its gold reserves for the sixth month running. In the first half of 2026, the reserves fell by 43.5 tonnes, marking the largest decline in at least the last 25 years.

The US Armed Forces have continued a series of air strikes on Iranian territory, which have now been ongoing for the eleventh consecutive night. US Central Command has stated that military targets have been struck, whilst Iran has reported new attacks on US bases in the region.

On the night of 22 July, Ukrainian drones attacked Wildberries’ logistics centres in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk in the Stavropol Krai.

Over the past 24 hours, there have been 219 combat engagements on the front line. Russian forces carried out two missile strikes and 92 air strikes, whilst the Defence Forces struck enemy command posts and other key targets.

Over the past 24 hours, the Russian army has lost a further 1,330 servicemen in the war against Ukraine. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the total losses of Russian personnel since the start of the full-scale invasion have exceeded 1.43 million.