Ukraine – 7/19 Sitrep
Compiled by: Robert Homans
Twitter: @rhomansjr
July 19, 2022
Lets Not Forget Donetsk City
As all attention is focused on the fighting in Luhansk, Russia has been unable to break through Ukrainian defense rings around that portion of Donbas that has, since the Spring of 2014, been occupied by Russia and their separatist proxies. The exception is Mariupol, likely attacked by Russia coming in from the direction of Crimea. This is an article from meduza.io describing life today in Donetsk City. I’ve never been to Donetsk City, but I’m told it was a nice city. Yanukovich, a Donetsk native, put lots of money into Donetsk City. From accounts I’ve heard, whatever support Russia had from Ukrainians living in nearby cities, like Melatopol, evaporated when they observed the deterioration of conditions in Donetsk starting in 2014.
What a Ukrainian Counterattack Might Look Like
An article from the “Kyiv Independent,” by Illia Ponomarenko, probably the best military reporter on the scene. Personally, if Ukraine can attain an artillery advantage, from Western deliveries, and if they’re able to strike at Russian logistics, especially ammunition dumps, the depleted Russian infantry might well melt away. From other accounts, the Russian infantry increasingly looks like a disorganized rabble, that is only as effective as the Russian artillery protecting them. In the South, they will be pressed on one side by the Ukrainian Army, and on the other by partisans.
Latest Denys
Denys’ most recent broadcast was briefly interrupted by an air raid siren. He also shows the likely effects of Ukraine having the longer version of the HIMERS rocket. It would allow Ukraine complete coverage over Crimea, including the Kerch Bridge. Russia has taken the precaution of moving what remains of its Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol to Novorossysk, in the eastern Black Sea. The US prohibition applying to Ukraine using HIMERS to strike Russian territory doesn’t apply to Ukrainian territory, including Crimea.
Times Radio
Interview with Gen. Chip Chapman, Head of UK Counterterrorism. He was discussing Sunday’s firing of the Head of the SBU and General Prosecutor. However, neither is official. The firings are subject to a vote of the Parliament. As Chris Miller said in the article included in yesterday’s email, FSB’s infiltration of the SBU goes back many years. Gen. Chapman also mentioned Ukraine’s failure to blow the bridge across the Dnieper allowed the Russians to take Kherson City.
7/19 Sitrep (my comment in bold face)
INTERNATIONAL
July 19
Prime Minister: Slovakia wants to give up Russia’s nuclear fuel and is already looking for an alternative. «Slovakia is looking for alternative suppliers of nuclear fuel. The country has been negotiating for several months,» - says Eduard Geger.
Ukrainians defend a front line 2,450 km long. This is the distance from Warsaw to Barcelona.*
The front line in Ukraine is equal to the distance between the capital in Poland and the southern city of Spain. And passes through 4 countries.
UN Secretary-General: Ukrainian food can help stave off hunger in several parts of the world, it needs to be returned to global markets, but bold and coordinated policy action is needed; catastrophic levels of hunger can be avoided if the world works together.
First Lady Olena Zelenska has arrived in the US on an official visit: met with Blinken and will address Congress. “I am here at the invitation of First Lady Jill Biden. She visited Ukraine in May to personally see and communicate with those who lost their homes and loved ones due to the war. Now it’s my turn to speak in the United States about Ukrainian needs in our resistance and fight against the aggressor,” Zelenska said.
Reuters: Russia's war against Ukraine will help Germany accelerate the transition to green(renewable) energy A study by Allianz Trade found that Germany's green energy goals are expected to lead to an increase in the share of renewables in the electricity mix.
July 18
DPA: Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová permitted four citizens to fight against Russia on the side of Ukraine. Six other applicants were denied permission.
Drought could affect about half of the EU territory, - the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre today published the “Drought in Europe - July 2022” report. Water and heat stress are driving crop yields down from a previously already negative outlook for cereals and other crops. France, Romania, Spain, Portugal and Italy will need to deal with this reduced crop yield. Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia are also impacted.
Reuters: The European Commission offered an alternative to the confiscation of Russian assets. For example, Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice of the European Commission, proposes to keep Russian assets frozen until the Russian Federation agrees to pay for the restoration of Ukraine after the end of the war.
Reuters: Türkiye will freeze Finland's and Sweden's NATO membership bids if the countries fail to deliver on anti-terrorism pledges made last month. This was stated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In his opinion, Sweden has not yet demonstrated a desire to meet Ankara's conditions.
Politico: German Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir was skeptical about a possible agreement between Ukraine and Russia on a "grain corridor". "If you still believe Putin's word, you might as well believe in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. Approximately the same level of seriousness and credibility", – he says.
Tages Anzeiger: Switzerland refused to treat Ukrainian soldiers wounded during the Russian invasion, thereby rejecting NATO's request. In particular, the Swiss authorities explain this decision by referring to the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Treaty. The documents indicate that a neutral country can only take care of wounded soldiers if they do not return to the battlefield after recovery, and Switzerland cannot guarantee this.
Hungarian Foreign Minister: The EU foreign ministers have agreed on a new package of sanctions against Russia that does not contain additional bans on energy supplies.
Newsgeorgia: In Georgia, the opposition party European Democrats demanded the introduction of a visa regime with the aggressor country Russia in connection with the massive entry of Russians into Georgia after the start of the war.
Ahaber: Türkiye Defense Minister - Negotiations on unblocking the export of Ukrainian grain to the international market may take place this week. The plan for the transportation of grain and foodstuffs was agreed upon on general principles. We continue our efforts to turn it into a concrete implementation plan,” - he said.
Azerbaijan and the EU have signed a memorandum on strategic cooperation in the energy sector, said the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
The Ministry of Defense of Poland announced the arrival of a batch of American Abrams tanks in the country. They will be used to train Polish soldiers.
The authorities of New York have approved a bill to rename Brighton Beach Avenue and Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn into the "Ukrainian Way," said Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN Serhii Kyslytsia.
The Russian TV channel Dozhd, which stopped its work due to harassment by the authorities, will partially resume broadcasting from July 18 in Latvia, a full-fledged launch is planned for the fall, CEO Natalia Sindeeva said in an interview with the Kholod newspaper. Dozhd will be the first uncensored Russian-language professional television after the defeat of Russian journalism, - she said.
The Yermak-McFaul International Working Group called on the EU to impose sanctions against all Russian state-owned banks out of the 30 largest, including Gazprombank.
Norway is also launching a fundraising campaign to transfer the Bayraktar TB2 UAV to Ukraine, following the examples of Lithuania and Poland.
Head of the European Council: The EU Council has agreed on the fifth tranche of military assistance to Kyiv in the amount of 500 million euros.
EU Foreign Minister: The solution of the Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain supplies is a matter of life and death for many people. Russia must lift the blockade and allow the export of Ukrainian grain..
LRT: Lithuanian Foreign Minister - As Brussels is going on vacation, this is a good opportunity to remind that Russian troops do not plan to take leave for further attacks on Ukraine. According to him, because of this, Western countries, especially those with a powerful military industry, should send more weapons to the Ukrainian forces, as this is the only way to stop the Russian advance.
NATIONAL
July 19
The competition commission announced the new head of the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecution (SAP). It will be Oleksandr Klymenko - a detective of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, known for the investigation of the case of the deputy head of the President's Office, Tatarov.
Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine: Ukraine will destroy the Russian Black Sea Fleet and retake Crimea. According to him, the Ukrainian military is increasing its potential and is waiting for longer-range weapons before launching an assault. However, the cleansing of the Black Sea has already begun from Zmiinnyi Island. Havrylov added that Russia must give up Crimea if it is to continue to exist as a state.
British Intelligence 10:54 AM:
● Russia continues to commit what are nominally six separate armies to its Donbas offensive. At full strength, before the invasion, these formations were established for around 150,000 personnel. In recent weeks, Russia has often operated with company-sized groupings of around 100K personnel when undertaking offensive operations in any one sector at a time.
● Russia has struggled to sustain effective offensive combat power since the start of the invasion and this problem is likely to become increasingly acute. As well as dealing with severe under-manning, Russian planners face a dilemma between deploying reserves to the Donbas or defending against Ukrainian counterattacks in the southwestern Kherson sector.
● Russia’s stated immediate policy objective is to seize all of the Donetsk region. While Russia may still make further territorial gains, their operational tempo and rate of advance is likely to be very slow without a significant operational pause for reorganization and refit.
Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration: The number of victims of the missile strike on Vinnytsia increased to 25. Neurologist Nataliia Falshtynska, who during the terrorist attack was seeing patients in "Neuromed", died tonight. Three children lost their mother.
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine: Ukraine converts to NATO-standard weapons.
● «Our country is adopting NATO standards. This is a vital thing - 155 Caliber and other NATO calibres. As for the HIMARS, we understand that we have already started to receive projectiles that take longer to send than it was at the beginning. We hope that things we need will soon appear on the territory of our country», - emphasizes Danilov.
Institute for the Study of War 8:31 AM:
● Russia is focusing on the capture of two cities of the Donbas
● According to analysts, Russia will not prioritize an attack to seize Slovyansk in this stage of the operation but will instead focus on seizing Siversk and Bakhmut.
● Russian forces intensified efforts to advance on Avdiivka and conducted limited ground assaults along the Donetsk-Avdiivka frontline.
● Russian authorities are continuing to integrate occupied areas into the Russian trade economy.
Operational report of the General Staff of the AFU 8:19 AM:
● Russian combat reconnaissance in Uda, Kharkiv region, completely failed. The occupiers suffered losses and withdrew.
● The Russians are trying to create conditions for resuming the offensive in the direction of Sloviansk. After an airstrike near Husarivka, the occupiers tried to attack this settlement. The Armed Forces of Ukraine pushed the Russians back.
● In the Kramatorsk direction, the Russians carried out assaults near Spirne but had no success, so retreated. They are attempting to advance towards Hryhorivka; the fighting continues.
● In the Bakhmut direction, Ukrainian soldiers successfully repelled all attempts of assaults in the direction of the settlements of Semihirya, Vershyna, Pokrovske and the territory of the Vuhlehirska power plant.
● In connection with large sanitary and irreparable losses, forced mobilization measures continue in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.*
Dissatisfaction with the actions of the Russian command is growing among servicemen of non-Slavic nationalities, who are mercilessly thrown into the riskiest attacks on the territory of Ukraine.
The Verkhovna Rada released businesses from liability for violating the deadlines for submitting financial statements during martial law. For - 306 people's deputies. In particular, citizens are exempted from liability for violation of the presentation of financial statements also within 3 months after the termination of martial law.
● It is assumed that legal entities are required to publish their annual accounts in full on their web page or website within 3 months after the termination or cancellation of martial law for the entire period of non-disclosure.
Journalist Andrius Tapinas showed the work of EOS C-VTOL drones bought by Lithuanians and named Magylas.
● 18 Russian military vehicles have been found, the coordinates have been handed over to Ukrainian artillery units.
● Results - Russian tanks were destroyed, "Magila" landed safely.
● Glory to Ukraine. Best investment!” Tapinas wrote.
July 18
The team started shooting a movie in Irpin about the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, Dmytro Kuleba, writes on Telegram. The movie will be called "ZLO" and consist of three parts.
Military expert Oleh Zhdanov: The command of the Russian Armed Forces brought to Ukraine up to 200 Special Forces soldiers to hunt for the American M142 HIMARS.
On the eve of the meeting of the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine ("Ramstein"), the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, "synchronized" the request of the Ukrainian side for military assistance with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. Zaluzhnyi told Milley that the Ukrainian Armed Forces, largely thanks to HIMARS, stabilized the situation on the front: "It is complex, tense, but fully controlled".
Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine: Ukraine arrested the companies and property of the Russian millionaire for 400 million UAH. According to "Economic Truth", it is a businessman, Alexander Orlov. He owns the Bulldozer Group, which in Ukraine owns the institutions of Queen Kyiv, Virgin Izakaya Bar, Eshak, Not Only Fish, Fish Saw, and Queen.
Forbes: Foreign Minister - Volodymyr Zelenskyi has set a deadline for Ukrainian accession to the EU.
● “President Zelenskyi personally set this deadline. But I won’t tell you, because this can scare someone in the EU so much that they will deliberately slow down our actions. We must do everything calmly, reasonably and for the result”, – he says.
There is a wish to create a temporary special commission (TSC) in Ukraine to debunk Russian fakes about the use of military assistance.
● The corresponding resolution on the creation of the TSC to monitor the receipt and use of international material and technical assistance during martial law has already been submitted to parliament.
Iryna Venediktova reacted for the first time to her dismissal from the post of Prosecutor General.
● “I can’t imagine that such issues can be resolved behind the scenes, without expressing mutual respect, not in a businesslike way, so to speak. In other words, as soon as the stage of “settlement” of the current situation is completed in an adequate and understandable manner for all parties, I will give an exhaustive comment", – she writes.
Operational summary of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine 6:45 PM:
● In the Siversk direction, the enemy continues to conduct aerial reconnaissance of objects in the border areas of the Chernihiv and Sumy regions. Also, the enemy made a mortar attack near Atynske, the Sumy region.
● In the Kharkiv direction, the enemy continues to conduct hostilities in order to prevent the advance of Ukrainian troops towards the state border.
● In the Sloviansk direction, the enemy is trying to improve the tactical position of his units in the direction of Izium - Barvinkove.
● The Ukrainian soldiers inflicted casualties and drove the Russians back as they tried to advance towards Brazhivka and Dmytrivka.
● In the Bakhmut direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled an enemy assault in the direction of Myronivka - Vuhlehirsk TPP.
● In the Donetsk direction, the enemy continues to attack in the direction of the cities of Bakhmut and Siversk.
● The Russians tried to improve the tactical situation by assault actions in the areas of Bilohorivka - Hryhorivka, Zolotarivka - Verkhniokamianka, Zolotarivka - Serebrianka and Lysychansk Oil Refinery - Verkhniokamianka. They have failed. The fighting continues.
● The enemy has stepped up the conduct of hostilities in the Avdiivka direction. He tried to improve the tactical position on the direction of Verkhniotoretske - Kamianka, but failed, suffered losses and retreated.
● The personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is demoralized, which is due to the constant postponement of their rotation. The invaders are afraid of the active resistance of the local population, which is growing, in particular, in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs: In Ukraine, we have become better at shooting down Russian missiles, however, when several dozen of them are fired at the same time, unfortunately, it is not yet possible to shoot them all down.
The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament - ed.) adopted a law on Ukraine's withdrawal from the Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Affairs of the CIS Countries, concluded on April 15, 1994 in Moscow and ratified by the Verkhovna Rada in 1999.
President's Office: “All American HIMARS are intact” He also notes that the loading vehicle, which the Russians are talking about, is not part of the MLRS. "The propagandists do not provide any evidence of the destruction of HIMARS, but only publish a video taken from a drone, where a truck is visible ... There is also no evidence that it was filmed on the territory of Ukraine and military equipment used by Ukraine was destroyed".
'Ukrinform': President’s Crimean Representative: Diplomatic dialogue will be a priority tool in the liberation of Crimea, but the use of military elements is not excluded.
● She recalled that in 2021, a strategy for the de-occupation and reintegration of Crimea was approved, which states that the main tool for de-occupation is the diplomatic path. However, the document does not exclude strategies and other tools.
● The population that illegally resettled in Crimea during the Russian occupation will have to leave its territory after the liberation of the peninsula, – Tamila Tasheva, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea, says.
● At the same time, she notes that we are not talking about forced eviction: "It should be a voluntary departure from the territory to which they illegally arrived".
People's deputy: The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament - ed.) adopted in the first reading a law that prohibits assigning names associated with Russia and its figures to geographical objects.
The Verkhovna Rada voted to rename the Volodymyr-Volynskyi district of the Volyn region. Now the district will be called Volodymyrskyi.
People's deputy: In Ukraine, it was forbidden to forcibly collect debts from individuals for housing and communal services for the period of martial law.
People's deputy: Ukrainians who have lost close relatives as a result of a full-scale war will receive a deferment from conscription during mobilization. The Verkhovna Rada supported the corresponding bill in the first reading.
Forbes: Foreign Minister - Negotiations with Russia are possible "only after its defeat on the battlefield." Given the aggressive behavior of Russia (the shelling of Vinnitsa, Nikolaev, Kharkov and other cities), there are no grounds for negotiations between the countries now, - he stressed.
Ukraine has officially handed over the documents on the ratification of the Istanbul Convention to the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Bjorn Berge, said Secretary General of the Council of Europe Maria Pejcinovic Buric on Twitter. (Action on violence against women)
The Security Service of Ukraine detained a Russian agent who collected information about the locations of military equipment, checkpoints, critical infrastructure facilities, as well as civilian and military facilities in Kyiv and the region. According to preliminary information, the Russian Federation planned to use this data for launching missile strikes, as well as for possible sabotage in Kyiv.
Forecast by Mark Feygin: The very fact of a strike on the Crimean bridge will be the collapse of the entire imperial structure of Russia. According to him, if the bridge is even partially destroyed, it will mean a lot to the layman regarding the perception of the war and its prospects.
● A strike on the Crimean bridge is not a matter of causing great damage. But the symbolic damage will be insurmountable, it will be impossible to cope with this.
Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine: Intercepted communications: In the intercept a Russian soldier tells his grandmother that now his unit is somewhere beyond Izyum and they are taking to the forest. But only 26 people out of 90 remained from their company. Therefore, he is not going to sign contracts anymore. For the war was not at all what he expected.
British intelligence 12:20 PM
● Russia has used private military company Wagner to reinforce front-line forces and to mitigate manning shortfalls and casualties. Wagner has almost certainly played a central role in recent fighting, Including the capture of Popasna and Lysychansk. This fighting has inflicted heavy casualties on the group.
● Wagner are lowering recruitment standards, hiring convicts and formerly blacklisted individuals. Very limited training is made available to new recruits.
● This will highly likely impact on the future operational effectiveness of the group and will reduce its value as a prop to the regular Russian forces.
● More information about Wagner from Meduza.io. From reading this article one can be excused for concluding that Russian infantry operating in Ukraine increasingly consists of mercenaries such as Wagner, conscripts from rural areas, and from ethnic minorities. Take away the artillery advantage, and what is left?
MORDOR (Russia)
July 18
CNN: Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that Moscow faces "enormous" difficulties in access to high-tech goods due to Western sanctions but said that "it is impossible to cut his country off from the world economy".
Washington Post: Russia has promised hundreds of teachers big money to go to the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine. For example, in Chuvashia, where the average teacher salary is less than 550 dollars per month, the school director in the teacher chat promises those who will go to Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions more than 2900 dollars per month. Teachers are also promised free travel.
The Speaker of the Sheikh Mansur Battalion, Islam Belokiev, said that the Ichkerians had begun preparations for combat operations in Chechnya. Ichkeria is divided into three fronts and 16 sectors. There is an intensive collection of information from cities on the deployment of Russians for attacks.
Voronizh deputy Nina Beliaieva refused the mandate. Two criminal cases were brought against her for her anti-war position and put on the wanted list.
● In early April, the young woman left Russia after publicly speaking out against military operations in Ukraine at a meeting of the district council. The Investigative Committee opened criminal cases against Beliaieva about fakes about the military and calls for terrorism. The court arrested her in absentia, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs put her on the wanted list.
Reuters: Russia demands dirham (currency of the Emirates) payments from India for delivered oil. Moscow is abandoning the US dollar to protect itself from the consequences of Western sanctions.
Deputy Minister of Sports: In the Russian Federation, they want to hold the United Premier League football tournament in 2023 with the participation of teams from the controlled territories of Ukraine and Georgia. As planned by the Russian Federation, the tournament will include teams from the so-called "DPR", "LPR", temporarily occupied Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea, unrecognized "republics" on the territory of Georgia - Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as teams from Russian universities.
Reuters: "Gazprom" notifies Europe about the onset of force majeure on gas supplies. According to the agency, a letter sent by the company to buyers states that 'Gazprom' cannot fulfill long-term contracts for gas supplies due to "unforeseen circumstances."
● Süddeutsche Zeitung: German Ministry of Economy - Russia is using the planned turbine maintenance scheduled for September as an excuse to stop selling natural gas to the EU through North Stream 1.
Assistant to the President: If peace talks between Ukraine and Russia resume, the conditions for them will be completely different. He adds that after reaching the Istanbul agreements, the Ukrainian delegation does not maintain any contacts with Russia.
Peskov called sanctions against Russia the price for its independence and sovereignty and cited Iran as an example.
A court in the Russian Federation issued a new fine to Google - more than 21 billion rubles - for repeated refusal to remove prohibited content.
Ukrainian State Security Service: Russian commanders invaded Ukraine, guided by topographic maps from the last century, namely 1969. From maps found among the Russians in the occupied areas of the Kherson region - Saltivka is completely absent in Kharkiv, Traviansk and the Murom reservoir. And the Russians drew the state border between Ukraine and Russia with a pen, since it was not on the maps at all.
SUMY
July 18
Regional Military Administration: On July 18, the Russian military fired more than 150 mines and shells on the Sumy region. Two people were wounded in Bilopillia due to the shelling, and 16 houses were destroyed.
KHARKIV
July 19
Regional Military Administration: Three people were injured due to morning shelling of the villages of Mospanovo and Tsirkuny in the Kharkiv region
● In general, 5 civilians were hospitalized with wounds during the day. Kharkiv region - 2 people, Chuguiv region - 3 people.
● A 75-year-old man died due to injuries sustained as a result of shelling in the Kharkiv region.
Chuhuiv City Council: The Russians hit private homes in Chuhuiv at night with a rocket. No one got hurt, but the municipal water system was damaged.
Borova village council: In the temporarily occupied village of Borova (Kharkiv region), Russians equipped a morgue for military dead. The number of corpses is constantly growing, as Russians daily lose their soldiers in the battles both in the neighboring Luhansk and Donetsk regions and in the occupied territories.
July 18
Mayor: Kharkiv has been under shelling for about five months now. 150 thousand people are left without apartments, and about 500 houses are no longer subject to restoration. Despite this, the heating season in Kharkiv will begin on October 15, although it will be the most "difficult in the history of the city".
Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate: The reconnaissance group of the Kedr Main Intelligence Directorate conducted a special operation in the village of Dementievka, Dergachevsky District, Kharkiv Region. A large marine unit of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy was discovered, located in destroyed buildings. As a result of an ambush, 36 Russians were destroyed. Many Russian soldiers received injuries of varying severity. The Russian commander was captured and is in one of the hospitals in Ukraine.
LUHANSK
July 19
Regional Military Administration: 9:26 AM
● The Russians tried to simultaneously storm Verkhnokamianske and attack near Bilohorivka.
● Many offensives have been repulsed, but some fighting continues. The Russian troops have launched 4 missiles and 2 air strikes on settlements on the border of two regions. 11 times Russians shelled peaceful areas with artillery.
● In the occupied territories, Russians mobilize everyone they see. Occupants tempt men out of the shelters with “lucrative job offers”. Even prisoners on criminal charges are sent to the front, as in Alchevsk.
July 18
Regional Military Administration 9:27:
● Russians are preparing for a "referendum" on joining the temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk to Russia. They have planned on September 11, but they can hold it earlier.
● In the occupied cities, the invaders distribute newspapers about the "positive" nature of the Rashist regime. The occupation authorities have already established a "training headquarters" for pseudo-elections without elections.
● a small part of the Luhansk region is still holding.
● Part of the Luhansk region does not let the enemy through, shelling continues there constantly;
● Russians are still losing personnel and equipment on the territory of our region;
● the locals in the underground help us to hold the defense.
Mayor of Severodonetsk on the situation in Severodonetsk as of the morning of July 18* :
● humanitarian problems continue to accumulate in the city;
● there is a shortage of food;
● there are no centralized communications in Severodonetsk;
● The Russians are trying to improve the supply of water, delivering it around the city.
● if the Russians manage to supply gas to Sieverodonetsk, then there will be no blue fuel in the city itself due to the significant destruction of the distribution network;
● treatment facilities were destroyed by the Russians;
● The hospital still has a supply of medicines.
National Guard of Ukraine: When leaving Sіeverodonetsk, one and a half platoons of invaders were destroyed. Overcame almost 10 kilometers at night, without sound and in complete darkness. The guides had night vision devices and tablets. Without them, they would simply be lost. Saved all weapons and combat kits. A crossing was arranged across the river, they crossed in boats.
DONETSK
July 19
Regional Military Administration:
● On July 18, the Russians killed one civilian in Avdiivka, Donbas.
● Two more people were injured.
● It is currently impossible to determine the exact number of victims in Mariupol and Volnovakha.
Mayor: Slоvіansk again came under fire, there are wounded. There were four explosions, the private sector suffered, and there are people under the rubble. No casualties yet.
July 18
Regional Military Administration: The Avdiivka-Kostiantynivka highway and the village of Kamianka are completely controlled by the Ukrainian military.
Adviser to the mayor: The Russian military stepped up checks and filtering of residents of Mariupol. There are cases of detention.
● Yesterday, in the area of Hurov Park, the Russians detained and took away in an unknown direction a 22-year-old girl for blue and yellow ribbons in her hair. Her family is unable to locate her.
● The Russian military received an order from the Russian Federation to carry out a covert mobilization of Ukrainians in Mariupol. The so-called DPR is outraged that Mariupol residents do not want to voluntarily go to war against their people.
State Emergency Service: As a result of Russian shelling of Toretsk Donetsk region, 6 people were killed
ZAPORIZHIA
July 19
National Police Service: Over the past 24 hours, Russians shelled civilian infrastructure in the areas of Tavriiske, Yurkivka, Vozdvyzhenka, and Kamianske.
July 18
Mayor of Energodar: Russian invaders were destroyed and wounded on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
● In the afternoon, nine Russian troops were rushed to the city hospital with injuries of varying degrees of severity. There are also dead, but we cannot yet tell the exact number of them.
● He specified that the cause of the incident would be reported by the "competent services" and added that the Russians were so frightened that they ran through the territory of the station in a panic.
Enerhoatom: The Russians are destabilizing the situation and resorting to new methods of terror at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, captured by the Russian military. They began kidnapping personnel from key leadership positions at ZNPP
● Yesterday, the Russians captured and took away in an unknown direction the head of the environmental protection service, Ihor Kvashnin. At the moment, his whereabouts cannot be determined.
DNIPRO
July 19
Regional Military Administration: Russian troops fired on Nikopol and Kryvyi Rih districts.
● Russians fired up to 40 rockets on Nikopol, which contributed to the spread of fires. People were not injured. In the Kryvyi Rih district, the Russians struck with artillery on the Zelenodolska territorial community. No one got hurt.
July 18
Regional Military Administration: Rescuers removed from the rubble the body of the deceased due to the Russian missile attack on Dnipro on July 15. The number of victims rose to 4 people, 16 more were injured. Seven of them are now in the hospital.
● The Russians fired on the Synelnikovskyi district of the Dnipropetrovsk region. The rocket hit the elevator. Warehouses with more than five thousand tons of grain were destroyed
● The school yard received another blow. The facade and roof of the local lyceum were damaged, more than 50 windows were broken. And there is a hit in the private house of local residents. Previously without casualties.
KHERSON
July 19
The Armed Forces of Ukraine struck a concentration of weapons, equipment, and ammunition of Russia in the Raiskyi district in the Kherson region and the ammunition depot in the Beryslav area.
● The facilities were destroyed. Ukrainian aviation also worked with two attack helicopters on the ammunition depot and the Russian forces on Snihurivka.
July 18
A mural dedicated to Kateryna Gandzyuk is being destroyed in Kherson by the occupation administration.
● "Today, collaborators in Kherson began to destroy the mural at the City Council, which reminded of the inevitability of punishment for the murderers of Katya Gandzyuk," reports the Facebook community "Who ordered Katya Gandzyuk?" (Katya Gandzyuk was a community activist who fought against corruption. She was killed by a sulphuric acid attack and died after three months in hospital)
Kherson Regional Council: The Armed Forces of Ukraine struck at Nova Kakhovka. A Ukrainian missile “arrived” in the area of the asphalt plant, which is on the bypass. Russian forces were using the plant as a base.
Social Media: A fire is visible in the area of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, controlled by the Russians. At the same time, the “temporary administration” of the Russian-controlled Kakhovka district of the Kherson region claims that as a result of the strike in the area of the Kakhovska hydroelectric power station, the main gas pipeline was damaged.
MYKOLAIV
July 19
Regional State Administration: Yesterday, Russians shelled the Korabelnyi district of the city. They hit the private sector, and windows and roofs in private houses are damaged. A woman and a man were injured.
● Yesterday there was recorded shelling of the Lymany village. Hits were mostly outside the settlement. The fields caught fire. No one got hurt.
● Last night, the Russians shelled the Shyroke territorial community. Approximately from 6:50 a.m., they continued to shell the Shyroke village. Information on casualties and injuries is being clarified.
● The shelling of villages along the boundary line in the Bereznehyvate territorial community continues. Russians hit the infrastructure.
Operational Command “Pivden” (South): The Russians killed four people in the Mykolaiv region for a staged video.
● The occupants shot a house with a mortar on the outskirts of Snihurivka, trying to accuse the Ukrainian Defense Forces of this.
● However, the Russians revealed themselves. Immediately after the shelling, journalists from the propaganda media arrived at the scene on request. They instantly began filming the scenes and accused the Armed Forces of Ukraine of shelling.
July 18
Mayor: At 5:15 pm, the Russians fired cluster shells at Korabelnyi district, Mykolaiv. Mostly they hit the private sector - damaged windows and roofs in private houses. As of 10:00 pm, there were two wounded - a woman and a man. They were taken to the hospital.
Regional Military Administration: Authorities will pay $ 100 to the inhabitants of the region, who will point at "Russian fire spotters.
● The Russian military launched missile attacks on Mykolaiv and the region on the night of July 18. As a result of attacks, 14 people were injured
ODESA
July 19
Odesa district military administration: Comments regarding a morning rocket attack.
● Two private houses cannot be restored. Two houses are still burning. There are no data on the dead yet, 4 people have minor injuries. Windows were broken around many houses. Damages are being assessed.".
July 18
Operational Command “Pivden” (South): Russians fired 7 missiles on the Odesa region, one missile was shot down. Six people, including a child, were wounded
● 7 cruise missiles of the «Calibr» type, fired from the Black Sea.
● Three private houses and two-yard facilities were destroyed and burned as a result of firing the rockets. Several other private estates, cars, a school, and a house of culture were damaged.
● At 11:00, three Su-35 aircraft fired 4 air-launched missiles from the Black Sea in the Odesa region
○ Two rockets hit a military infrastructure facility, a fire broke out. Another one - hit the bridge across the Dniester estuary. One missile was shot down by air defense forces over the sea. There are no victims or injured.
Comparing Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to Russian invasion of Ukraine using Wikipedia and Ukraine Ministry of Defense Daily Bulletins. Soviet and Russian military losses not including captured equipment.
SOURCES
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/
https://euromaidanpress.com/
https://invite.viber.com/?g2=AQBD3wxTrZ6XUU7IdXeHUfjVCydekezQCCGuwYnT6qPd1r7n1aVbFIewa6ng6Lis