Ukraine Daily

Tuesday, August 30

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainians lay flowers to Memory Wall of the Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in the Russian-Ukrainian war during a commemorative ceremony to mark the Day of Remembrance of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in Kyiv on August 29, 2022 (Photo by Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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Zelensky: I won’t give any specifics, but we will drive the invaders to the border. In his evening address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Russian soldiers to go home or surrender, otherwise “they will deal with our defenders, who will not stop until they liberate everything that belongs to Ukraine.” The statement came after Ukraine started a long-awaited counteroffensive in the south on Aug. 29.

Ukraine exported over 1.3 million tons of grain since grain agreement. Serhii Bratchuk, the spokesman for the Odesa regional administration, said in 29 days since Ukraine’s ports were reopened, at least 56 ships have delivered grain to 18 countries.

UK intelligence: Russian defense minister ‘side-lined’ within Russian leadership. The U.K. Defense Ministry said in its latest update that independent Russian media outlets have reported that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is being “side-lined,” with Russian operational commanders briefing Russian dictator Vladimir Putin directly on the course of the war. “Russian officers and soldiers with first-hand experience of the war probably routinely ridicule Shoigu for his ineffectual and out-of-touch leadership as Russian progress has stalled,” the ministry said.

CNN: Ukrainian forces liberate 4 villages on Kherson front. The villages of Novodmytrivka, Arkhanhelske, Tomyna Balka, and Pravdyne were liberated from Russian occupation, an unnamed source in the Ukrainian military told CNN. The news comes amid announcements of Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the southern Kherson Oblast having started on Aug. 29. “We’ll see how it goes from here. Our target is Kherson,“ the unnamed source told CNN.

White House: Ukraine’s counteroffensive forces Russians to pull sources from the east. Speaking to CNN, U.S. National Security Council communications coordinator John Kirby said that the mere threat of a Ukrainian counteroffensive on Kherson was enough for Russia to weaken its presence in the Donbas in the east of the country. Kirby added that Russia is “experiencing manpower challenges that are not made easier” by the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

ISW: Putin signs decrees to allow Ukrainians to live and work in Russia. According to the U.S. think tank, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed two decrees on Aug. 27, the first of which allows residents of Ukraine and stateless people to live and work in Russia “indefinitely.” The second decree entails that social payments will be paid to Ukrainians who have come to Russia. In an earlier report issued by the Institute for the Study of War on Aug. 22, the experts reported that Ukrainians re-entering occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast are given identification forms for “stateless persons” by occupying authorities. ISW speculated that Russia could use this status to restrict Ukrainians who temporarily return to occupied territories after evacuating from them.

Russia refuses to demilitarize area around Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that demilitarization of the occupied plant is “not being discussed now.” Russian troops have occupied the plant since early March. Ukraine has been accusing Russian forces of placing artillery near the plant to attack Ukrainian positions, endangering the nuclear facility. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission is on its way to the plant to ensure its safety.

Russia confirms death of Ukrainian collaborator. According to the Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti, the Investigative Committee of Russia said it was investigating the murder of Oleksiy Kovaliov, a former Ukrainian lawmaker from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party. According to Ukraine’s military intelligence, Kovaliov cooperated with Russian troops in the occupied Kherson Oblast and was blown up in his car on June 22 but survived the attack. Russia’s Investigative Committee said that Kovaliov died from a gunshot at his residence on Aug. 28.

Minister: Ukraine no longer interested in NATO membership action plan, wants membership. According to the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna, after six months of Russia full-scale war, NATO’s potential decision on the membership action plan for Ukraine no longer has the same importance as before. According to her, Ukraine has already implemented many of the practices of the Alliance, and its military is now gaining unique combat experience that the military of NATO allies don’t have.

Security Service seizes assets belonging to wife of arrested pro-Kremlin oligarch Medvedchuk. Three plots of land valued at Hr 2 million ($55,000) belonging to Oksana Marchenko, wife of Viktor Medvedchuk, were seized by the Lviv Oblast department of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The ownership of the land was illegally transferred to Marchenko from the state in 2009, the SBU said. Accused of high treason, Medvedchuk has been under arrest since April.

Read our exclusives here

Many Ukrainian schools to reopen as Russia’s war continues. “As the school year approaches, Russia continues to wage war in Ukraine, and intense battles unfold in the east and south. Though a sense of normalcy has returned in cities further away from the front line, like Kyiv and Lviv, indiscriminate Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure have remained a reality across the country. Despite the circumstances, Ukraine is determined to resume life wherever possible.“ Read our story here.

Opinion pieces

Vitaly Portnikov: The unknown country. “Do we know anything about this country that has assaulted us, aside from the few names listed in school textbooks? What do we know about Russia, and what should we know about it?” Read the op-ed here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Russian attacks killed 8 civilians in Donetsk Oblast on Aug. 28. Four people were killed in Bakhmut, two in Raihorodok, and the rest in Tetianivka and Mykolaivka, said Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. Seven people were injured in Donetsk Oblast that day, Kyrylenko said.

Governor: Russian missile strike on Mykolaiv kills 2, injures 24. Mykolaiv Oblast Governor Vitaliy Kim reported that Russian forces hit the city with 12 missiles on Aug. 29. The strikes on Mykolaiv come as Ukraine begins its counteroffensive on neighboring Kherson.

General Staff: Russia has lost 47,100 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Aug. 29 that Russia had also lost 1,947 tanks, 4,269 armored fighting vehicles, 3,188 vehicles and fuel tanks, 1,060 artillery systems, 279 multiple launch rocket systems, 149 air defense systems, 203 helicopters, 234 airplanes, 844 drones, and 15 boats.

International response

Norway to provide $200 million for Ukraine to buy gas. “It is now a matter of urgency to help Ukraine increase its store of natural gas before winter arrives. The gas will help to alleviate the country’s grave humanitarian situation,” reads the Norwegian government’s statement published on Aug. 29.

Zelensky announces joint forum with France on rebuilding Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the forum in his address to the French business community MEDEF. The event will be held in Paris together with representatives of the private sector in the fall.

Next Ramstein Format meeting to be held in Germany on Sept. 8. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will personally hold a meeting of Ukraine Contact Group at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Austin invited defense ministers and senior officials from around the world to discuss the war in Ukraine and various security issues facing U.S. allies and partners.

Ukraine summons Turkish ambassador over Russian weapons shipping through Bosphorus. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry expressed its concerns to Ambassador Yağmur Ahmet Güldere on Aug. 29 after revelations that Russia used the civilian cargo ship Sparta-II to transfer military equipment, including S-300 air defense systems, to Russia from bases in Syria.

Poland asks France to urgently increase weapons deliveries, financial aid for Ukraine. The call was made by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Aug. 29 in Paris. “A country at war must rely on its allies,” Morawiecki said after the meeting as reported by Ukrinform.

In other news…

Lithuania completes construction of fence along border with Belarus. The four-meter razor wire fence stretching for 502 kilometers has been completed, according to the Lithuanian state-owned energy group EPSO-G. Lithuania began to build the fence in response to Belarus forcing thousands of migrants across the border in 2021, which the State Border Guard Service said continues to this day.

Serbia can find affordable alternatives to Russian energy, president says. The Balkan country, known for its warm relationship with Russia, is financially resilient enough to withstand the coming energy crisis, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told Reuters. Vucic spoke of seeking alternative sources of energy from Iraq, Venezuela, and Azerbaijan.

Reuters: Taliban close to finalizing contract to purchase Russian gasoline. Reuters reports that Afghan officials are nearing the end of negotiations with Russia to purchase gasoline and benzene for the Taliban government. A spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Economy confirmed to Reuters that an official delegation chaired by the commerce ministry was finalizing contracts for supplies of wheat, gas and oil.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Olga Rudenko, Toma Istomina, Alisa Soboleva, Liliane Bivings, Francis Farrell, Daria Shulzhenko, Olena Goncharova, Sergiy Slipchenko, and Anastasiya Gordiychuk.

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