Here is the situation on Friday, July 5, 2024.

Fighting

• Russian attacks resulted in the death of two individuals and the injury of 26 in various Ukrainian regions, ranging from the south to the east and northeast. In the Odesa region, a missile strike claimed the life of a woman and wounded seven individuals, while another strike in Kharkiv region's village of Ruska Lozova resulted in the death of a woman and an injured man.

• Following a drone attack on the town of Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia's Krasnodar region, a six-year-old girl passed away in the hospital, as confirmed by Veniamin Kondratyev, the regional governor. Earlier reports indicated six individuals were hospitalized due to the same attack.
• Nine individuals, including four children, sustained injuries in a drone attack and shelling in Novohrodivka, a town in Ukraine's front-line Donetsk region, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin.
• Reports from Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak mentioned seven wounded individuals in the southern town of Nikopol following drone and artillery strikes by Russian forces. Additionally, a woman succumbed to her injuries sustained in Dnipro, the region's main city, following an earlier attack that resulted in at least seven fatalities.
• Two civilians in Kherson were wounded in a drone strike, according to city officials.
• The Ukrainian army announced the retreat of their forces from a neighborhood on the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, a strategically significant town in the eastern Donetsk region that has been severely impacted by a prolonged Russian assault.

Politics and diplomacy

• Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated talks regarding the Ukraine conflict with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Kremlin. During the televised discussions, Putin expressed his interest in addressing the evolving nuances of the conflict with Orban, who had previously visited Kyiv.

• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reassured that the European Union's support for Ukraine remains unwavering despite Orban's meeting with Putin. Scholz emphasized that Orban's visit does not represent the EU, highlighting the bloc's firm stance in supporting Ukraine and withholding support for Putin.
• Orban, during his recent visit to Kyiv, urged President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to consider a ceasefire to expedite the resolution of the conflict with Russia. Hungary's current presidency of the European Union adds significance to the situation, potentially leading to repercussions within the bloc if a visit to Moscow were to occur.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit Russia on July 8-9, marking his first visit since the invasion of Ukraine. This visit underscores Modi's delicate balance between maintaining a longstanding alliance with Moscow while seeking closer ties with Western security partners. Modi's last visit to Russia was in 2019, and he hosted Putin in New Delhi in 2021.

• A Colonel Artyom Gorodilov, the commander of Russia's 83rd Guards Air Assault Brigade, has been placed in pre-trial detention for two months on charges of large-scale fraud by a Russian military court, as reported by the state news agency TASS. Gorodilov joins a list of high-ranking Russian military officials and defense personnel arrested on corruption charges in recent times.

Weapons

• Germany confirmed the deployment of the latest Patriot air defense system to Kyiv, aiding Ukraine in repelling intense Russian airstrikes. Martin Jaeger, the German Ambassador to Ukraine, announced the arrival of the "third Patriot air defense system," following Berlin's initial announcement in April.

• Russia's Ministry of Defence is conducting drills involving mobile nuclear missile launchers, as reported by the Interfax news agency. Crews operating Yars missile launchers from two units are scheduled to move over 100km and practice camouflage and deployment, with additional crews expected to join future drills.

• The ministry also disclosed the destruction of 50 Ukrainian drones within Russian territory and annexed Ukrainian areas. The report indicated that 14 drones were neutralized over Krasnodar, 26 over Zaporizhzhia, and 10 over Rostov.