Russia's War with Ukraine. Day 1244

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that from 8:00 p.m. to 11:20 p.m. Moscow time, Ukrainian drones were shot down over the Moscow region (seven, three of them flying towards Moscow), as well as over the Bryansk (17), Oryol (14), Kaluga (4) and Belgorod (1) regions.

The destruction of drones flying towards Moscow was announced by the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin. Operations at four airports near Moscow were temporarily suspended – Domodedovo, Zhukovsky, Sheremetyevo, and Vnukovo airports were closed to all aircraft.

A channel monitoring the situation on the approach roads to the crossing reports a queue of cars at the entrance to the Crimean Bridge from the Russian side. According to the information provided, there is no queue on the Crimean side.

A Russian private from the 40th Independent Marine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet was captured on the Kursk section of the front after getting lost and reaching positions held by Ukrainian border guards. The 35-year-old soldier volunteered for the army in exchange for a one-year contract, promising 3 million rubles (approximately 140,000 PLN). However, he never received the money. Almost immediately after enlisting, he was transferred to the Kursk Oblast and sent to attack Ukrainian positions, according to the Ukrainian side.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported several explosions in the city. The shelling caused a fire at a civilian enterprise. A fire also broke out near a residential building in the Kyiv region. There are currently no reports of injuries.

The Ukrainian Center for Combating Disinformation emphasizes that the supposedly Ukrainian poster is actually disinformation spread by Russians. Russians have been spreading information about such a poster since 2024. As the Center for Combating Disinformation emphasizes, it is part of "the standard arsenal of Russian disinformation, which aims to demonize Ukraine through (...) historical themes and symbols." Russia, as the Ukrainian side emphasizes, aims to create a false image of Ukrainian society and justify its aggression with pseudo-historical arguments.

The recording was released by the 66th Independent Mechanized Brigade. The Ukrainian "Khortytsya" group reported repelling the attack.

"On the night of July 20-21, 2025, long-range aviation of the Russian Federation once again conducted a massive missile strike on Ukrainian territory. In response to this aggressive activity, and with the security of the Republic of Poland in mind, all procedures aimed at strengthening the protection of Polish airspace were immediately initiated. Polish and allied air forces began operating, and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems reached the highest level of readiness. The measures taken are preventative in nature and serve to ensure the safety of citizens and protect the state's borders – particularly in areas adjacent to the high-risk zone," reads a statement from the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces.

According to authorities in the Ukrainian capital, one Kyiv resident was killed in the attack and another person was injured. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported damage to the entrance to a metro station. Fires broke out in the Darnytskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Solomianskyi, and Dniprovskyi districts of the Ukrainian capital. In the former, a kindergarten was set ablaze.