Passenger plane crash near Moscow and Russia's claims of “provocations” at the dams: highlights for July 12

Airplane crash near Moscow

A Russian Sukhoi Superjet passenger plane crashed in the Moscow region. As noted, there were no passengers on board — only a crew of three was flying.

The plane crashed in a forest, and there were no casualties among the local population. But the people on board died.

Claims of “provocations” at the dams

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Ukraine is allegedly preparing to blow up the dams of the Kyiv hydroelectric power plant and the Kaniv reservoir to allegedly blame Russia.

The Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine explained that with such statements Russia wants to cause panic among Ukrainians and force them to make concessions to Russia. They also assured that Russia does not have the means to destroy the dams — neither by missile strikes nor by sabotage.

Orbán meets with Trump

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump to discuss “ways to make peace”.

“The good news of the day: he’s going to solve it!” the Hungarian prime minister wrote, apparently referring to the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Okhmatdyt building cannot be restored

One of the buildings of the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv, which was hit by a Russian missile, is beyond repair. According to Volodymyr Zhovnir, CEO of Okhmatdyt, all the hospital's buildings were damaged, but the degree of damage varies.

Now they have to finalize a report that will show the cost of restoring the hospital, and next week Okhmatdyt will select a company that will carry out construction work.

Russians dug up bodies of Ukrainian soldiers in Kherson region

In the central cemetery of the village of Kalanchak in the Kherson region, the occupiers dug up the graves of three Ukrainian soldiers who died on the first day of the full-scale invasion. After that, the graves were covered flush with the ground.

Soldier Oleksandr Alforov suggests that the occupiers dug up the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers for exchange.

Requiem for the Dead in Kyiv

A Requiem for the Dead was organized in Kyiv to honor the memory of those killed in the Russian attack on the country's largest children's hospital, Okhmatdyt.

The Requiem was performed by the Kyiv Classical Chamber Orchestra from Ukraine, led by its chief conductor, Herman Makarenko. The event was attended by about two hundred people. Among them were doctors, Okhmatdyt CEO Volodymyr Zhovnir, the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifanius, and other clergy.

Media: London does not allow to use Storm Shadow to hit Russia

The UK Ministry of Defence has stated that it has not changed its policy on the deployment of the long-range Storm Shadow missiles provided to Ukraine. However, earlier, the newly appointed Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said that it was up to Ukraine to deploy them.

The Telegraph's sources claim that these assurances are not a done deal, as permission to launch missiles at Russia will require the consent of three countries, one of which is the UK.

Other important news of the day

• SBU: one of Kyiv's top tax officials detained on bribes.
• “NABU leaks”: suspended Deputy Head of the NABU passes polygraph tests. He says he is not involved in the case.
• Attack on a veteran in Dnipro: the ex-convict involved in the case is placed under round-the-clock house arrest.
• The government allows the military to issue combat orders on the Diia portal.
• Bloomberg: Kyiv expects to receive up to 20 F-16s by the end of the year.