Ukraine Daily

Monday, August 1

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

A pro-Ukrainian poster disseminated by local partisans on a building in Kherson Oblast which says “Occupiers, leave, or HIMARS will help.” As of July 25, the U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) have succeeded in destroying 50 Russian ammunition depots across Ukraine, according to Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. (Photo: Ukraine’s Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Directorate).

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Turkey: First Ukrainian grain ship could set off on Aug. 1. Turkey’s presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin told Turkish media that the ships are ready to leave Odesa. “The probability of the first ship leaving tomorrow morning seems high,” Kalin said.

Satellite images show destruction of Olenivka prison. New satellite images, released by Maxar Technologies, show Olenivka prison camp in Donetsk Oblast before and after the explosion or attack that killed at least 50 captive Ukrainian soldiers. The images show that only one section of the prison was destroyed, with no visible damage anywhere around it, including to adjacent buildings.

Russia’s new naval doctrine defines US as its main threat. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin on July 31 signed a new naval doctrine that sets out Russia’s global maritime ambitions in areas such as the Arctic and the Black Sea. The document also states that the main threat to Russia is “the strategic policy of the U.S. to dominate the world’s oceans” and the movement of NATO closer towards Russia’s borders.

Ukrainian Navy slams Russia’s accusation of drone strike on Sevastopol. The alleged attack is Russia’s “invented excuse” to cancel its Black Sea Fleet Day parade, Ukraine’s Navy said in a statement. Earlier, the Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol Mykhailo Razvozhaev told Russian media that a Ukrainian drone attacked the local headquarters of the Russian fleet on July 31. “With such statements, the enemy recognizes his air defense inadequate and puts under even greater doubt the fate of the Crimean Bridge,” the statement reads, implying that the Crimean Bridge connecting the illegally annexed Crimea and Russia can be targeted by Ukraine.

Intelligence: 200 Russian marines refuse to come back to fight in Ukraine. According to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry Intelligence Directorate, the 200 Russian marines from the 810th naval infantry brigade refused to come back to fight in the southern regions of Ukraine. This has caused “a significant problem, which, according to our data, delayed the process of restoration and combat coordination of the battalion tactical group of this brigade,” said the directorate’s spokesperson Vadym Skibitsky.

General Staff: Russia moves troops from north of Donetsk Oblast to the south. According to Ukraine’s General Staff, Russia has moved some units from the Sloviansk direction in Donetsk Oblast to the southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Ukraine’s military also said that Russian troops have had partial success near Avdiivka, a suburb of occupied Donetsk. Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attempts to advance toward the Husarivka village in Kharkiv Oblast, according to the report.

Military: Russia strikes Odesa Oblast with 2 Iskander ballistic missiles. According to Ukraine’s Operational Command South, Russian forces launched missiles at Odesa Oblast from occupied Crimea.

Ukraine destroys Russian echelon in Kherson Obast with HIMARS. According to Serhiy Bratchuk, the spokesperson for the Odesa Oblast State Administration, Ukraine’s military hit a 40-car train transporting Russian troops, equipment, and ammunition from Crimea with U.S.-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers overnight on July 31. Bratchuk said that around 80 Russian soldiers were killed and around 200 injured as a result of the attack.

Governor: 191 people remain captive by Russian forces in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Oleksandr Starukh said in an interview with Ukrinform news agency that, of those still in Russian captivity, six are local officials and two are minors. “They put them in basements, electrocute them, torment them, demand money, pressure their families, threaten to abduct their children,” Starukh said. Since March, 453 civilians have reportedly been held hostage by Russian forces in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, some of whom have since been released.

Read our exclusives here

Early in the morning on July 31, a leading figure in Ukraine’s agribusiness, tycoon Oleksiy Vadaturskyi, and his wife Raisa Vadaturska were killed by a Russian strike that hit their home in the southern city of Mykolaiv. Read our coverage here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Agricultural tycoon Vadatursky, his wife killed by Russian shelling. Oleksiy Vadatursky, 74, and his wife Raisa Vadaturska were killed when Russian shelling hit their house in Mykolaiv in the early hours of July 31, said Vitaly Kim, the governor of Mykolaiv Oblast. Vadatursky owned Nibulon, a large agricultural conglomerate. His net worth was estimated at over $400 million in 2021.

Russian shelling kills 1, wounds 2 in Sumy Oblast. Russians shelled the region almost 50 times on the evening of July 30, Dmytro Zhivytskyi, the head of Sumy regional administration, reported. A farm caught fire as a result.

Kyiv Oblast police chief: 1,348 civilians found dead after Russian retreat. Andriy Nebytov said that 300 Kyiv Oblast residents are still missing. Russian forces retreated from Kyiv Oblast in early April, leaving behind mass graves of civilians.

General Staff: Russia has lost 40,830 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff said on July 31 that Russia had also lost 1,763 tanks, 4,004 armored fighting vehicles, 916 artillery systems, 259 multiple launch rocket systems, 117 air defense systems, 190 helicopters, 223 airplanes, 735 drones, and 15 boats.

International response

US Ambassador: Attack on Olenivka prison, ‘barbaric’ treatment of Ukrainian POWs ‘unconscionable.’ “We will continue to pursue accountability and give Ukraine what it needs to defend itself against Moscow’s horrific aggression,” U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink wrote on Twitter on July 31.

Red Cross renews appeal to visit Olenivka prison. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has not yet received permission to visit the site of an attack in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast that killed at least 50 captive Ukrainian soldiers on July 29, it said in a statement, Reuters reports. “The parties must do everything in their power, including through impartial investigations, to help determine the facts behind the attack,” the ICRC said.

CBS: US has accepted over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees since Feb. 24. CBS News cited government statistics seen by its journalists. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed the number of arrivals.

In other news

Explosion reported at warehouse of Bulgarian firm that supplied arms to Ukraine. According to local media reports, an explosion occurred at a Bulgarian ammunition warehouse owned by businessman Emilian Gebrev, whose company provided weapons to Ukraine after 2014. There were no casualties due to the incident. In 2020 Bulgarian prosecutors charged three Russian citizens with poisoning Gebrev. He was poisoned by agents of Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), according to Bellingcat, an open-source intelligence outfit. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic has accused Russia of blowing up Czech ammunition warehouses owned by Gebrev in 2014.

Foreign Ministry recommends Ukrainians refrain from visiting Serbia amid tensions with Kosovo. Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it is monitoring the situation on the Serbia-Kosovo border, urging Ukrainian citizens to avoid crowded places in the region. The ministry also recommended Ukrainians use checkpoints on the border with North Macedonia “in case of further aggravation of the security situation and blocking of roads.” While most EU countries recognize Kosovo as an independent state, Ukraine does not.

Ukraine wins gold at 2022 Canoe Marathon European Championships. Ukrainian national Liudmyla Babak came first place in the short-distance canoe marathon, three seconds ahead of another competitor, reports SPORT.UA. The championship is held in Silkeborg, Denmark.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Olga Rudenko, Alexander Query, Oleg Sukhov, Thaisa Semenova, Toma Istomina, Lili Bivings, Alexander Khrebet, Teah Pelechaty, and Sergiy Slipchenko.

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