In Historic First, Ukraine F-16 Shoots Down Russian Su-35 In Aerial Combat

Quite an accomplishment by pilots who had never flown the F-16 before two years ago. 

It is significant also because it continues to demonstrate that the Ukrainians can not only learn to master western weaponry, but teach NATO forces a thing or two about how to use them effectively. JL

Dylan Malyasov reports in The Defense Blog:

A Ukrainian  F-16 pilot did something no American-made fighter jet had confirmed doing before in this war: shoot down a Russian warplane in air-to-air combat, according to General Dan Caine, the four-star Air Force officer who serves as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and holds the highest military rank in the US. The incident Caine referenced took place on July 8. Winning a straight air-to-air fight against a Su-35, a jet purpose-built for air superiority and one of Russia’s most capable fighters, would represent a genuine leap in how Ukrainian pilots are using the American-supplied aircraft.

Russia Throws Summer Reserves At Kupiansk As Heavy Losses Take Toll

In yet another attempt to attack Kupiansk - despite previous failures and ongoing heavy casualties, Russian forces have committed their summer reserve units. 

The move suggests that the Kremlin is loathe to admit its forces are incapable of offensive operations - even if those consist of sneaking infiltrators into a city, which is not exactly a demonstration of armed might. JL

New Voice of Ukraine reports:

Russian forces significantly intensified offensive operations toward Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi and are attempting to slice through Ukrainian positions near Kivsharivka using summer reserve units against northern district lines in Kupyansk despite suffering heavy personnel losses. Russian forces are fighting to secure and expand a bridgehead on the right bank of the Oskil River while attempting to sneak reinforcements into Kupyansk whenever adverse weather limits Ukrainian drone operations.

Ukraine's New Military Chief Is Known For Boldness - and Accountability

President Zelensky has removed some of the sting of his questionable dismissal of widely respected Defense Minister Fedorov by firing Commander in Chief Syrski, replacing him with the most admired officer in his army, Mykhailo Drapatyi. 

Drapatyi is primarily known for two signature actions, which characterize his reputation. The first, in 2014, occurred when Russian separatists barricaded a road into Mariupol. He led his armored column to crash through the blockage, demonstrating that the nascent Ukrainian government would not be intimidated by provocateurs. In the second incident, last year, he resigned as Ground Forces commander after a Russian missile attack killed Ukrainian recruits at a training ground. Although not directly in charge of that site, he took responsibility for being in overall command to set an example for the army. He has been a successful combat leader, is respected by the troops for both his prowess and concern for them (the lack of the latter being a major criticism of Syrski) and looks to be a solid, well-received appointment. Zelensky will hopefully now keep his jealousy of subordinates in check. JL

Mick Ryan reports in the Lowy Institute and Stefan Korshak reports in the Kyiv Post:

President Zelenskyy yesterday dismissed Oleksandr Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief and appointed Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, a professional officer who served his entire career in Ukraine's army. He has led troops in combat successfully, at every level of command. He is one of the most seasoned field commanders in the world. Drapatyi has a reputation as a modern, soldier-focused commander who seeks input from  subordinates, supports innovation – including Ukraine’s drones – and accepts responsibility when things go wrong. Drapaty became one of Ukraine’s first war heroes in 2014, at the head of an armored column in Mariupol. Encountering a pro-Russia militia barricade across a road, Drapaty riding an infantry fighting vehicle, drove to the front of the column and smashed through at maximum speed. He resigned as Ground Forces commander in 2025 after Russian strikes killed troops at a training ground, a rare act of accountability in any army.

As Ukraine's Crimea Attacks Grow, It's Sparking More Underground Resistance

Revolutions tend to occur at times of rising hope, which is what the people of occupied Crimea now have after an increasing number of Ukrainian strikes on Russian military bases and infrastructure on the peninsula.

As a result, more Crimeans are contacting Ukrainian forces to provide intelligence, which, in turn, is leading to a growing number of more accurate strikes on bridges, electricity providers, and military installations. This is making it even more difficult for the Russians on Crimea to carry on with daily life. let alone contribute to the war against Ukraine. JL

Yulia Taradiuk reports in the Kyiv Independent:

While Ukraine intensifies its campaign against Russian military in occupied Crimea, underground resistance has been spreading behind Russian lines. As hope of Crimea's

liberation increases among Ukrainians there, so does the number of people contacting it after successful attacks on Russian targets. "For people, this serves as confirmation that the occupiers do not have control over the situation. What has grown is low-signature information work: observing, geolocating, passing coordinates, which has a larger strategic effect." Officials highlighted Ukraine's strike on a railway bridge across the North Crimean Canal on June 23. After the initial attack, activists reported Russian forces had begun repairs, allowing Ukrainian forces to launch another strike before the bridge could be restored. Underground members also helped Ukraine conduct drone strikes on the Balaklava Thermal Power Plant in Sevastopol on July 14, cutting 50% of electricity.  

Post IPO Stock Drop, SpaceX To Sell Billions In AI Compute To Pentagon, Others

If you can't beat 'em, supply 'em with data center capacity. That appears to be the latest SpaceX AI business model. It's Grok model is considered an also-ran compared to Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and various emerging Chinese competitors. 

And following the plateauing, if not outright collapse of its Tesla business - due largely to Musk's provocative political pronouncements, which served to alienate much of his autos' potential market - as well as the post-IPO return to earth of SpaceX stock, the company clearly needs to demonstrate that it can create a financially viable future. So renting out unused compute capacity (thanks to the gap between the company's data center build-out versus actual demand for its AI) makes sense. The only looming question is SpaceX's reliance on the US government for a very significant proportion of its sales and profit, which could be threatened by a change of administrations. JL

Anissa Gardizy and colleagues report in the Wall Street Journal, Surbhi Jain reports in Yahoo Finance:

For SpaceX, renting computing capacity has proven more lucrative than selling Grok AI. The company is in talks with the Defense Department about providing data-center capacity worth billions of dollars for running AI models. SpaceX has signed similar deals with Anthropic and Google and is now planning to greatly expand its cloud-computing efforts. If it moves forward, SpaceX would enter a market already served by Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Oracle - all of which provide cloud infrastructure to the Pentagon. National-security officials have raised concerns that the Pentagon is already too reliant on Musk’s services, and  huge his financial contributions to President Trump’s 2024 campaign have fueled conflict-of-interest claims.

Napoleon and Hitler Failed To Do So, But Ukraine Has Struck Beyond Russia's Urals

Russia's largest oil refinery is located in Omsk, beyond the Ural Mountains that separate European, or western, Russia from Siberia in large measure because, historically, the Urals were believed to be a line beyond which foreign invaders, almost always coming from Europe, were unable to reach. Not anymore.

Two weeks ago, a Ukrainian drone flew 2,500 kilometers, the longest one way drone strike of the war to date, and hit the Omsk refinery, starting fires and damaging crucial equipment. The purpose was as much symbolic as strategic: the message being, nothing in Russia is safe and beyond the reach of Ukrainian drones. JL

The Golden Scripture reports:

There is a line on the map of Russia that has held for two hundred years. Napoleon’s army never crossed it. Hitler’s army never crossed it. In 1941, the Soviet Union moved its entire wartime industry behind that line because nothing could reach it there. Behind the Urals meant beyond the reach of an invading force. The Soviets  physically relocated factories, workers, and machinery behind the Urals, because German bombers and German tanks could not reach them. (But) in April, Ukrainian drones struck Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk in the Ural region. On July 6, a Ukrainian drone crossed it. It flew 2500 kilometers, the longest one-way strike of the entire war and it hit the Omsk refinery, the  largest in Russia. Omsk sits beyond the Urals. So does Angarsk, in Siberia. Of the ten largest refineries in the country, nine have now been hit.

64 Russian Troops Captured By Ukraine In Zaporizhzhia Counterattacks

That so many Russian soldiers 'chose to accept the Ukrainian offer to surrender' without putting up a fight underscores the Russian army's low morale at this point in the war their government initiated over four years ago. JL

Yulia Taradiuk reports in the Kyiv Independent:

Ukraine's 225th Assault Regiment on July 20 captured 64 Russian soldiers during an operation to clear infiltrating Russian groups from Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The Russian troops had been tasked with infiltrating behind Ukrainian positions to locate Ukrainian drone crews, gather intelligence, and plant Russian flags in villages for "propaganda footage." Ukrainian troops detected and cleared the infiltrating groups from Ternuvate, Kosivtseve, Rizdvianka, Verkhnia Tersa, and Vozdvyzhivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.