Russian missile attack on Mykolaiv injureed at least 14, killed 4, including a child

Russian forces attacked the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv with a missile on July 19, killing four people, including a child, and injuring 14 others, according to Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych. The Ukrainian Air Force reported explosions following an air raid alert in the region.

President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, stating, "Russia proves every day with its terror that pressure on it is not enough. This destruction of life must be stopped. New solutions are needed to support our defense. Russia must feel the power of the world."

Mykolaiv and other southern regions regularly endure Russian attacks. The city is located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) northwest of the front line in Kherson Oblast. The missile strike targeted a residential area, hitting a playground and damaging nearby high-rise buildings, as stated by President Zelensky.

Russia still recruiting Cubans due to generous payments and Russian citizenship

Cubans continue to arrive in Russia to join its forces in the war against Ukraine, despite the Cuban government's efforts to curb recruitment, according to a Bloomberg report on July 19. Russia has been recruiting foreigners from countries like Nepal, Somalia, India, and Cuba since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In an attempt to replenish its troops, Russian forces have been increasing military enlistment both domestically and internationally. By mid-June, estimates from The Economist indicated that between 462,000 and 728,000 Russian soldiers had been killed, injured, or captured in the conflict.

Cuban volunteers are reportedly joining the Russian armed forces through informal channels, with the total number involved in Russia's war in Ukraine likely in the low hundreds. The Russian military is offering generous payments, which are appealing to Cubans facing power outages, food shortages, and economic crises that have led to mass migration and street protests.

Additionally, some Cubans are motivated by the possibility of obtaining a Russian passport, following a decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin in January that allows foreigners to become Russian citizens in exchange for military service.

Cuba and Russia, allies since the Cold War, maintain reciprocal visa-free travel and direct flights between Havana and Moscow. In March, Russia sent crude oil tankers to Cuba to help alleviate its economic troubles, and a group of Russian naval ships visited Havana in a planned visit last month.

Former Ukrainian MP Iryna Farion murdered in Lviv

Former Ukrainian lawmaker and linguist Iryna Farion died in Lviv on July 19, hours after being attacked. Lviv Oblast Governor Maksym Kozytskyi reported that an unidentified man opened fire on the 60-year-old Farion in the street around 7:30 p.m. before fleeing the scene. Law enforcement officers are actively seeking to identify and detain the attacker.

Farion succumbed to her injuries shortly after undergoing surgery and falling into a coma. "Unfortunately, despite all the doctors' efforts, they failed to save Iryna Farion," Kozytskyi wrote on Telegram. President Volodymyr Zelensky was briefed on the assassination attempt and emphasized that those responsible must be held fully accountable.

Farion, known for her controversial statements regarding the use of the Russian language in Ukraine, joined the ultranationalist party Svoboda in 2005 and served as a member of parliament from 2012 to 2014. In June 2024, she was reinstated as a professor at the Ukrainian language department at Lviv Polytechnic University after being fired.

Farion sparked outrage in November 2023 by stating that she could not consider Ukrainian soldiers who spoke Russian as Ukrainians. The scandal escalated after she published a supportive message allegedly from Maksym Hlebov, a pro-Ukrainian student in occupied Crimea, on her social media, which led to harsh criticism.

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) announced in November 2023 that Farion was under criminal investigation for her statements about Russian-speaking soldiers and for leaking Hlebov's message.

Zelensky, Trump discussed the future of US support

President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump, former U.S. president and Republican presidential nominee, held a phone call on July 19, five years after their 2019 conversation that led to Trump’s first impeachment. Zelensky announced on Twitter that they discussed the "vital importance of bipartisan and bicameral" U.S. support for Ukraine and agreed to a future "personal" meeting to discuss peace with Russia. Zelensky expressed Ukraine's gratitude for U.S. support in resisting Russian aggression and emphasized the ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and villages.

Politico reported that Trump described the call as "very good" and expressed his intent to negotiate a peace deal. An anonymous source close to Zelensky indicated that the conversation went "exceedingly well."

This call comes in the context of their July 2019 conversation, during which Trump asked Zelensky to investigate his political rivals shortly after withholding U.S. military aid to Ukraine. Transcripts of the call revealed that Zelensky had expressed interest in purchasing more U.S.-made Javelins to fight Russia. In response, Trump asked Zelensky to "do us a favor" by investigating Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, and working with Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to investigate Ukraine’s alleged involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election—a claim that was part of a conspiracy theory largely pushed by Giuliani.

Hunter Biden had taken a paid seat on the board of Burisma, a controversial Ukrainian gas company, in April 2014, shortly after Russia annexed Crimea. He resigned in April 2019 during his father's campaign for president. Investigations have found that Russia was behind the 2016 Democratic National Committee (DNC) hack, contradicting the conspiracy theory that Ukraine was responsible.