July 20, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Syria has severed diplomatic ties with Ukraine, the country's government said Wednesday.

The news follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's announcement that his government was cutting diplomatic relations with Syria in June.

“The Syrian Arab Republic has decided to break diplomatic relations with Ukraine in conformity with the principle of reciprocity and in response to the decision of the Ukrainian government,” state news agency SANA reported, quoting an unnamed official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.

Zelensky announced the severing of diplomatic ties with President Bashar al-Assad’s government after Damascus recognized the independence of the two Russian-backed separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, located in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. 

Syria was the first country, after its close ally Russia, to recognize the independence of the breakaway regions and state its intention to build diplomatic relations with them last month.

The Syrian government has relied on Russian support for over a decade, with Moscow shielding the country in the Security Council and flooding it with weapons, personnel, and operational support.

Russia began a military operation in Syria to prop up the Assad regime six years before its invasion of Ukraine.

In 2018, Assad’s government recognized two other Russian-backed separatist republics, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which are internationally recognized as part of Georgia.

A 13-year-old boy was among three victims of a Russian attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv on Wednesday morning, said Oleh Synehubov, head of the regional military administration.

Synehubov advised people in Kharkiv -- Ukraine's second-largest city before the start of Russia's invasion -- not to go outside unless necessary. 

A bridge to the largely Russian-occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine has been shelled by Ukrainian forces for two days in a row, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Eight or nine rockets hit the Antonovskiy bridge, which crosses the Dnieper River, on Wednesday, TASS reported, citing Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the region's Russian-backed administration.

Stremousov told TASS the bridge was "very badly damaged" in the shelling, but said there is no danger of it collapsing. 

On Tuesday, videos shared on social media already showed damage to the bridge. 

According to the UK Ministry of Defence, the bridge is a "key vulnerability for Russian forces," as it is one of only two crossing points over the Dnieper River, which Russia can use to supply or withdraw their forces "in the territory it has occupied west of the river."

Two people died and nine others were injured following Russian shelling of a residential area of Nikopol in southern Ukraine late on Tuesday, according to Sergey Bratchuk, spokesman for the Odesa regional administration. 

Four of the injured are children, he said, adding that the shelling destroyed three houses and damaged 12 other homes.

Russian forces are renewing efforts to break through Ukrainian defenses in eastern Ukraine and stepping up missile strikes in the south of the country. Meanwhile, Ukraine's first lady is on a high-profile trip to the United States.

Here are the latest developments:

Russia is forming plans to annex more parts of Ukraine, repeating a playbook it used in the 2014 annexation of Crimea to seize territory, the White House said Tuesday.

The steps Russia is planning could include "sham" referenda, installing illegitimate proxy officials, establishing the Russian Ruble as the official currency and forcing Ukrainian citizens to apply for Russian citizenship, said John Kirby, the communications coordinator at the National Security Council.

Kirby warned the US would punish Russia with additional sanctions for attempts to further annex Ukrainian territory, and said the White House would unveil additional security assistance to Ukraine later this week. He cited US intelligence that had been downgraded and approved for public release to make the claims about Russia's plans.

The US and its Western allies have sought to turn around momentum in Ukraine as Russia makes incremental gains in the western part of the country. Biden has approved billions in arms shipments and other security assistance and applied several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.

Former Ukraine Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said she accepts President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to dismiss her but denies any collaborators worked in her office.

She said a top priority of her office was working on the problems of state treason and collaborators and her office had been very open about It.

When Venediktova was asked what the real justification was for her dismissal, she said, “You know that my chair, it is political chair and I was 16th Ukrainian prosecutor during 30 years. It is realpolitik in Ukraine. This is my answer.” 

When pressed on the real reasons why Zelensky had decided to dismiss her, Venediktova made it clear she doesn’t want to debate it in public because Russia will exploit it. “President now, its chief of command. He understands his strategy and tactic. And he makes his decision with his views,” Venediktova said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Iran on Tuesday for his first international trip beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union since launching his invasion of Ukraine, which effectively ruptured ties with the West.

Putin met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran, and with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He also met with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Tuesday.

Raisi also hailed a "significant" commitment to security cooperation between Iran and Russia, saying the two countries had "good experience" in fighting terrorism.

Energy deal: Also on Tuesday, Iran's national oil company signed a $40 billion agreement with Russia's state-run gas company Gazprom, according to a statement from Shana, the news agency for Iran's oil ministry. The deal includes development of Iranian gas fields and building new gas export pipelines.

Khamenei meanwhile hailed mutual cooperation between Russia and Iran as "deeply beneficial."

Referring to Putin's war in Ukraine, Khamenei also said the expansion of Western security alliance NATO had to be "stopped."

"NATO is a dangerous entity. The West is totally opposed to a strong, independent Russia. If the way is opened for NATO, it will recognize no limits," Khamenei said. "If it hadn't been stopped in Ukraine, it would have later started a similar war in Crimea."

Read more here.

Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska visited the White House on Tuesday to privately meet with first lady Jill Biden and take part in a larger bilateral meeting with American officials.

Zelenska was greeted at the White House by President Joe Biden and Jill Biden. The President handed a large bouquet of flowers to Zelenska when she got out of the car and the two first ladies hugged.

Read more here.