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What Moscow's widened war aims meant by 21 July 2022
Summary
A look back at the days before 21 July 2022, when Russia's stated goals grew and Kyiv reshuffled its security leadership.
What was the war's direction as of 21 July 2022? The reports from the preceding days pointed to wider Russian ambitions and turmoil inside Ukraine's own security apparatus.
On 20 July 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country's military goals were no longer limited to the Donbas region. They now also covered, in his words, the Kherson region, the Zaporizhzhia region and a number of other territories.
That widening came after Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu ordered the military to expand operations in Ukraine in order to "protect the Donbas". On 16 July 2022, Russian missiles struck the city of Chuhuiv in Kharkiv Oblast, killing three civilians and injuring three others. More than 50 Grad rockets hit Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing two people.
Occupation administration takes shape
On 18 July 2022, Russia announced Anton Koltsov, a former Prime Minister of Vologda Oblast, as the new Prime Minister in the Zaporizhzhia Military-Civilian Administration. His appointment probably took place some days earlier.
Nuclear plant concerns
On 16 July 2022, the president of Energoatom, the Ukrainian nuclear energy authority, accused Russian forces of using the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to store weapons and shell the surrounding area.
Shake-up in Kyiv
On 18 July 2022, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova and the top security official of the Security Service of Ukraine, Ivan Bakanov. More than 60 officials from the agencies were alleged to be working with Russia. In addition, 651 cases of alleged treason and collaboration were initiated against prosecutorial and law enforcement officials.
Taken together, the reports from 16 to 20 July 2022 showed Moscow naming additional regions among its objectives while installing an administration in Zaporizhzhia, and Kyiv removing two senior figures amid allegations of collaboration inside its own agencies.
