Aug 7: E-Stories
Day 529: Kharkiv UASitRep RUSitRep ChoncharHeniches'k RuAirport Allies ITA Schwartz Game4UA Hiroshima JeddahPeaceTalks A&P ISW UKDef Occupation RFE/RL Decode39 Yusov LedbyDonkeys Budanov Cohen
Catching up…
EA Worldview’s Ukraine Up-date- hop over to Scott’s amazing hourly Ukraine up-date page. I’ll fill in with some bits and bobs.
Ukraine's coat of arms, the trident, has replaced the Soviet hammer and sickle on the Motherland monument's shield in Kyiv on Aug. 6. The monument will also be renamed Mother of Ukraine.
Yuriy Savchuk, the general director of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, has celebrated the raising of the trident on the Kyiv monument.
“It’s really nice that we’ve completed a certain stage of the work,” he said. “It’s a beautiful, sunny day, the Dnieper [river] is sparkling, there is no air alert. The trident is on the shield, Glory to Ukraine.”
Stories we’re following…
Russia launched a multi-wave overnight attack on Ukraine, using 70 air assault weapons, including cruise and hypersonic missiles and Iranian-made drones, Kyiv’s air force has said. Reuters reports that the air force said Ukraine’s air defence destroyed 30 out of 40 cruise missiles and all 27 of the Shahed drones that Russia launched overnight.
Russian attack kills, wounds civilians in Kharkiv Oblast. Russian forces attacked the city of Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast with a guided aerial bomb, killing and wounding civilians late on Aug. 5, President Zelensky said on Telegram:
"Russia's guided air bomb against a blood transfusion center in Ukraine. This evening, Kupiansk community in Kharkiv region. Dead and wounded are reported. My condolences! Our rescuers are extinguishing the fire.
This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression. Beasts that destroy everything that simply allows to live. Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life."
Russia used Kinzhal and Kalibr missiles in its evening missile strike against Ukraine, striking the aeronautics Motor Sich's facility in the city of Zaporizhzhia, as well as Khmelnytskyi Oblast in western Ukraine. Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the local regional military administration in Kharkiv said that two people were killed and four more were injured following a Russian air strike. Russian missiles had damaged several buildings in the area, injuring a worker at a grain silo and sparking a fire in a warehouse, according to AFP.
In the photos below: (left) the blood transfusion centre; (right) Motor Sich company
In the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk, the Donetsk National University of Economics and Trade was hit shelling during the night on Aug 5. The Russia-installed minister of Donetsk, Alexei Kostrubitsky, had said Ukrainian forces used cluster munitions in the shelling that caused the blaze. Monique: it is not the first time that Russian media claims Ukraine is using cluster munitions in urban areas. The Ukrainians have kept to their 5pt declaration on the use of weapons, as agreed when they began receiving armaments and ammunition from its allies.
Sergei Sobyanin said that a drone was trying to attack Moscow but shot down by air defense forces. “Today at around 11 o’clock there was an attempt to break through to Moscow by a drone. It was destroyed on approach by air defense forces. Military fellows,” wrote the mayor of Moscow on Telegram.
Moscow's Vnukovo airport reported that they had introduced temporary restrictions (“carpet plan”) on flight arrivals and departures, reported by TASS with reference to the press service of the airport.
Part of the flights are redirected to other airports, adds RIA Novosti. According to the Yandex Schedule service, 26 flights are delayed at Vnukovo Airport, two are canceled, 11 flights are delayed at Domodedovo, two are canceled, and six are delayed at Sheremetyevo. The airport services have now been restored by large queues have formed in the departure areas.
Russian Telegram chats are reporting Ukrainian drone activity in Moscow and the village of Selkhoztekhnika, indicating that the Ukrainian forces have increased drone strikes on Russian territory. There was also a Ukrainian missile strike on a warehouse in Kuban oblast.
Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov spoke to Bulgarian television:
"The whole world cannot be held hostage to the actions of one terrorist country. Therefore we are doing everything necessary to resume grain exports across the Black Sea and will resume this export. This will happen regardless of whether Russia likes it or not," he said.
In regards to the counteroffensive: "I will not hide that it is hard. The main thing is that the counteroffensive continues and in the Bakhmut direction it goes a little faster than in the south, but time will tell."
The bridge from Kherson oblast leads to the Arabat Spit. Both bridges were hit with Storm Shadow missiles. Russian TG channel Valery Rogov reports that the “Chonhar-Dzhankoy checkpoint is closed”.
Vladimir Saldo, Russian appointed governor of the occupied Kherson region reports that 12 missiles were fired at the bridge in the Heniches'k strait and 9 were shot down. The gas pipeline next to it was also hit, leaving 20.000 people without gas (he claims). The damage is being verified.
TASS saying that “Long-term disabling of the bridges could lead to interruptions in the supply of the Russian army, since a significant part of the fuel and ammunition for the group in southeastern Ukraine passes through them,”.
Evening up-date Aug 6: in the Lyman direction, Ukrainian forces repelled a large assault of Russian forces in the area of Bilohorivka. Russian forces conducted airstrikes on 6 different positions while Ukrainian artillery hit 5 concentrations of troops and equipment.
Russian channels also report that Ukrainian troops are making their way into Urozhaine from Staromaiors'ke, crossing the shallow Mokri Yali river. Clashes are on-going.
ISW: Ukrainian forces conducted limited ground attacks in southern Ukraine on August 5, part of a continuing pattern of limited Ukrainian ground attacks accompanying Ukrainian efforts to interdict Russian logistics and headquarters in rear areas.
ISW: The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces conducted counteroffensive operations in the Berdyansk (western Donetsk-eastern Zaporizhia Oblast area) and Melitopol (western Zaporizhia) directions.
These small Ukrainian ground attacks indicate that Ukrainian forces are continuing to conserve uncommitted reserves for larger mechanized attacks.
Limited Ukrainian ground attacks can set conditions for larger mechanized attacks when the Ukrainian deep interdiction campaign has generated effects on the battlefield & can also support Ukrainian efforts to achieve an asymmetrical attrition gradient.
Russian sources may have exaggerated the Ukrainian attack in order to portray the Ukrainian counteroffensive operations as a failure.
Ukraine announced a military threat in the water area of 6 Russian ports, the State Hydrography of Ukraine reported "Military threat. The water area of the internal and external raids of the ports of Anapa, Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik, Tuapse, Sochi, Taman," says the warning on the website.
National Resistance Center: Russia moves stolen grain through Crimea and Mariupol. The grain collected in Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast is transported through ports in Crimea, new analysis from Ukraine's National Resistance Center said on Aug. 5.
Ukraine to forcibly evacuate children from 9 settlements in Donetsk Oblast. Due to constant Russian shelling, 130 children will be forcibly evacuated from nine settlements in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine's Reintegration Ministry announced on Aug. 5.
ISW: Russian officials continue to kidnap children under guise of 'vacations'. Russian officials continue to kidnap and transport Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied territories to Russia under the guise of 'summer vacations,' the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in its assessment from Aug. 5.
Defense Ministry: Russian propaganda aims to 'undermine trust' between Ukraine and partners. The Kremlin's propaganda campaign is aimed at undermining trust between Ukraine and its partners in an attempt to curb military aid to the country Vadym Skibitskyi, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Defense Ministry, said in an interview with civilmedia.mk on Aug. 5.
People of Baikal TG Channel: The families of the dead soldiers of the Wagner irregular forces who participated in the war in Ukraine were no longer issued certificates. Without the certificate relatives cannot receive benefits provided for widows and children. The fact that the leadership of the Wagner Group decided to "suspend" the issuance of certificates, said the administrator of the Telegram channel "PMC Wagner. Relatives Chat" 6 August. “ It happened, because now there are more important and priority tasks for employees! ”, the administrator explained the reason. More than 23,000 people are affected by the decision.
Two Russian officers were killed and 15 other servicemen were hospitalized in a mass poisoning attack that occurred during a military celebration in the occupied city of Mariupol, according to a Ukrainian official. Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the exiled Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol, reported on the alleged poisoning in a Thursday Telegram post. The poisoning was carried out by Ukrainian partisans as Kremlin forces celebrated Navy Day last Sunday, according to Andriushchenko. Andriushchenko added that the poisoning is believed to have been carried out by the so-called Group Y, which is with Mariupol's pro-Ukraine resistance.
China’s embassy in Moscow blasted what it called a “brutal” handling by Russian authorities of a denial of entry to the country by several Chinese citizens. The embassy said that five of its nationals were “repeatedly questioned for four hours” at a checkpoint when they attempted to cross the Russia-Kazakhstan border on July 29. Their entry was denied, with their tourist visas being revoked, according to the legation.
China’s legation went on to say, “It goes against the big picture of Sino-Russian friendship and the growing trend of friendly people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.”
Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko, who was asked to leave the Metropolitan Opera in the US after she refused to condemn Vladimir Putin, has filed a lawsuit against the company. Netrebko is demanding $360,000 in compensation for moral and financial damage. Following arbitration, the Metropolitan Opera has already paid her £200,000 for more than a dozen cancelled performances. Monique: Opera houses and other performance centres should think twice before hiring Russian talent at this point.
The Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan proposed to the government to ban import and sale of goods with "ethnic symbols", which includes, among other things, Z, V and Wagner PMC All signs that are used by the warring parties "in armed conflicts, in military and other violent actions against the sovereignty and political regime of another state" can be banned.
SPD politician Andreas Schwartz spoke in favor of the transfer of the Taurus cruise missile to Ukraine. His party colleague Nils Schmid also no longer excludes such a possibility.
"The counteroffensive is faltering, Ukraine does not have a significant air force to support it. That leaves only guided missiles such as Taurus missiles, which the Ukrainian army could use to overcome the minefields laid by the Russians and retake territory," Schwarz said.
Polish pipeline operator Pern has said it had halted pumping through a section of the Druzhba pipeline, which carries oil from Russia to Europe, after detecting a leak in central Poland yesterday, but expects flows can be resumed on Tuesday. The cause of the leak is still under investigation.
Swedish authorities have accused Russia of trying to influence how Qur’an burnings are viewed around the world through disinformation campaigns written in Arabic. It is believed to be part of an attempt to disrupt Sweden’s Nato membership process. Sweden’s psychological defence agency, part of the ministry of defence, said the Russian state-controlled media outlets RT and Sputnik had published a series of articles in Arabic, falsely claiming that the Swedish government supported Qur’an burning.
Madi Kapparov: More than 32 thousand attended an all-star event of Game4Ukraine on August 5 at the Stamford Bridge Stadium in London. Team Shevchenko (Blue) played team Zinchenko (Yellow).
The event kicked off with the national anthems of the UK and Ukraine followed by a message from President Zelenskyy expressing gratitude for the continued support of Ukraine. A moment of silence followed for those who have perished in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The game ended in a draw with a score of 2:2. However, Ukraine still won. The audience was galvanized and proudly displayed thousands of national flags of Ukraine. A singular voice crying out “Slava Ukraini!” was immediately followed by thousands of “Heroyam Slava!” That day all of London was united in the desire to see war end in Ukrainian victory.
Japan’s prime minister has hit out at Russian threats to use nuclear weapons as the country marked the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Sunday. Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and 74,000 in Nagasaki three days later, when the US dropped atomic bombs on the two Japanese cities days before the end of World War II. Prime minister Fumio Kishida, whose family comes from Hiroshima, said:
Japan, as the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings in war, will continue efforts towards a nuclear-free world. The path towards it is becoming increasingly difficult because of deepening divisions in the international community over nuclear disarmament and Russia’s nuclear threat.
Given this situation, it is all the more important to bring back international momentum towards realisation of a nuclear-free world. Devastation brought to Hiroshima and Nagasaki by nuclear weapons can never be repeated.
Jeddah Peace Summit- Day 1
Jeddah: The participating states at the Jeddah summit about the Ukrainian Peace Formula have reached a concensus on respect for Ukraine's territorial integrity. Also a decision had been made to form working groups on key topics of the Ukrainian 10 points peace formula.
“In total, 42 countries are represented there. Different continents, different political approaches to global affairs, but everyone is united by the priority of international law. And it is for this that Ukraine proposed the Peace Formula because the international rules-based order, violated by Russian aggression, must be restored.”
The participants of the Summit do not plan to make a joint statement.
China is said to be in support of a third round of talks to find a framework for peace in Ukraine after a meeting of senior officials from about 40 countries in Saudi Arabia over the weekend.
“We have many disagreements and we have heard different positions, but it is important that our principles are shared,” Li was reported by Reuters as saying before the meeting.
Moscow has said that weekend talks in Saudi Arabia aiming to establish principles for a peaceful end to Russia’s war in Ukraine were a doomed western attempt to align the global south behind Kyiv. Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by the state news agency Tass calling the meeting
“a reflection of the West’s attempt to continue futile, doomed efforts to mobilise the international community, and more precisely, the Global South, even if not entirely, in support of the so-called Zelenskyi formula, which is doomed and untenable from the outset”.
Russia is to discuss the results of talks in Saudi Arabia with fellow Bric states who attended the meeting, according to deputy foreign minister of Russian Sergey Ryabkov as quoted in Tass.
From the point of view of conveying common sense to the sponsors of the Kiev regime, I think the participation of Brics colleagues in this event may have brought some benefit. But we still need to figure out what happened in Jeddah.
Led by Donkeys: PPE millions went straight into the pocket of Michelle Mone & hubby on the Isle of Man
Led by Donkeys has been making brief documentaries exposing many scandals in the UK. They started right after the Brexit vote, and have continued to bring information from exposés and investigations to viewers in the UK.
In this video they tell the story of a PPE procurement scandal that hit the Tory government. Michelle Mone, a House of Lord peer, and her husband are implicated. The company that provided the PPE to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds could not be used by the NHS.
Decode39: Italy moving away from BRI & closer to Taiwan
Prime Minister Meloni had called Italy’s entrance into the BRI “a big mistake” during an interview with Taiwanese newswire CNA. Her government has since signalled it’s heading for the exit, noting the project didn’t really work out – demonstrably – as a tool to boost Italian exports.
In a joint statement that followed a meeting in late July, PM Meloni and US President Joe Biden “reiterate[d] the vital importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which is instrumental to regional and global security and prosperity,” and committed to “strengthen bilateral and multilateral consultations on the opportunities and challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China.”
Over the past months, political and economic ties between Italy and Taiwan have been steadily improving. Air routes have been reactivated between Italy and Taiwan, and the growing commercial entente includes semiconductors, the subject of talks between high-level officials.
The allied attitude seen from a Ukrainian perspective
I’ll be republishing Eliot A. Cohen’s recent article in The Atlantic, “Western Diplomats Need to Stop Whining about Ukraine”. I agree with what he has written, which is best summed up when he writes, “Allies can be exasperating. But try being invaded by your neighbor and lectured by everyone else.”
A day doesn’t go by that Russian missile attacks don’t destroy the lives and livelihoods of Ukrainians, as reported, for example, at the top of this post. Ukrainians are dying. I keep thinking that I get my tits in a knot when my internet connection cuts out for a few minutes, and then think of what Ukrainians are living day in and day out and shake off my stupid frustration.
Cohen says, “winning, not whining, is what it’s all about”. He’s right. For everyone involved, winning means surviving, living, and hopefully with time, regenerating. We also have to realise at a molecular level that Ukraine cannot do this alone. No country could. What we’re waiting for exactly is a mystery to me quite frankly.
How Russia is financing its war—Andriy Yusov
The Kremlin is covering the fall in budget revenues from reserve funds, which were actively filled with foreign currency and gold before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Their volume is estimated at over $150 billion, Andriy Yusov, Ukraine's military intelligence spokesman stated this in a commentary to Ukrinform.
"Actually, it is from these reserves that Russia finances its war. It maintains the army, manufactures, and purchases weapons," Yusov said.
Ukrainian military intelligence believes that Russia's resources are not unlimited. War is very expensive. So, the process of systemic crisis in Russia is irreversible. It is only a matter of time.
In addition to reserves, Russia generates revenue through oil exports. At the start of the year, Russian exports amounted to 8.3 million barrels of oil per day, the highest level since April 2020, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). China was the largest buyer (43% of Russian crude oil exports), followed by India (36%), the EU (8%), and Türkiye (3%).
However, after the price cap for Russian oil purchases was set in December last year, revenues from the oil and gas industry, according to the Russian Ministry of Finance, decreased by 52% in the first four months of 2023 compared to January-April 2022.
As reported, Russian crude oil supplies were beginning to show signs of decline four months after the country announced a production cut.
Foreign influence in the Sahel
