Bob Homans July 31
20220801
Ukraine – 7/31 Sitrep
Compiled by: Robert Homans
Twitter: @rhomansjr
July 31, 2022
Kherson – A Reverse Stalingrad?
Both Denys, in his latest report, and an interview on Times Radio with Chris Parry, a British strategic analyst, talk about Kherson becoming a “Reverse Stalingrad,” where instead of winning as in February 1943, Russia is cut off and defeated around Kherson.
Both Denys and Chris Parry state that Russia, to oppose the expected Ukrainian counterattack, is bringing in reinforcements to the Kherson Region, most likely across the Nova Khahovka Bridge, the only intact bridge across the Dnieper currently available to Russia. In theory, if Ukraine manages to render the Nova Kahovka Bridge unusable, a risky proposition and they’d have to do it in such a way so as not to disturb the Nova Kahovka Dam, they will entirely cut off Russian forces operating on the Right Bank of the Dnieper. I predict that rendering the Nova Kahovka Bridge unusable will be a combined operation between Ukrainian Special Forces and partisans.
Denys seems a bit concerned about Ukraine’s ability to launch a major counterattack against Kherson:
· He describes the buildup of Russian forces in front of Kharkiv, consisting of bases inside Russian territory and thus off limits to HIMERS attacks. This will require Ukraine’s attention.
· Ukraine is launching attacks against Russian positions around Izyum (southeast of Kharkiv).
· Judging from the thermal images in Denys’ tactical map, there seems to be increased Russian artillery activity throughout the Donbas Front (both Luhansk and Donetsk).
It seems as if each side is trying to confuse the other about their intentions. Ukraine appears to be trying to die down Russian in Donbas while preparing to attack in Kherson. Russia seems to be doing much the same in front of Kharkiv, tying down Ukrainians.
“Ukraine As It Was Cannot Continue to Exist,” The “Dispatch”
The title of this article is a quote from Margarita Simonyan, Head of RT. Much of the article is about Kherson, describing what Russians are trying to do inside territory that they temporarily control. It appears that Russia has a secondary war aim, eradicating Ukraine as a country and as a people being the primary war aim. Russia’s secondary war aim, directly related to their primary war aim, is to hold on to territory, to avoid exposing the atrocities that they’ve committed. Russia learned a lesson, when they withdrew from Bucha and Irpin.
Timothy Snyder
In his latest, Prof. Snyder agrees with us: Ukraine is winning; Ukraine must win; as a People and a Country, Ukraine has no other choice but to win. He also makes the case that Putin’s control may be weakening.
7/31 Sitrep (my comments in bold face)
Russian Invasion of Ukraine 12:00 noon July 30 to 12:00 noon July 31, 2022
Nuremberg For Putin
INTERNATIONAL
July 31
11:19 :At least 12 fighter jets from Germany, Italy and Hungary will start patrolling the airspace over the Baltic countries from tomorrow.
09:15 US State Department: The US Congress will establish criteria for recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism
08:40 Ministry of Foreign Affairs: France expressed horror at reports of murders and torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the colony in Olenivka.
● "If this information is confirmed, then the perpetrators and all persons responsible for such crimes, which grossly violate international humanitarian law, will have to answer for their actions," the message says.
July 30
23:57 Pentagon: The US Department of Defense plans to provide the Armed Forces with spare parts for Soviet aircraft and Phoenix Ghost drones.
● The official emphasized that the Ministry of Defense is actively working to ensure that there are as many spare parts for Soviet military aircraft as possible. They will be purchased by the US from allies
21:28 :The head of the Foreign Ministry of Latvia, Edgars Rynkevichs, called on the EU to ban the issuance of tourist visas to citizens of Russia.
21:28 Milliyet: The President of Fenerbahce, Ali Koç, said that the Turkish club will not apologize to Ukraine because of the fans who chanted the name of Vladimir Putin.
● “We will not apologize to Ukraine. After the inappropriate statements made by the Ambassador of Ukraine, he must apologize to us”
● Earlier, the Ukrainian Football Association appealed to UEFA because of the chanting of the name of the President of Russia by Fenerbahce fans after the Kуіvans scored against the Turks.
21:01 :Montenegro condemned Russian aggression against Ukraine, - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
● The state stressed that it supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.
19:51: UK Member of Parliament Chris Bryant calls to expel the Russian Embassy from the country after tweeting Russian diplomats about the execution of "Azov" soldiers.
● “This should be illegal. This is calling for war crimes. It is time the UK sent the whole Russian Embassy packing back to Moscow. Liz Truss, what are you going to do?” he writes.
19:51 Pentagon: The US has started the process of acquiring the Norwegian NASAMS missile systems for the subsequent transfer to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The exact date of delivery of NASAMS systems is not yet known.
19:50 Sky News: Pope Francis is ready to leave his post due to his health. For the past few months, he has been using a wheelchair, a walking stick or a walker for knee pain caused by a fracture and ligament inflammation.
● “I don’t think I can keep travelling with the same rhythm I used to at my age,” said Pope to journalists on board a plane returning to Rome after his one-week tour of Canada.
18:39 BBC: The Lebanese prosecutor’s office detained for 72 hours the Syrian ship "Laodicea", which was carrying stolen grain from Ukraine
● The newspaper reports that a ship has been seized in the port of Tripoli, and the investigation will be conducted by the intelligence services. At the same time, the Russian Embassy in Lebanon reported that it had no information about the ship, but described the Ukrainian allegations as "false and baseless".
● It is also reported that a court in Ukraine issued a warrant for the arrest of the ship.
17:59: Latvian Minister of Economy Ilze Indriksone made a statement after Russian "Gazprom" decided to stop gas deliveries to this Baltic country.
● Indriksone said Latvia has long not counted on Russia and prioritized the flow from the Klaipėda terminal. The official also said that the government is working on other directions of gas supply.
● "This step does not bring significant changes for us," - said the minister.
17:32: The Qatar Fund for Development - has transferred to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine 5 million dollars as part of the United24 initiative, the press service of the Ministry reports.
17:22 Sky News: US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that Russia intends to dismantle Ukraine “and dissolve it from the world map entirely.”
● The United States sees increasing signs that Russia is laying the groundwork to attempt to annex all of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions to hold sham referenda or decree to join Russia.
16:54 Deputy spokesman: The United Nations is ready to send its experts to investigate the shelling of the colony in Olenivka, during which Ukrainian prisoners of war died
15:54 Terror Alarm: Taiwan has just deployed air defense systems at Taoyuan International Airport, a civilian facility.
15:49 UK's Intelligenc e Service (known as MI6): Russia is 'wearing out' in its attack on Ukraine
13:57 Polskieradio24: The first 8 AHS Krab howitzers produced by Poland as part of a $630 million arms deal with Ukraine are ready for delivery.
13:15 :The plane with Nancy Pelosi took off from Andrews Air Force Base. The speaker plans to visit the island of Taiwan. To protect her, the US Navy put forward a strike group led by the aircraft carrier "Ronald Reagan"
13:07: The Government of the Kingdom of Norway handed over 14 IVECO LAV III armored patrol vehicles to the defenders of Ukraine, according to the Norwegian government website.
● It is noted that these vehicles have good mobility and protection, and are of the same type used by the Norwegian forces in Afghanistan.
12:54: The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, condemned the killing of dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka, temporarily occupied by the Russians.
12:33 Reuters: Switzerland ready to impose EU sanctions if China invades Taiwan
● "Sanctions in the case of China would be much harsher (than sanctions against the Russian Federation). Therefore, it is likely that there will be more discussion in the EU and the United States, as well as in Switzerland, than there were in Russia.
12:12: The Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan has issued an order to immediately stop any possible provocation from Armenia, the country's Ministry of Defense reports.
NATIONAL
July 31
11:36: Over the past day, 6 ammunition warehouses and 3 Russian bases have been demilitarized.
● Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region - minus warehouse + base,
● Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia (location of the largest nuclear power complex in Europe) - base,
● Snigurivskyi district, Mykolaiv region - minus warehouse,
● Alchevsk, Luhansk region - minus warehouse,
● Pervomaisk, Luhansk region - minus warehouse,
● Chornobaivka (district), Kherson region - minus warehouse,
● Tavriysk (district), Kherson region - minus base
● Berislavskyi district, Kherson region - minus warehouseed.
11:26: The first caravan of 16 dry cargo ships with grain from Ukraine will arrive in Turkey on August 3, CNN Turk reports. At the initiative of Ankara, the first ships with grain will proceed to the shores of Somalia.
10:53: The "Red Cross" was not allowed to enter the colony in OlenIvka. The ICRC has requested access to a Russian-controlled POW camp. According to representatives of the organization, they were refused.
● The Red Cross reminded that providing access to prisoners of war is an obligation enshrined in the Geneva Convention, and that they will continue to seek contacts with the military.
10:46 Ministry of Education: The academic year in institutions of professional higher and higher education in Ukraine is recommended to start on August 15.
● This applies to senior students for the 2022/2023 academic year. It is also recommended to use all Saturdays during the warm season.
08:51 Institute for the Study of War:
● The Russian Federation will be forced to focus on Bakhmut
● The Russian army is likely to increase the priority of the attack from the east on Bakhmut instead of trying to take Seversk and Slovyansk
● It’s unlikely that the Russian Federation will succeed, even if they manage to take Avdiivka and Pisky.
07:48 Operational information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces:
● To constrain the actions of the Defense Forces, the deadlines for conducting measures to check the combat readiness of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus have been extended again. This time until August 6 of this year.
● In the Slovyansk direction, the Russians unsuccessfully tried to deploy a sabotage and reconnaissance group near Dolyna, suffered losses and retreated.
● In the Donetsk direction, the Russians are trying to improve the tactical situation in the Bakhmut and Avdiviivskiy directions.
● Assault operations are conducted with the support of assault and army aviation. They are trying to determine the defense system of Ukrainian units.
● In the Bakhmut direction, the Russians tried to improve the tactical position in the direction of Rota - Vershina and Pokrovsk - Bakhmut with assault actions, they retreated with losses.
● An attempt to reconnoiter the positions of the front edge in the direction of Stryapovka - Soledar was unsuccessful, the reconnaissance group of the Russian Federation was detected and neutralized. Aerial reconnaissance by hostile UAVs near Pavlograd, Kramatorsk and Ozerniy was recorded.
07:23 Operational Command "Pivden"(South):
● The Armed Forces of Ukraine in the south carried out 6 airstrikes against the Russians in the last day
● Attack positions and concentrations of Russian forces and equipment in the Beryslavskiy district were attacked three times by pairs of attack aircraft, and three times by pairs of helicopters - strongpoints in the Kherson and Mykolaiv districts.
00:43 NBU: In June 2022, the volume of private transfers to Ukraine from abroad amounted to 1.227 billion dollars. This is 1.6% more than a year earlier ($1.208 billion).
● According to them, in January-June 2022, Ukraine received 6.463 billion dollars, which is 6.2% less than a year earlier (6.892 billion dollars).
00:06: The Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that on July 30, two field ammunition depots, two company strongholds, up to twenty units of armored combat vehicles, and dozens of soldiers of the Russian Army were destroyed.
July 30
23:26: The Verkhovna Rada adopted as a basis draft law No. 6480 "On geographical indications of alcoholic beverages", which creates conditions for the development and promotion of Ukrainian alcoholic beverages to European markets.
23:13: *The Special Purpose Battalion of the armed forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CHRY) has been created in the system of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which will operate as part of the Foreign Legion.
● Prime Minister of the government-in-exile Akhmed Zakaev noted that this is a "historical event - the revival of the armed forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria."
23:07: Advisor to the National Police regarding new artillery shells:
● "After the word HIMARS, which is known even in the distant Russian hinterland, you will soon recognize the word Excalibur. This is a high-precision projectile for the 155-mm howitzer 777, which fires with an accuracy of up to 2 meters, with GPS guidance at a distance of up to 50 km."
21:01 InformNapalm: The nature of the damage to the colony with Ukrainian prisoners in Оlenіvka, Donetsk region, indicates that it was not hit by the HIMARS system. Most likely, it was a Russian thermobaric weapon
● As noted in InformNapalm, Оlenіvka is located at a distance of about 15 km from the front line. And it makes no sense to hit this target with rare and expensive long-range GMLRS missiles when it is possible to use 105-mm artillery shells costing about 0.4% of the GMLRS missile.
20:24 Minister of Communities and Territorial Development: The heating season in Ukraine will start traditionally after October 15, considering weather conditions. And the government has decided not to increase heat tariffs. And gas for the population will be supplied for 7,420 hryvnias per thousand cubic meters
20:24 :Over the past 24 hours, power engineers restored the operation of power grids in 25 settlements in the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions and restored light to almost 27 thousand families - DTEK.
19:13 :"You yourself will be executed with your jackals and embassies," - the official statement of the acting commander of the "Azov" regiment, Mykyta Nadtochii, regarding the mass murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka.
19:13 Operational report of the General Staff of the AFU:
● In the Slovyansk direction, the Russians launched artillery fire in the areas of Dolyna, Krasnopilla, and Mazanivka. Russian soldiers tried to conduct an assault near Brazhkivka, but without success, they retreated.
● In the Bakhmut direction, the Russians shelled the positions of the Ukrainian troops and struck along the line of contact. They carried out an assault in the direction of Pylypchatyne - Pokrovske and Dolomitne - Travneve but had no success and withdrew. Russia is partially successful in establishing control over Semyhyria.
● In the Pivdennyi Buh direction, the Russians tried to implement the conditions for an attack in the direction of Bruskynske-Bilohirka, but the Ukrainian military repulsed the assault.
● In the Avdiivka direction, the Russian military, to improve their positions, stormed in the direction of Novoselyvka Druha - Krasnohorivka, Spartak - Avdiivka, had no success, withdrew.
16:49 Ministry of Finance of Ukraine: Ukraine will receive an additional $350 million of loan funds from Canada
15:18: The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that Russian diplomats are accomplices in war crimes in Ukraine and should be held accountable.
14:57: A rally was held in Kyiv in support of the defenders of Azovstal.
14:55: The Security Service of Ukraine neutralized the illegal activities of a Russian agent who transmitted information to the Russian special services, which the Russians planned to use for launching missile attacks on the Mykolaiv region
14:38 Commissioner for Human Rights: Ukraine has not yet received the lists of the dead prisoners of war in Olenivka
● "I requested this information. So far we have not received the lists. And I know that the Russian side has them,"
● Ukraine has started the procedure for returning the bodies of the dead Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka, Donetsk region
● The personal identification data of a Russian who castrated and killed a Ukrainian prisoner of war was found
○ Details of his relatives have also been found but have not yet been made public.
13:19 British Ambassador: A strike on a prison colony with Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka requires an investigation. This looks like part of the worst human rights violations and war crimes.
13:00 "Schemes:” The Russian army is increasing the presence of military equipment on the border with Ukraine near the occupied part of the Kharkiv region. This was recorded by the Planet Labs satellite.
● The photographs, show that part of the equipment is transported by rail and brought to the village of Sobolivka in the Bilgorod region of Russia.
● How long is the United States willing to keep its prohibition in place, preventing Ukraine from using HIMARS against targets inside Russian territory, such as the Russian build-up near Kharkiv, when those targets pose an imminent danger to Ukraine and Ukrainian civilians?
12:21: Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets asks the Red Cross to help him organize a visit to the war crime scene in Olenivka.
12:07 "Angels of Azov:” The spokespersons for the Azov regiment, urged not to respond to the lists published by the Russian Federation of those killed and wounded as a result of the shelling of the colony in Olenivka.
● Not a single Ukrainian or international institution can confirm or refute the lists posted in the Russian media.
MORDOR (Russia)
July 31
08:20: Russian media reports that the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet was attacked by a drone in Sevastopol. Five people were injured, festive events for the Navy Day in Sevastopol were cancelled. Citizens are asked to stay at home.
07:33: The Russian Federation invited experts from the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross "in the interests of the investigation" of the attack on Elenovka.
● In addition, the Deputy Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the UN said that Russia is waiting for UN Secretary General António Guterres to react to the attack on the pre-trial detention center in the village of Olenivka.
● He noted that Russian diplomats informed the UN Secretary General about the available information "about Ukraine's responsibility for the attack on the pre-trial detention center in Olenivka", and also "condemned the attempts of the Kyiv regime to shift the blame for this crime to Russia".
01:00: The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said that to investigate the attack on the pre-trial detention center in Olenivka, where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed and wounded, they invited experts from the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
July 30
14:25 CNN: Russia during covert mobilization could have recruited more than 30,000 volunteers for the war against Ukraine. Most of them have no military experience
● According to the publication, volunteer battalions are being formed throughout Russia to be sent to Ukraine. Analysts say that about 30,000 volunteers could have been mobilized. About a third of them will be sent to Donbas.
13:38 CNN: Russian planes are smuggling out gold illegally mined in Sudan. With it, the Kremlin finances the war in Ukraine.
● A few days after Moscow launched its war against Ukraine, a Russian cargo plane illegally smuggled about a ton of gold from Sudan's capital, Khartoum. The precious metal was hidden under cookie boxes.
● Some of the pundits have recently made a point that Russia is now reaping the benefits of long-standing relationships with Sub-Saharan African countries, going back to Soviet times. Is Sudan an example?
12:18: In Genichesk, (Kherson Region), the military of the Russian Federation kidnapped the ex-commander of the ship of the Ukrainian Navy "Slavutich" Oleksii Kiselyov, the Center for Journalistic Investigations reports.
● Local residents report that he was taken out blindfolded and with his hands tied, held for three days in an unknown place, and then handed over to the FSB RF and taken to the Simferopol pre-trial detention center.
SUMY
July 31
11:12 Regional Military Administration: At about 5:30 in the morning, the Russians opened massive fire from mortars and cannon artillery on the Miropol community. More than 50 arrivals. Russian shells hit a local farm, one person was killed, two more were injured.
July 30
22:46 Regional Military Administration: The Sumy region was shelled 5 times today
● Velykopysarska, Bilopolska and Seredno-Budska communities came under attack. Information about the victims is being clarified.
KHARKIV
July 31
10:04 Regional Military Administration:
● Last night the Russians attacked the Nemyshlyansky district of Kharkov.
● According to the regional Emergency Medical Center, there were no casualties. The production building was damaged. Preliminary strikes by the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system were recorded.
● In addition, at about 5 p.m., as a result of strikes in the Kyivskiy district, a fire broke out in a utility building of the private sector.
● In the region, the Russians attacked Kharkiv, Izyum, Chuhuivskiy, Bohoduhivskiy districts. Open territories, private houses, outbuildings, and again fields with crops were burning.
● A 37-year-old combine operator was injured when he exploded on a mine in the village of Olkhovka. Now his condition is moderate.
During the day, a 39-year-old man in the Dergachev community was injured from Russian shelling.09:30 State Emergency Service: Morning "arrival" in Kharkiv: a production and warehouse building was destroyed.
● "On the morning of July 31, the enemy launched a rocket attack on the city of Kharkiv. The production and warehouse building, the roof, the fourth and third floors were partially destroyed. There was also a fire in this building,".
04:49 Mayor of Kharkiv: "The night shelling of Kharkiv continues. Today a whole series of explosions. So far there is information about "arrivals'' in the Nemyshlyanskiy district. Preliminarily there is damage to several buildings," - Igor Terekhov reported in his telegram channel.
July 30
19:21: The Mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, reported that a missile strike occurred in the area of the tractor plant this afternoon.
LUHANSK
July 31
08:57 Regional Military Administration: The Russian military is trying to improve its tactical position for the offensive on Bakhmut and nearby settlements on the border of Luhansk region and Donetsk Region.”
● Russian infantry is supported by assault and army aviation.
● Yesterday, the Ukrainian Armed Forces discovered and neutralized one of the intelligence groups of the Russian Federation.
● The Russians are concentrating their efforts on destroying military facilities and infrastructure elements, leaving populated areas without gas and electricity.
July 30
21:01 Regional Military Administration: Ukrainian partisans burned a junction box to control the railway road near Svatove.
● "Railroad transportation of ammunition for Russians to the front is difficult now,"
● Now Russians can't control traffic lights and crossings. Also, the power of the railway depended on it
● This incident may be the beginning of partisan activity in the Luhansk Region, similar to what is going on in the Kherson and Zaporizhya Regions
DONETSK
July 30
22:00: Explosions in temporarily occupied Donetsk, local media report. We are waiting for official information.
15:59 Regional Prosecutor's Office: Two more collaborators - traitors were notified in absentia about the suspicion. This time they turned out to be an on-duty deputy from the OPZhZ party and a 4th year student of the National Law University named after Yaroslav the Wise from Mariupol.
13:28 Adviser to the mayor : "Mariupol. The field is burned out. The Russian occupiers will not harvest the harvest,"
ZAPORIZHYA
July 30
18:40 Mayor: Russians from August will demand from the resident of Melitopol special permits to leave the temporarily occupied territory.
16:30 Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense: Russians are actively preparing for "referendums" in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions
● “We see that measures are being taken to update the so-called “list of voters”. Moreover, the invaders have opened polling stations for the elections. Also, the process of Russian passport distribution has started. This is a set of measures that Russia is carrying out in the occupied territories to prepare and hold a referendum,”
14:47: Mayor of Energodar Dmytro Orlov spoke about the details of the explosions in the city on the night of July 30.
● "After the night events in Energodar, six soldiers of the occupying army of the Russian Federation went to the hospital for primary care. And later they went to be treated by "their" doctors, " -he said.
13:47: In Zaporizhya, the SSU detained an arms dealer who was trying to illegally sell a batch of explosives. Law enforcement officers also found his cache with explosives,
● " Combat weapons he secretly kept at his place of residence in Zaporizhya. He looked for his clients through personal connections, including among representatives of criminal circles.”
DNIPRO
July 31
08:47 Regional Military Administration: The Russian army shelled two districts of the region - Nikopolsky and Kryvorozhsky
● In the Nikopol district, a man was injured, a private house was destroyed, several dozen were damaged. There is destructi(on in 7 high-rise buildings. A school, a kindergarten and several city institutions were affected. Two buses burned down at a local auto company, and up to ten were damaged. In the Kryvorozskiy district, they were hit by barrel artillery in the Zelenodol community.
July 30
22:00 Nikopol Military Administration: In the Nikopol district of the Dnipropetrovsk region, the threat of shelling has been announced again. Populated areas near the Kakhovskiy reservoir may be hit
KHERSON
July 31
11:50: On July 29, Smart Maritime Group lost control over the Kherson shipyard.
● Currently, the military of the Russian Federation does not allow the administration and employees to enter the territory of the enterprise. The general director of the enterprise applied to all law enforcement agencies and the SSU with a statement about the seizure. The relevant statement was made by Smart Maritime Group on the holding's website.
July 30
22:00 Kherson regional council: Before holding the so-called "referendum" on joining the Russian Federation, the Russians are intensifying filtration procedures and terror in Kherson,
14:07 Operational Command Pivden (South): The Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed another bridge used to deliver equipment to the Russians near Kherson. It is now impossible to move across the railway crossing.
12:32: Three branches of the Russian "Promsvyazbank" did not open in the Kherson region due to the refusal of Ukrainian banking specialists, the Center for Combating Disinformation reports. This thwarted the Kremlin's plans to switch to payments in rubles.
MYKOLAIV
July 31
10:47: Due to the night shelling of Mykolaiv, the Hero of Ukraine and a well-known businessman, the owner of one of the largest agricultural companies "Nibulon" Oleksii Vadatursky, along with his wife, died.
● Vadatursky was 74 years old. In 2021, Forbes Ukraine estimated his fortune at $430 million. He was in the top 100 richest Ukrainians.
● It may have been a planned Russian “hit.” His house was directly hit. If so, then someone likely gave out targeting information to the Russians.
09:25 Regional Military Administration: On the night of July 31, after 01:00 and in the morning, around 05:00, Mykolaiv was subjected to massive shelling. Previously, one person died, two were injured. As a result of the shelling, a number of infrastructure facilities were damaged.
● In particular, a hotel, a sports complex, two educational institutions and a service station. Residential buildings are also damaged. Several fires broke out at the landing sites.
05:31 Mayor of Mykolaiv:
● "Again powerful explosions are heard in the city! Do not go outside!", wrote in his telegram channel.
● Mykolaiv was subjected to the heaviest massive shelling. A number of objects were destroyed, residential buildings were damaged. There are fires at the sites of the arrivals, rescuers are working
02:17 Mayor: Mykolaiv is under massive shelling, with cluster shells. Currently, several fires are known. There is damage to residential buildings from the shock wave and debris.
July 30
12:45 Mayor: The death toll from a strike near a public transport stop in Mykolaiv on July 29 rose to seven - two men died in hospital. 14 people were injured.
ODESA
July 31
10:33 Operational Command Pivden (South):There are four missile carriers and four landing ships of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea, with 32 Kalibr-type missiles on board.
● The Russians have increased the number of warships to 14, but they are maneuvering in safe areas along the coast of Crimea.
09:07 Odesa Regional Military Administration: "Attack" in Sevastopol is an open provocation.*
● "The liberation of our Crimea from the occupiers will happen differently and much more effectively,"
July 30
22:12: At least 5,000 dolphins have already died in the Black Sea due to the military aggression of the Russian Federation. This was reported by Ivan Rusev, doctor of biological sciences, employee of the National Nature Park "Tuzlovsky lymany" (Odesa region).
● According to him, due to the full-scale military invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, a lot of dolphins died on the territory of several countries, including rare ones that are listed in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
17:59 Regional Military Administration: Another sea mine was found on the coast in the Odessa region. It was removed by the military.
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