Date—August 1, 2022

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Stories

1. GUR: There is a change of mood in the temporarily occupied Crimea – people are beginning to understand that the threat of hostilities on the peninsula’s territory is becoming a reality. “This is gradually reaching the population of Crimea. We are monitoring those issues related to such social attitudes. I will say one thing: first of all, they have changed, they have changed for those people who have relatives on the territory of our state – be it Kyiv or Kharkiv.” , – said the representative of GUR Vadym Skibitskyi. Also, the mood of those whose relatives are in the temporarily occupied territories, where villages and cities were destroyed, has changed. “And the second is those relatives whose brothers, sons, fathers died… The threat of the war being transferred to the territory of Crimea is already becoming a reality for them,” Skibitskyi added. Today, the Russian occupiers announced that the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation in Sevastopol was allegedly attacked. Allegedly, the city decided to cancel all festive events on the occasion of Russian Navy Day. The Ukrainian Navy said that the occupiers were afraid of the Armed Forces and came up with an excuse to cancel the “holiday” “so as not to be ashamed in front of the whole world.” (Source: Liga).

Announcements

1. The first caravan with sixteen vessels with Ukrainian grain may arrive at the Turkish port in Istanbul as early as August 3 next week. Ships with Ukrainian grain will first depart from Ukrainian ports to Istanbul. Their movements will be tracked with the help of drones and satellites from the moment of their departure. The first vessel is expected to enter Turkish territorial waters on August 3. After that, vessels with Ukrainian grain will be sent to African countries, in particular Somalia. According to UN representatives, Ukrainian grain will arrive at its destination only in a month and a half. (Source: CNN).

War

1. On July 30, the assault aircraft of the Air Force of Ukraine carried out powerful airstrikes in several strategic directions using various missile and bomb weapons, the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported. They destroyed two field ammunition depots, two company strongholds, up to 20 units of armored combat vehicles of the occupiers, and dozens of Russian soldiers. The anti-aircraft missile unit also destroyed the Orlan-10 drone. In addition, in the Izyum region, combat work on the Su-30cm fighter of the invaders, which attacked our Su-25 attack aircraft, continued. “Unfortunately, it was impossible to shoot down the Rashist fighter due to the long distance. However, thanks to this combat work of the anti-aircraft fighters, the Su-30 was driven away, which allowed our attack aircraft to complete the air strike and destroy the invaders,” the message reads. Ukrainian intelligence has factual information about the geographical location of the entire Buk range of missiles: Buk-M1, M2, Thor, Pantsir, S-300, and S-400 in the occupied territories. The Armed Forces of Ukraine forces Air Force is already opposing their use. (Source: LB).

Opinions

1. The head of British intelligence MI-6, Richard Moore, expressed the opinion that Russian troops in Ukraine are “running out of steam.” It is impossible to verify this assessment’s correctness in war conditions. Russian troops have lost “tens of thousands” of people in Ukraine, and the loss of military equipment is becoming increasingly difficult to replace. The Russian Defense Ministry has stopped reporting casualty data since March. (Source: Twitter).

Economy, Social life, and Culture

1. Zelensky: This year’s harvest in Ukraine may be half as likely due to the Russian invasion. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, emphasized that an essential task for Ukraine is to prevent a global food crisis caused by the Russian invasion. In addition, the search for alternative methods of grain export remains relevant. On July 22, Russia signed an agreement not to interfere with exporting Ukrainian grain from the ports of Odesa, Pivdenny, and Chornomorsk. Still, less than a day later, it attacked the port of Odesa with Kalibr missiles. The Seaports Authority announced on July 24 that all three ports are beginning to resume operations as part of the agreement. On July 29, Zelenskyi visited the Chornomorsk sea trade port, where export grain is supposed to depart by sea as part of the Istanbul Agreement. (Source: Liga).

Military Help

1. Reznikov thanked Italy for the new package of military support for Ukraine. He added that Ukrainians will always remember Italy’s steadfast support. The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov thanked his Italian colleague Lorenzo Guerini for the new package of military support: “When we are united, we cannot be defeated! I would like to thank the Italian government and personally my friend Lorenzo Guerini for the new package of military support.” He added that Ukrainians will always remember Italy’s steadfast support. There are no details about the contents of the package yet. At the end of June, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, announced that Italy would supply Ukraine with heavy weapons, similar to howitzers, which are provided to our country by Germany and the Netherlands. (Source: Twitter).

2. People’s Deputy Petro Poroshenko handed over the H10 Poseidon Mk II drone complex for the Airborne Assault Forces. H10 Poseidon Mk II drones have a range of up to 150 kilometers and a height of up to 4,000 meters. Cruising speed 75 km/h. This is a reconnaissance battalion-level complex that will work for the benefit of all brigades of the zone of responsibility, reconnaissance and artillery guidance, and adjustment of large-caliber fire. “This is a war of artillery, anti-aircraft missiles, and, most importantly, drones of a completely new quality. With the high number of hours, they are in the air. With a high range of operations up to 150 kilometers in inertial mode. With high protection against the effects of the enemy’s radio-electronic warfare. With cool cameras that have a 40x zoom, cool “thermal imagers” that are the eyes of our gunners, our paratroopers, which will make the counteroffensive much more effective. Very cool “birds” that require a high level of professionalism. For long weeks, if not months, these hero boys studied, and today they are among the best operators of these drones in Ukraine. They will be able to provide information that will not only be available to the battalion commander, brigade, and commander but will be available throughout the entire system of the Armed Forces. This is how we built cooperation and this is how they fight in Ukraine according to NATO standards in the 21st century,” he said. The complex is worth more than 318 thousand euros. Volunteers of the “Sprava Gromad” NGO bought 50 Autel EVO II 640T Dual UAVs with thermal imagers and additional batteries, as well as 300 Autel EVO Lite+ UAVs. With the assistance of the Estonian government, it was possible to implement this project in the shortest possible time for the amount of more than 700 thousand euros. In addition to UAVs, the Poroshenko Foundation and volunteers managed to buy a large batch of Leyland DAF trucks and 11 MLS SHIELD armored vehicles in Europe. For the first time, volunteers and a charitable foundation from Ukraine received an export license for the supply of NATO-standard military equipment. During the last week alone, equipment for the front in the amount of about 5 million dollars has arrived in Ukraine. Petro Poroshenko also announced preparations for the delivery of an additional 200 trucks for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and special Oshkosh M1070 tank tractors capable of transporting armored vehicles weighing 65 tons. (Source: LB).

3. The Pentagon is purchasing Norwegian NASAMS anti-aircraft missile systems for Ukraine, a Pentagon representative said. He clarified that the USA took up the issue of purchasing NASAMS complexes for Ukraine after the announcement of the Security Promotion Initiative. Ukraine will receive two batteries of NASAMS air defense systems. It is about batteries and not two systems, as previously reported by the media. It is not yet possible to name the exact number of anti-aircraft missile systems that Ukraine will receive. (Source: TSN).

Invasion Damage

1. In the temporarily occupied territory of the Zaporizhia region, 191 Ukrainians are being held hostage by the Russian military, the head of the Zaporizhia regional military administration, Oleksandr Starukh, said. “Since March, Russian troops have taken 453 people hostage in the Zaporizhzhia region. These are not prisoners of war. They are hostages,” Starukh said. The head of ZOVA specified about six representatives of local authorities, 13 entrepreneurs, and 27 leaders of enterprises, institutions, establishments, and organizations. “They are not released. They put them in basements, shock them with electricity, abuse them, demand money, put pressure on their families, threaten to kidnap children,” he said. The Russian invaders also took five minors hostage. Three have already been released. Two have not yet been released. Such citizens are not prisoners of war but hostages. Despite this, several dozen managed to be freed through the exchange procedure. However, there have been no such exchanges recently. (Source: Censor).

2. In Ukraine, the bodies of 1,348 civilians who died during the temporary occupation of the Kyiv region by Russian troops were found and identified, said the head of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Kyiv region Andriy Nebitov. The bodies of about 300 missing people could not be found, and more than 200 bodies remain unidentified, he added. During the occupation of the Kyiv region, the Russians also abducted and forcibly took civilians to the territory of Belarus. (Source: BBC).

Foreign news

1. Sobchak: The wife of Anatoly Chubais, film director Avdotya Smirnova, spoke about the sharp deterioration in her husband’s health. Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare condition in which a person’s immune system attacks peripheral nerves. The syndrome can affect people of any age, but it is most common in adults and men. Most patients recover entirely, even in the most severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, although it carries a potentially life-threatening condition. The media write that experts examined the room where Chubais was when he felt unwell in chemical protection suits, and police officers questioned all the witnesses. Chubais resigned as the Russian President’s special envoy for relations with international organizations in March and left Russia simultaneously. (Source: CT).

2. In the south-east of Bulgaria, near the town of Karnobat, an explosion occurred in the warehouse of the entrepreneur Emilian Gebrev, who, in 2014, during the outbreak of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, was one of the leading suppliers of ammunition for the Ukrainian army. It is reported that the cause of the explosion has not yet been established and that there were no casualties. Gebrev, commenting on what happened, said, “we are not talking about any human error. It cannot be.” According to him, the warehouse kept old ordered ammunition but remained unpaid. Previously, Gebrev’s factories and warehouses in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic were blown up. Employees of the GRU of Russia were suspected of organizing the explosions. According to the international investigative group Bellingcat, Gebrev himself was poisoned in 2015 with the Novichok military chemical produced in Russia. (Source: Svoboda).

3. The Lebanese prosecutor’s office detained a Syrian ship, which, according to information from Kyiv, was transporting wheat stolen from Ukraine. The prosecutor’s office seized the ship in the port of Tripoli and transferred the investigation into it to the special services. The Embassy of Ukraine in Lebanon received legal permission to detain the ship, which has been in the port of Beirut since July 28, for 72 hours. (Source: Telegram).