RIGHT SPEAK: UKRaine Has Reclaimed More Than Half of Territory Seized by RUssia; RU Missile Attack Damages 25 Historical Buildings in Odesa; UKR Strikes Valuable Military Targets in RU-Occupied Territory; How Cluster Munitions Give UKR Needed Punch During Counteroffensive, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

NY POST: Ukraine has reclaimed more than half of territory seized by Russia: US:

Ukraine has retaken more than half of the territory Russia captured during its initial invasion, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday.

But Blinken warned that despite Ukraine’s string of successes in repelling its Russian invaders, the country still has a “very hard fight” ahead of it.

“It’s already taken back about 50% of what was initially seized. Now they’re in a very hard fight to take back more,” Blinken stressed during an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.

“These are still relatively early days in the counteroffensive. It is tough, the Russians put in place strong defenses,” the top diplomat said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday pinned blame for the country’s delay in mounting its counteroffensive on a lack of munitions supplies.

“We did have plans to start it in spring. But we didn’t because frankly, we had not enough munitions and armaments and not enough brigades properly trained in these weapons,” Zelensky told CNN.

The US has already given tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine since the war broke out in February 2022.

US aid includes the controversial recent decision to funnel cluster munitions to Ukraine.

Some US allies such as the United Kingdom have expressed apprehension about sending such cluster weapons because of the grave dangers they can pose to civilians, but President Biden stressed the importance of aiding Ukraine, including with the munitions. --->READ MORE HERE

Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram

President’s Office: Russian missile attack damages 25 historical buildings in Odesa:

The Russian missile attack on the historical center of Odesa overnight has damaged 25 historical buildings in the city, Oleksiy Kuleba, Deputy Head of the President’s Office, reported on July 23.

One civilian was killed, and 21 were injured, including four children, as Russian forces hit the residential area in downtown Odesa, according to the report.

“This is another attempt to kill peaceful Ukrainians, erase our history, and destroy our heritage of global significance,’ Kuleba said in a Telegram post.

Local authorities said after the attack that two architectural landmarks were badly damaged or destroyed. This includes Odesa’s historic Transfiguration Cathedral, which belongs to the branch of the Russian Orthodox Church active in Ukraine.

The Transfiguration Cathedral was founded in 1794. The original building was destroyed by the Soviet regime in 1936, and the new cathedral was built in 2003.

The attack was condemned numerous nations, including Italy, which pledged to contribute to restoration efforts.

"Italy, with its unique world-class expertise in the restoration field, is ready to join in the reconstruction of the cathedral and other treasures of Ukraine's cultural heritage," Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni said, as cited by Italy's Embassy in Ukraine on July 23. --->READ MORE HERE