Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to meet with senior Ukrainian military commanders.
On July 18, Zelensky said that he had spoken with both the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrsky, and former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov.
This was reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Zelensky said that he was aware of the problems in communication between the Ukrainian army and other military structures and that "solutions related to the army will be worked out".
Ukrainian forces continued their campaign of strikes against Russian ships in the Black Sea as part of ongoing efforts to deprive Russia of the ability to maintain logistics and fuel transportation to occupied Crimea and isolate the peninsula.
So far in July, Russian forces have fired more ballistic missiles at Ukraine than Russia is reported to produce each month.
A Ukrainian defense source, "Military", reported on July 19 that in July 2026 alone, Russia had used up two-thirds of its planned annual production of "Zircon" missiles and that in July Russia had fired more ballistic missiles than its stated total monthly production volume.
Ukrainian Air Force reports for July indicate that Russia has fired 107 ballistic missiles and 20 "Zircon" missiles at Ukraine so far in July.
"Military" cites unspecified reports from the Ukrainian Military Intelligence (GUR) that Russia produces about 60 Iskander-M ballistic missiles per month and 40 missiles for the S-400 complex.
Russia appears to be drawing on its stockpiles to continue increasing the number of ballistic missiles it fires against Ukraine, as these missiles have a higher success rate than drones and cruise missiles.
Russian forces have simultaneously reduced the number of drones they launch in each night series, with 2,955 so far in July 2026, compared to 5,749 in June 2026.
On July 19, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium said that Ukrainian drones had struck a Russian marine terminal in Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, causing a fire and halting oil loading.
Ukrainian forces have also struck and destroyed five Russian ferries - "Lavrentiy", "Panagia", "Eisk", "Maria" and "SKS-One" - between July 6 and 19, which were responsible for about 80 percent of military transport from the port in the Caucasus, Krasnodar Territory, to occupied Crimea, and reduced the capacity of the Kerch ferry line by 75 percent.
Ukrainian forces struck 176 Russian ships in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov between July 6 and 19.