Jul 15: Saturday Stories

Day 506: Kyiv KryvyiRih Kherson Bakhmut Melitopol F16 Cambodia grain Belgorod Berdyansk BRICS Gazprom HUN GER EU POL BastilleDay Finland Spain Sweden A&P Gorman UKDef Africk Briant Noel UAWorld Barber

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.

Fake or real? Tech expert Lindsay Gorman explains how it's becoming "extremely difficult" as A.I.-generated audio has fewer tells than images or video, leaving many vulnerable to scams. "It's really hard to know what's even real anymore," she tells

Stories we’re following…

President Zelenskyy said on Friday Ukrainians must understand that Russia was deploying all possible resources to stop Kyiv’s forces from advancing in the east and south of the country. This comes after reports that Ukraine’s counteroffensive was not advancing quickly.

We must all understand very clearly, as clearly as possible, that Russian forces in our southern and eastern lands are doing everything they can in order to stop our soldiers.

And every thousand metres we advance, every success of every combat brigade deserves our gratitude.

Russian shelling of Kherson Oblast village kills 1. Russian forces shelled the village of Mykilske in Kherson Oblast on July 13, killing an 85-year-old woman, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported. Russian attacks kill 2, injure 37 over past day. Russian attacks in five Ukrainian oblasts killed two civilians and wounded 37 over the past 24 hours, according to the regional authorities.

Ukrainian air defense forces (UADF) destroyed 16 Russian Shahed drones out of 17, as well as 7 Russian reconnaissance drones. Russians attack lasted from the evening of July 13 to the morning of July 14, Ukrainian Defence reports. It also reports a person was injured and nearby buildings were damaged when a drone hit a utility company in Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk region.

The Russian forces continue to focus their main efforts on the Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka directions, where about 30 combat clashes have occurred over the past day. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said this in its morning update posted on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

Brady Africk: Destroyed warehouses in Russian-occupied Novooleksiivka (Kherson oblast) are visible in new high resolution satellite imagery. This site is more than 100 kilometers from the front line.

General Staff: Ukraine continues to advance south of Bakhmut. Ukrainian troops continue to advance south of Bakhmut in the Bila Hora-Andriivka sector, spokesperson of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Andrii Kovalov informed on July 14.

ISW: Russian defenses in Ukraine are 'brittle'. Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations and made some gains in at least three sectors of the frontlines, including in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast and around Bakhmut as of July 13, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its most recent assessment.

National Guard: The assault groups of the Kara-Dah National Guard Brigade, supported by tanks advances 1,700 meters in Melitopol direction. Ukrainian forces advanced over 1,700 meters in the Melitopol direction in a week, said Colonel Mykola Urshalovych, the deputy director of the Department of Application Planning of the National Guard, as cited by ArmyInform on July 14.

Pentagon: Ukraine battlefield situation currently 'not ideal' for F-16 deployment. The battlefield conditions in Ukraine are currently "not ideal" for the employment of F-16 fighter jets, said Lieutenant General Douglas Sims, the director of operations of the Joint Staff, on July 13.

VOA: Cambodian experts train Ukrainians in demining techniques. Cambodian demining experts met with members of Ukraine's State Emergency Service at a facility in Poland last week to teach demining techniques, according to a video from Voice of America published on July 13.

In the Heniche district of the Kherson region, the Russian occupation forces began the forced eviction to Russia of Ukrainian citizens who have not yet received or refused to receive russian citizenship, –– the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Their places of residence are inhabited by the occupiers, as a rule, by representatives of national minorities from the poor sections of the population of the russian federation.

Putin claims no Russian conditions for extending grain deal met. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin named several conditions for extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative, claiming that none of them have been met, the Interfax news agency reported on July 13.

A car explosion has injured three people in a residential sector of Russia’s city of Belgorod. Gladkov stressed that the situation was under control, and said “There is no threat to residents of neighboring houses and apartments. Emergency services are on site. The investigating authorities are taking all measures in order to understand the causes of the incident.”

Military confirms strike on Russian base in occupied Berdiansk, reportedly killing Russian lieutenant general. The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces has confirmed the July 11 strike on a local hotel turned into Russian military barracks in occupied Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

AP reporting that “Putin said he offered the Wagner private military company the option of continuing to serve as a single unit under their same commander after their short-lived rebellion, while some of the mercenaries were shown Friday in Belarus, possibly heralding the group’s relocation there.” [continue]

Minsk claims Wagner contractors in Belarus, train Belarusian soldiers. Wagner contractors are already in Belarus and are training Belarusian troops at the camp near Asipovichy, the Belarusian military news channel VoenTV reported on July 14. Reuters is now reporting that some of them have been there since at least Tuesday. It reported that two sources close to the fighters gave the information to Reuters on condition of anonymity, due to the sensitivity of the situation.

Wagner mercenaries are no longer participating in “any significant capacity” in combat operations in Ukraine, the Pentagon said Thursday, more than two weeks after the group’s aborted mutiny in Russia.

South Africa: All 5 BRICS leaders to attend August summit. All the five leaders of the BRICS countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, will participate in the group's upcoming summit in South Africa, the Eyewitness News wrote on July 14, citing head of BRICS Business Council Stavrous Nichalouw.

Lavrov said a request during the ASEAN regional forum to withdraw troops from Ukraine was part of a Western conspiracy, the European Union foreign policy chief said on Friday. Josep Borrell, EU foreign policy chief, spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the forum in Jakarta, Indonesia.

US Sec of State Blinken said Friday that Lavrov “effectively ascribed every problem in the world to the United States”. Blinken added that Lavrov’s interventions at a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were “not constructive or productive on any issue.” Blinken, who did not meet Lavrov on the sidelines of the meeting, told reporters at a news conference that the Russian diplomat was “totally negative” and focused on blaming the US, AFP reports.

Hungary, Russian church plan another Ukrainian POW transfer. The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) plans to facilitate another transfer of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) to Hungary, RBC Ukraine reported on July 13, citing sources in Ukrainian security services.

Reuters: UN asks Putin to extend Black Sea grain deal in exchange for SWIFT access. UN Secretary-General Guterres has offered Russian dictator Putin to extend the Black Sea grain deal in exchange for connecting a subsidiary of Russian sanctioned bank to the SWIFT international payment system, Reuters reported on July 13, citing its sources.

Russian State Duma approves ban on gender reassignment. The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly, gave its final approval on July 14 to the bill banning gender reassignment.

Kyiv is unlikely to renew a gas transit deal that allows Russia's Gazprom to export natural gas to the EU using pipelines running across Ukraine, Energy Minister German Galushchenko told POLITICO. The 2019 transit deals runs until the end of 2024 and allows Gazprom to export more than 40 million cubic meters of gas a year via Ukraine, which earns Kyiv about $7 billion.

“I believe, by the winter of 2024, Europe will not need Russian gas at all,” Galushchenko said in a telephone interview. “If now profits from Russian gas pay for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and Gazprom’s private army, the only thing they should pay for in the future shall be reparations.”

Gazprom chief Alexei Miller warned last week his company will stop exports if Ukraine doesn't drop its efforts to seize Russian state assets to enforce a $5 billion award for the energy infrastructure Moscow illegally expropriated when it annexed Crimea in 2014. Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz are also at loggerheads over a dispute on transit fees.

Biden: No real prospect of Putin using nuclear weapons. U.S. President Joe Biden said on July 13 that there is no real prospect of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin using nuclear weapons against Ukraine or the West.

Ukraine receives cluster munitions from US. Ukraine has already received cluster munitions pledged by the U.S. as part of its latest aid package, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander for Tavriia military sector, told CNN on July 13.

Cluster munitions only for 'de-occupation of territory.' U.S.-provided cluster munitions will be used strictly for the de-occupation of territory against concentrated Russian defensive positions, spokesperson of the Tavria operational-strategic group Valerii Shershen told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on July 13.

Vilnius NATO summit demonstrates how Russia's claimed war goals have failed, but Russian response remains muted. The Vilnius NATO summit demonstrated the extent to which Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has impeded the goals for which the Kremlin says it launched the war, such as to prevent NATO expansion, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on July 12.

European Parliament adopts plan to increase ammunition production for Ukraine. Following negotiations with the Council of the EU, the European Parliament adopted the plans on July 13 to increase the EU ammunition and missile production to tackle Ukraine's shortages, allocating 500 million euros ($560 million).

Ministry: Ukraine needs additional 4.5 million workers for next 10 years. Ukraine will have to attract additional 4.5 million employees to the labor market over the next 10 years for a successful recovery, the Economy Ministry said on July 14.

Poland will respond in kind if Russia closes down its diplomatic missions, the Polish prime minister said on Friday, in response to reports that Moscow had decided to close the Polish consulate in Smolensk.

“We regularly receive information about aggressive diplomatic actions from Russia”, Reuters reports Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference. “If in the end it comes to it that Russia starts to liquidate our offices we will respond in kind.”

July 14, 2019: Ukrainian Children’s Choir singing “The Lonely Goatherd” from “The Sound of Music”.

Finland’s foreign minister Elina Valtonen has said in an interview with the FT that,

“we in the west need to understand that obviously, this is not charity because Ukraine is fighting for us. They are fighting for our liberty and the European security architecture.”

She said that the west remains committed to supporting Ukraine, adding “I wouldn’t say there’s any fatigue and I hope there never will be.”

Sweden, Ukraine agree to share intelligence, speed up aid delivery. The Swedish Defense Ministry announced on July 13 new agreements with Ukraine on sharing mutual intelligence sharing and speeding up military equipment delivery.

Spain to donate mobile hospital, armored vehicles to Ukrainian State Border Guard Service. The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine announced on July 13 it will receive a mobile hospital and vehicles for the evacuation of the wounded as part of an aid package from Spain.

South Korea to offer $52 billion for Ukraine's reconstruction projects. South Korea will offer assistance worth $52 billion to Ukraine's reconstruction projects, the Korea Herald reported on July 14, citing South Korea's presidential office.

French Parliament approves significant boost to military budget, including Ukraine aid. The French Parliament approved a bill on July 13 on a significant boost in defense spending for the rest of the decade, spurred by the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

To all our French readers, Happy Bastille Day!

U.S. Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, announced “the designation of former Panamanian President, Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez as generally ineligible for entry into the United States, due to his involvement in significant corruption.  While serving as Panama’s vice president and then president, Varela accepted bribes in exchange for improperly awarding government contracts.”

The use of AI is also one of the issues of contention that the actors and screenwriters of the film industry are talking about. TV and movie actors are going on strike for the first time since the 1960s, joining Hollywood screenwriters and effectively bringing the entertainment industry to a standstill, reports the New York Times. (see video at the top)

A warning from Dr Emma Briant

“If you are teaching about propaganda in 2023, you should not be using Chomsky as the authority on propaganda or disinformation. Plenty still are. Not only because he’s been wrong about important world events. His model (led by Ed Herman actually) also just misunderstands.”

Harriet Barber, How Russia’s soldiers terrorise Ukraine with sexual violence—The Telegraph

Last month, a UN Commission documented what it described as “patterns” of rape and sexual violence inflicted on Ukrainians throughout the war. “Victims range from four to over 80 years old,” it said, detailing a series of appalling accusations in October’s report.

One Russian soldier forced a four-year-old girl to perform oral sex on him in the presence of her parents, according to the report. The 22-year-old mother was raped, her husband sexually violated, and the pair were also forced to have sexual intercourse in the presence of the armed forces.

One Ukrainian victim told the UN Commission: “This experience is very shameful for me and I am extremely scared and intimidated”. 

It has taken years for sexual assault survivors of Russia’s earlier invasion of eastern Ukraine, in 2014, to speak out.

Alisa Kovalenko, a Ukrainian film director aged 34, was interrogated, forced to strip naked and bathe in front of a Russian commander in 2014. The commander later tried to rape her. [continue]

Signing off for the day…