Ukraine Daily

Sunday, July 31

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

KHARKIV, UKRAINE - JULY 30: Ukrainian civilians ride past a demolished house in the east of Kharkiv, Ukraine on July 30, 2022. (Photo by Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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US ambassador to UN says there should no longer be any doubt that Russia intends to dismantle Ukraine. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council that her country is seeing growing signs of Russia laying the groundwork to attempt to annex all of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Mykolaiv is under massive shelling. Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych reported that explosions caused by cluster munitions, have been heard in the city overnight on July 31 and urged residents to stay in shelters. According to preliminary information from Sienkevych, some residential buildings are damaged by the shockwave and debris.

Blinken: Russia’s blockage of Ukrainian food exports exacerbates global food insecurity. The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a call with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed hope that the first ships loaded with grain would be able to depart Ukraine’s ports without further delay. Blinken expressed condolences over the killing of over 50 captive Ukrainian soldiers in the Olenivka prison camp, according to Spokesperson Ned Price. “The Secretary reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to hold Russia accountable for atrocities committed by its forces against the people of Ukraine,” said Price.

Guerrillas damage railway in Luhansk Oblast. Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai reported that Luhansk partisans damaged the railway near the city of Svatove, which reportedly was used to supply Russian troops with ammunition.

Intelligence: Russia prepares ‘referendum’ in occupied parts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia oblasts. According to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Directorate, Russia has not given up on the idea of annexing Ukraine’s south by staging illegal “referendums” there. Besides, Vladimir Putin’s party United Russia started to operate in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Lebanon detains ship with stolen Ukrainian grain. The Ukrainian Embassy in Lebanon received an order allowing the seizure of the ship for 72 hours. Previously, the embassy informed officials that a Syrian ship loaded with barley stolen from the occupied territories docked in Tripoli port.

Institute for the Study of War: Russian forces may concentrate offensive in direction of Bakhmut, Donetsk. The U.S. think tank reported on July 30 that Russian forces will likely deprioritize operations to take Siversk and Sloviansk to focus on offensive operations in the direction of Bakhmut and around the city of Donetsk. The experts say it is very unlikely for Russian forces to take Bakhmut, which is large and well-defended, or to make dramatic gains west of Donetsk. The institute also predicts that Russian troops intend to gain “as much ground in Donetsk Oblast as possible before the planned referendum in September.”

Olenivka attack

Zelensky: World has to label Russia as terrorist state after Olenivka attack. “It is not enough just to condemn (Russia) at the level of political rhetoric,” he said. “This is mass murder. What kind of relations can there be with terrorists after this, what kind of business can there be with such a country?” The attack on Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast, killed at least 50 Ukrainian prisoners on July 29. Russia blamed Ukraine for the attack but presented no proof. Ukraine and its Western partners agree that Russia organized the Olenivka attack.

Azov Regiment commander calls Olenivka attack ‘act of public execution,’ vows to avenge it. Acting commander of the Azov Regiment, Major Mykyta Nadtochy, said in a statement that attack on the Olenivka prisoner camp was “an act of public execution.” “Russia commited it out of impunity,” he said. “They are used to the fact that no one will hold them accountable even for open violations of laws, customs, and rules of war.”

Russia says it will allow UN and Red Cross to see prison where Ukrainian POWs died. Russia’s Defense Ministry have “officially invited” UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) experts at the site of the death of Ukrainian POWs in Olenivka. Previously the Ukrainian government called on the UN and ICRC to investigate the attack.

Russia publishes lists of Ukrainian POWs killed, injured in Olenivka. Russian Defense Ministry published the names of 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war killed, and 73 injured in the attack on the Olenivka prisoner camp on July 28. Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets says that Russia hasn’t yet responded to his request about the victims’ identities and the retrieval of their bodies. Ukraine says that Russia attacked the camp with artillery, where the captive defenders of Mariupol were held and awaiting a prisoner exchange. Russia blames Ukraine for the attack on the camp despite providing no evidence to validate the claim.

The human cost of Russia’s war

The number of casualties of Russian July 29 strike on Mykolaiv rises to 7. According to Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych, two people died in the hospital, increasing the number of casualties to seven people. Sienkevych added that 19 people required medical assistance as a result of the Russian attack.

General Staff: Russia has lost 40,670 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff said on July 30 that Russia had also lost 1,759 tanks, 3,995 armored fighting vehicles, 906 artillery systems, 258 multiple launch rocket systems, 117 air defense systems, 190 helicopters, 222 airplanes, 733 drones, and 15 boats.

Russian shelling kills 1, wounds 6 in Mykolaiv. Russian troops shelled a residential district in the city center located not far from Mykolaiv’s shipyard on the night of July 30.

International response

Pentagon: US to supply NASAMS air defense systems to Ukraine. “I do not have the detailed information on the specifics of the contracting process but we are already in the process of procuring the system,” a senior U.S. defense official said. The date of the delivery was not disclosed. NASAMS surface-to-air missiles can hit targets at a range of up to 180 kilometers and at a height of up to 21 kilometers.

MP: Russian embassy must be expelled from UK after call for executing Azov prisoners. The Russian Embassy tweeted on July 29 that Azov soldiers “deserve execution, but death not by firing squad but by hanging.” “This is calling for war crimes,” Labour MP Chris Bryant said. “It is time the UK sent the whole Russian Embassy packing back to Moscow.” The tweet followed an attack that killed at least 50 Ukrainian prisoners, including Azov soldiers, in the Russian-occupied town of Olevivka, Donetsk Oblast, on July 29. Russia blamed Ukraine for the attack but presented no proof. Ukraine and its Western partners assert that Russia organized the Olenivka attack.

Ukraine receives $5 million from Qatar for medical aid. According to the Health Ministry, Qatar Fund For Development transferred $5 million to UNITED24, a Ukrainian state-run fundraising platform. The money will be used to purchase ambulances, anesthesia, and breathing apparatuses.

Minister: Government to start mandatory evacuation of civilians from Donetsk Oblast. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that the evacuation must start before the heating season and added that 200,000 civilians must be evacuated. If someone refuses to evacuate, they will be forced to sign a document to take responsibility for any possible risks, she said. There is no proper electricity supply and no gas supply in the region, while Russia keeps destroying heating equipment, Vereshchuk added.

Latvian minister calls on EU to designate Russia as state sponsor of terrorism. Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics condemned “the brutal murder of Ukrainian POWs by the Russian Armed Forces in Olenivka and ongoing atrocities committed by Russian troops against Ukraine.” Rinkevics also called on the European Union to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and stop issuing tourist visas for Russians.

Lithuania to provide more military aid for Ukraine. Lithuanian Defense Ministry reports it will provide Ukraine with 10 more M113 APCs and packages of explosives and smoke grenades. Lithuania also offered training for Ukrainian mechanics and sappers (de-mining technicians). “Our moral duty is to support Ukraine with military equipment and train Ukrainian troops,” said Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas. “We must clearly understand that if we do not stop the aggressor in Ukraine, we will have a war in our countries.”

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Alexander Query, Alexander Khrebet, Oleg Sukhov, Oleksiy Sorokin, Natalia Datskevych, Olena Goncharova, Brad LaFoy, and Anastasiya Gordiychuk.

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