Weekly Brief

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) and Security Service (SBU) reported knocking out 75% of the Kerch ferry crossing's capacity during the July "MoLoChKa" operation following targeted strikes on key supply vessels (including the Eysk and SKS One). Sustained Ukrainian naval drone strikes forced Russia to temporarily halt commercial and military logistics movement through the Don-Azov canal corridor, severely disrupting Russian maritime export and resupply networks supporting Russian forces in Southern Ukraine.intentguardian

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's sudden removal of Ukraine's Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov — a key figure in Ukraine's military digitisation and drone warfare push — triggered rare public protests with hundreds to thousands of people protesting in Kyiv and other cities from 18 to 20 July. The dismissal highlighted ongoing friction between tech-led modernisation initiatives and traditional military command structures under Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi. Protesters' slogans and placards explicitly framed the dispute as a clash between modern, drone-heavy warfare and older command approaches, with messages like "Fight with drones, not people" and "Don't fix what isn't broken".kyivindependent

High-level delegations from Israel and Lebanon convened in Rome under US auspices (with US CENTCOM coordination) to establish operational mechanisms for the 26 June Trilateral Framework Agreement. Talks stalled over the initial phase — a proposed IDF withdrawal from two designated "pilot zones" in Southern Lebanon. Lebanon demanded an immediate, unconditional IDF pullout from the pilot zones before discussing further security details. Israel conditioned withdrawal on strict verification that Hezbollah operatives are entirely absent and that the Lebanese Armed Forces can independently prevent re-entry. Disagreements also persisted over zone boundaries, including areas north of the Litani River.reuters

The IDF expanded controlled demolitions of Hezbollah firing positions, supply caches, and fortified structures across border villages (e.g., Khiam). Lebanese officials reported significant infrastructure destruction in the border zone, including the destruction of three additional schools in southern Lebanon around 18 July.presstv

IDF forces conducted targeted airstrikes and engineering clearing across Zeitoun (Gaza City), Khan Yunis, and Rafah, destroying weapons manufacturing sites, rocket positions, and subterranean shafts. Precision airstrikes targeted senior Hamas district commanders and security operatives in Rafah, aiming to disrupt local command-and-control networks.timesofisrael

Thousands of Israeli right-wing activists and settler groups marched toward the Gaza border perimeter on Sunday, 19 July. Protesters breached several IDF checkpoints calling for the re-establishment of Israeli settlements in the enclave, creating operational friction for IDF units managing security along the border buffer zone.timesofisrael

As the latest round of US–Iran fighting escalated, Washington reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, while Tehran said it was targeting vessels that violated its rules in the Strait of Hormuz, contributing to a jump in Brent crude above $90 a barrel as energy shipments through the strait were curtailed. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it had struck and disabled two supertankers in Omani waters near Hormuz, and Gulf officials reported Emirati tankers hit in the same corridor, with fires and casualties, reinforcing the sense that commercial shipping through the southern approaches to the strait had become a high-risk zone.reuters

US Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted sustained waves of strikes using fighter jets and sea-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles. Operations targeted Iranian coastal surveillance, air defences, missile/drone storage facilities, and transport nodes. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization reported that US strikes hit the under-construction Darkhovin nuclear power plant site in southwest Iran on 19 July. The IAEA confirmed the site was in very early construction and contained no nuclear material.shafaq

On 20 July, Foreign Minister Sihasak warned publicly that Cambodian media coverage of the tank delivery risked stirring up nationalist sentiment and destabilising a still-fragile ceasefire along the border, and said Bangkok had formally asked Beijing to consider the impact of further arms transfers on de-escalation. Chinese officials told Thai counterparts they understood these concerns, emphasised that the tank sale was a long-standing contract agreed before the clashes, and noted that delivery had already been delayed during the fighting because of the sensitive situation, while assuring Thailand that the equipment would not be used to harm it under the agreed conditions.straitstimes