Jul 7: E-Stories
Day 498: Lviv Sumy Zaporizhzhia Bakhmut Prigozhin Rotenberg RUdom ZNPP Turkey BUL Denkov Georgia UK YellenJapan Babaryka A&P Alvarova DarthPutin UkDef Matveyeva ChrisO_wiki Soldatov Lautman Marrone
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.
Stories we’re following…
Death toll of Russian strike on Lviv rises to 6. As of 7:30 a.m. local time, 6 people are known to have been killed and 53 injured in Russia's July 6 attack on Lviv, reported Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko on Telegram.
Maksym Kozytskyi, governor of Lviv, has given an operational update after the attack. Kozytskyi went on to say that falling debris had also caused damages in two separate villages in the region, but without causing any injuries. He wrote on the Telegram messaging app:
The enemy attacked our region from the Black Sea with Kalibr missiles. The “west” air command of the air forces of the armed forces of Ukraine destroyed seven missiles over Lviv region.
Air Force: 7 of 10 Russian missiles shot down in overnight strike on Lviv. Ukrainian forces shot down seven of the 10 Russian Kalibr cruise missiles targeting Lviv on July 6, the Air Force reported.
Russian shelling destroys train station in Kharkiv Oblast. Russian shelling destroyed the "Odnorobivka" train station in Kharkiv Oblast's Bohodukhiv District, the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office reported on July 6.
Russia shells Sumy Oblast 279 times in a single day. Russian forces shelled seven communities in Sumy Oblast on July 5, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on Telegram. Over 279 explosions were recorded.
In the interview with CNN, Zelenskiy also said he had told US and European leaders ahead of the counteroffensive that a lack of supplies would result in more casualties.
“I’m grateful to the US as the leaders of our support, but I told them as well as European leaders that we would like to start our counteroffensive earlier, and we will need all the weapons and material for that.”
“Why? Simply because if we start later, it will go slower, and we will have losses of lives, because everything is heavily mined - we will have to go through it all.”
Ukrainian forces fire at oil depot in Russian-occupied Makiivka. Five fuel tanks caught fire at an oil depot in Russian-occupied Makiivka in Donetsk Oblast late on July 5, Russian state-controlled news outlet TASS reported. Hanna Maliar claims that the weapons depot was destroyed as a result of the strike. “A really large warehouse was destroyed, where a significant amount of artillery shells and missiles for the BM-21 GRAD MLRS were stored,” the official said. This is the second day that Makiivka and Donetsk city are under targeted missile strikes.
General Staff: Nuclear weapons in Belarus currently 'unlikely.' The presence of Russian tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory remains currently unlikely, General Staff Deputy Chief Oleksii Hromov told Ukrinform on July 5.
Benjamin Strick: Yes, we have an interactive map at http://eyesonrussia.org to track Russia's war on Ukraine. It links back to every video and photo posted online with more than 10,000 entries. Created by our team at Cen4infoRes, with GeoConfirmed, Bellingcat C4ADS and others.
IAEA: No explosives found at Russian-shown parts of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have not found explosives during their inspections of parts of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in recent days and weeks, Director General Rafael Grossi said on July 5.
A UK Foreign Office minister, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, has called for Russia to give IAEA experts “full and unfettered access” to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Press Association reports. He said:
“We are in regular contact with the director general of the IAEA, director general (Rafael) Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency, regarding the situation at the nuclear power plant, as well as the highest levels of the government of Ukraine.
“Working with our international partners, we continue to call for Russia to grant the IAEA full access to the nuclear plant, as called for by director general Grossi on 5 July, and it is vital that IAEA staff have full access to the nuclear plant in order to monitor the safety and security of the site.”
The Kyiv Indie: Russian occupation authorities demolish over 300 buildings in Mariupol since May 2022. More than 300 houses have been completely demolished after the occupation of Mariupol, exiled advisor to city mayor Petro Andriushchenko reported on June 26. He added that Russian occupation authorities have recently demolished two high-rises located at 77 and 79 Metallurhiv Ave.
Belta: Lukashenka has said that Prigozhin is no longer in Belarus but is in St Petersburg. Lukashenka added, “"As far as I am informed this morning, Wagner PMC fighters are in their camps. In permanent camps, where they were after their withdrawal from the front for recovery."
Putin’s envoy to Russia’s Far East, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev, met with students at Far Eastern Federal University on Wednesday and declared that institutions of higher learning nationwide should organize “patriotic movements” on campus. Any school without one of these projects, he argued, should fire its curriculum provost and hire one who will rectify the situation.
Kommersant reports that the Russian Ministry of Transport is again considering the idea of an additional fee for passengers when booking tickets to create a “reserve fund to support passengers” in case airlines go bankrupt. There is already a fee of 185 rubles (about two dollars). The new fee will be at least 150-200 rubles (just under to just over two dollars) per passenger, said one airline, while a different source said the fee could be up to 300 rubles (around $3.30) per passenger. (Monique: the Russian finance minister is looking for money.)
Ukraine expects that it will receive a delivery of Turkish-made Fırtına self-propelled howitzers, General Staff spokesperson Brigadier General Oleksiy Hromov said in an interview with Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform on July 5. Russian telegram has been losing it all day over this news.
Yermak meets foreign diplomats to discuss Zelensky's peace formula. Presidential Office head Andrii Yermak held a second meeting with foreign diplomats to discuss the implementation of President Volodymyr Zelensky's 10-point peace formula, the Presidential Office said on July 5.
Ukraine is doing everything to ensure 'collective security prevails' at upcoming NATO summit. President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his nightly address on July 5 that Ukraine was working closely with allies ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius and that "collective security prevails." According to Zelensky, the upcoming summit, which will take place from July 11-12, is a "crucial moment for our common security in Europe."
NABU: Lawmaker's assistant suspected of taking bribes for illegal border crossings. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) reported on July 5 that a lawmaker's assistant had received a bribe to grant someone permission to cross the border. Ukraine’s law enforcement and anti-corruption authorities make arrests almost every day.
The US is expected to announce that it will provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, the New York Times has reported, citing an unidentified senior Biden administration official. In June, a senior Pentagon official said that the US military believed that cluster munitions would be useful for Ukraine in pushing back against Russian forces, but added they had not been approved for Kyiv yet because of congressional restrictions and concerns among allies.
Zelensky sanctions 18 holding companies with ties to Russia. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on July 5 that he had signed a decree to impose sanctions on 18 holding companies associated with Russia.
President Zelensky visited Bulgaria on June 6. He was greeted by Bulgarian deputy prime minister and foreign minister Mariya Gabriel and Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov.
Zelensky will visit Turkey today for talks with President Erdogan on the Black Sea grain deal and developments in the war in Ukraine, the state-run Anadolu Agency reports. The news follows reports that Russian agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank has decided not to consider setting up a subsidiary that could connect to the SWIFT global payments system.
Politico: Britain vowed to tighten up its economic crime rules in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But it’s under pressure to go much further in the quest to fight dirty money, sanction wrong ‘uns and put the London laundromat out of business. The second draft of the Economic Crime Bill sets out to close loopholes and fortifying legislation. Sue Hawley, director of campaign group Spotlight on Corruption, said the draft was much better than the first because it had left out, “universities, PR firms, and football clubs. People who we know from a series of scandals have accepted money from very dubious sources. In effect it would put them on notice to tighten up procedures.”
President Zelensky asks the Georgian Ambassador to Ukraine to leave the country within 48 hours over the Georgia’s treatment of the imprisoned former President of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili.
Pandora Papers Purchased: The German state of Hesse completed the purchase of a 10.4 million document Pandora Papers dataset in June. The state’s finance minister said in a statement that investigators have already started looking for evidence of crimes, and invited other authorities from around Europe to join them. The state did not disclose the purchase price or the identity of the seller; ICIJ did not provide the files.
Reuters: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to start a four-day visit to Beijing that is expected to focus on recalibrating ties between the world's two largest economies locked in confrontation. Both sides have low expectations for the trip, however.
SubCom, a New Jersey company born out of a Cold War spy project, is a key player in the US-China tech war. It’s laying internet cables on the ocean floor to boost Washington’s economic and military might, including a clandestine mission to a remote island naval base, Reuters can reveal.
Elio Calcagno, Alessandro Marrone,The Underwater Environment and Europe’s Defence and Security
“Technological advancements in the field of uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUV) and the increasing number of underwater critical infrastructures (UCI)—such as pipelines and internet cables—have made the environment below the seas’ surface a prominent stage for geopolitical competition. … Moreover, operating in this challenging environment requires mastering advanced technological solutions to cope with high pressures and the opacity of water, which severely limits or denies wireless communications technologies commonly used above the surface. Large and mid-sized navies around the world are enhancing their submarine fleets or acquiring this technology for the first time, leading to an ever more competitive and contested underwater domain.” [continue]
‘The child of a traitor’ —Meduza
How a Mariupol judge in Russian captivity refused to defect, even in exchange for freedom
Shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Yulia Matveyeva, a judge from Mariupol, was captured by Russian soldiers. She spent seven months in captivity, where she was subjected to physical and psychological violence.
In May, she was offered a seat on the Supreme Court of the “Donetsk People’s Republic,” but she refused — and was later accused of crimes against the self-proclaimed republic’s “constitutional order and security,” which is punishable by death. The trial against Matveyeva was originally slated for September but was postponed, and in October, she was freed as part of a prisoner exchange.
The Ukrainian outlet Graty recently told Matveyeva’s story, from Russia’s first strikes on Mariupol to her reunion with her family in Kyiv. [continue]
Hanna Liubakova: “The court sentenced Eduard Babaryka to 8 years in jail. His only guilt was that he helped his father Viktar Babaryka in his election campaign. Lukashenka imposed revenge on his son. We don’t know where Viktar is and whether he is alive. He was last seen in a hospital.”
ChrisO_wiki: The Russian mafia-Russia’s silent partner
The Russian mafia has become a silent partner in Russia's war effort, in another indication of how close the state and the criminal underworld have become. An analysis shows how high-profile gangsters have fought and in some cases died in Ukraine.
The independent Russian media outlet Polygon Media reports that senior figures among Russia's vory – its criminal elite – have lent their support to Russia's war in Ukraine. This is a major change in attitude for the vory, who are traditionally anti-authority.
Influential members – 'authorities' – of at least 10 criminal gangs have died in the war, as this map shows. They include men who have been convicted of robbery, extortion and murder, and in some cases were serving decades-long prison sentences.
Polygon reports that when the Wagner Group began recruiting prisoners, the criminal elite – the 'thieves in law' (vor v zakone) – were initially hostile due to traditionally antagonistic relationships between the vory and state authorities.
Attitudes changed after Shakro Molodogo (Zakhar Kalashov), the most senior vory currently imprisoned, urged convicts to join Wagner. His appeal was "broadcast on prison TV in the Kostroma, Vladimir, Magadan and Novosibirsk regions immediately after Putin's New Year address."
Olga Romanova of the 'Russia Behind Bars' prisoners' rights group says: "Thieves' traditions have absolutely changed under Putin and thanks to him, in his 20 years, prisons are no longer divided into 'red' [run by the Federal Penitentiary Service] and 'black' [run by thieves].
"The world of thieves has merged with the world of the bosses. Shakro Molodogo is linked to the head of the Investigative Committee, [Alexander] Bastrykin - they are one gang", she says.
(It's worth mentioning that the armed forces have been deeply infiltrated by criminal gangs, to the point that some gangsters have actually lived on military bases and extorted the soldiers there, with the connivance of corrupt officers.)
Although a number of prominent 'thieves in law' have died in the war, Romanova says some are not fighting and have used the opportunity to legally 'escape'. "These are people from organised crime groups and with money.
There's nothing to prevent someone with that kind of money from making a deal with the head of the prison and Prigozhin to be recorded as "enlisted" and then hole up in the mountains of Chechnya. And it's not for nothing that Prigozhin and Kadyrov had a good relationship."
NATO + Ukraine
DW Conflict Zone: Andrei Soldatov
"The people who were put in charge of providing political stability for Putin's regime did absolutely nothing" when Wagner mercenaries took over the military headquarters in Russia's southern city of Rostov-on-Don. Prigozhin has reportedly fled to sanctuary in Belarus despite a pledge of amnesty from Putin. But how big of a threat remains and what will happen next? "Putin is really good at conducting repressions," Soldatov said.