What did Moscow's widened war aims mean in July 2022?

What had changed in the war by 21 July 2022? In the days leading up to that date, Russia widened its stated aims, Ukraine's president removed two senior officials, and strikes continued on towns far from the main front.

Wider Russian aims

On 20 July 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country's military goals were no longer limited to the Donbas region. He said they now also covered the Kherson region, the Zaporizhzhia region and a number of other territories.

The statement followed an order from Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu to expand operations in Ukraine, which he framed as a way to protect the Donbas. On 16 July, Russian missiles struck Chuhuiv in Kharkiv Oblast, killing three civilians and injuring three more. More than 50 Grad rockets hit Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing two people.

Occupation administration in Zaporizhzhia

On 18 July, 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.

On 16 July, the president of Energoatom, the Ukrainian nuclear energy authority, accused Russian forces of using the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to store weapons and to shell the surrounding area.

Shake-up in Kyiv

On 18 July, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova and Ivan Bakanov, the top security official of the Security Service of Ukraine. More than 60 officials from those agencies were alleged to be working with Russia. In addition, 651 cases of alleged treason and collaboration were opened against prosecutorial and law enforcement officials.

Taken together, the reports from 16 to 20 July show a Russian leadership stating broader territorial aims, an occupation structure being built in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and a Ukrainian leadership acting on allegations of collaboration inside its own institutions.