Ukraine – 7/31/2023 Sitrep
By: Robert Homans & Bohdan Chomiak
July 31, 2023
Conversation With the Head of the World Food Programme in Kenya
Today, I had the occasion to participate in a conference call with the Head of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Kenya. Although the call was related to a project I am working on in Kenya, I was able to ask him about the impact that the curtailment of cereal exports from Ukraine has on their activities in Kenya.
He said the impact of the curtailment on WFP’s activities in Kenya is substantial, both in terms of available quantity and in terms of price. In Kenya, the WFP buys cereals from Kenyan smallholder farmers, and distributes it to distressed areas within the country. Smallholder farmers is WFP’s default source of supply, and they buy at a bit over the market rate. Additional supplies must come from warehouses and foreign sources. He said that historically Ukraine has become a major foreign source. He promised to provide me with additional information, on quantity and price, which I will share.
It was clear to me that he knows where to place the blame.
This is a story about Russian soldiers coming back from Ukraine, suffering from mental illness, alcoholism, and drug addiction. According to the article, many of them are former prisoners who were recruited by the Wagner Group. Others come from rural areas of Russia, or areas with predominant ethnic minority populations, where there are a limited number of hospitals and experienced physicians able to take care of the returnees.
Latest Lawrence Freedman – “Ukraine's Counter-Offensive: Setting Expectations”/Substack
A few excerpts (my comments in bold face):
· “I found it salutary to look back at what I wrote a year ago (13 August 2022). when Ukraine had also embarked on offensive operations, this time against Russian positions in Kherson, which had also yet to show much progress. As this followed a Russian offensive in which they had made only limited headway in the Donbas, the overall impression was of a developing stalemate, with defence confirmed as the stronger form of warfare and the strategies adopted by both sides, by necessity, attritional.” In previous emails, have been pointing out that Ukraine’s counteroffensive looks similar to Ukraine’s counteroffensive last year, in Kherson, where there was little progress against Russian fixed defenses.
· “Not long after this post, Ukraine achieved an effective advance, not in Kherson but in Kharkiv, where the Russians had thinned out their forces in order to reinforce their positions in Kherson. Very quickly the Russians lost a lot of ground and for a moment their war effort appeared to be wobbling.” In late October/early November, Ukraine broke through around Kherson, liberated Kherson City and drove the Russians from the Right Bank of Dnipro River.
· “After the early June setback, the Ukrainians went back to relying, as so often the case in this war, on actions more at platoon and company level, with small groups of soldiers rushing from one tree line to another, or creeping forward to clear a way through a minefield. In this they have been helped by the far better protection provided by Western vehicles compared to old Soviet systems, which reduce casualties even when vehicles are struck.” Unlike March 2022, Ukraine is now employing this strategy on offense, rather than defense. For this, some of the pundits are criticizing Ukraine for not adhering to the combined arms strategy that they learned in the West.
· “Ukraine has a qualitative (though not quantitative) advantage in artillery. Since they first received US HIMARS last summer, and more recently, the UK Storm Shadow cruise missiles, followed by the French equivalent, they have been putting a lot of effort into counter-battery fire and messing generally with Russian logistics. Anecdotal evidence, including from Russian bloggers, suggests that this campaign has had some success, which has not removed the danger but may create gaps in Russia’s ability to cover the front line.”
· “I noted in a previous post, drawing on the UK’s Chief of Defence Staff, that Ukraine’s strategy could usefully be described as ‘starve, stretch and strike,’ with starve referring to the regular attacks on Russian logistics and command structures, and stretch to the ‘multiple axes being probed and feints by Ukraine.’ Strike would be the moment when the rest of the fresh brigades, would be pushed forward and the real counter-offensive could start in earnest.”
· The problem might not only be officials and journalists getting ahead of themselves but the assumption that any major new development had to be assessed as an example of manoeuvre warfare. The Institute for the Study of War Tweeted: ‘Western officials are unhelpfully raising expectations for rapid and dramatic Ukrainian advances that Ukrainian forces are unlikely to be able to meet, as well as offering forecasts of the likely Ukrainian avenues of advance that should probably not have been shared publicly.’ It does the Ukrainians no favours to assess their military progress by the most demanding criteria.”
· “What is important is that Ukraine keeps the initiative, and does not exhaust itself so much that the Russians get a chance to regroup and counter-attack. Outside cheerleaders and anxious supporters should not force the pace and beware of talking up gains before we can be sure of their significance or their consolidation. That way only leads to disappointment. This is an argument for caution not pessimism, for gearing expectations to a range of scenarios. One of the problems with the fixation on a manoeuvre strategy is that it suggests that only a decisive military victory can deliver an acceptable political outcome. It may not require the Ukrainian army to go the whole way and liberate all occupied territory for steady advances to add to the pressure on Moscow.” Amen
“Putin is Looking for a Bigger War, Not an Off-Ramp, in Ukraine”/Alexander Gabuev, Director, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Berlin
This seems like a not-so-subtle example of Russian propaganda. He’s commenting on amendments to existing Russian legislation designed to expand the number of draft-eligible Russians. Some examples (my comments in bold face):
· “Things likely look very different to the Kremlin, which believes that it can afford a long war. The Russian economy is forecast to record modest growth this year, mostly thanks to military factories working around the clock. Critical components such as microchips needed for the defence industry are arriving from China and other sources.” Gabuev implicitly acknowledges that Russia’s economy is now what someone described as “military Keynesianism.”
· Despite sanctions, the Kremlin’s war chest is still overflowing with cash, thanks to windfall energy profits last year and also to the adaptability of Russian commodities exporters, who have found new customers and who settle payments mostly in yuan. Regarding “windfall energy profits last year,” the important term is “last year.” This year oil sales aren’t providing Russia with windfall profits, or even a profit. Gabuev forgets to mention that the Chines Yuan is not a freely convertible currency.
· If budgetary pressures were to become more acute, Russia’s central bank could further devalue the rouble, making it easier to pay soldiers, defence industry workers and the internal security forces who keep the Russian elite and public repressed and largely in line with Putin’s disastrous course. Certainly, the Central Bank can continue to devalue the Rouble, now near its all-time low against the US Dollar, at 91.78. At some point suppliers to the State-owned Russian defense manufacturers may no longer accept Roubles as a form of payment. How long will the oligarchs continue to accept payments in a depreciating currency? The only protection they would have is to buy things that they likely don’t need, with the idea that it will be more expensive later.
· “Putin is banking on the fact that the Russian manpower that can potentially be mobilised is three to four times bigger than Ukraine’s, and the only pressing task is to be able to tap into that resource at will: to mobilise many more men, arm them, train them and send them to fight.” Russia tried this last year, with its “partial mobilization,” to almost no effect other than driving many of Russia’s “best & brightest” out of the country. With the loss of so many Russian officers, who is going to be left to provide the training? There was little or no training given to the conscripts last year.
· “A parallel tactic is the strangulation of Ukraine’s economy. Knowing that the Ukrainian budget is on life support provided by its western allies, the Kremlin wants to deny Kyiv all sources of revenue.” Gabuev goes on to mention the attacks against Ukraine’s grain handling infrastructure. They have caused extensive damage. However, the odds are increasing that the Russian blockade against Ukraine’s Black Sea ports will fail, and shipments will resume. He talks about strikes on Ukrainian cities, making them “uninhabitable,” and “preventing” reconstruction. Reconstruction is already taking place, and all major Ukrainian cities and oblast capitals continue to be habitable, despite Russian attacks.
· “Putin has made plenty of fatal mistakes. But as long as he is in charge, Moscow will dedicate its still vast resources to achieving his obsession with destroying and subordinating Ukraine.” How many “fatal mistakes” can one person make? Putin has been making “fatal mistakes in Ukraine since at least 2004. April 3, 2022, the day Russia withdrew its forces from around Kyiv, was the day Ukraine won. Putin will achieve nothing, even if it takes Ukraine having to conduct partisan warfare that will eventually drive Russia out of Ukraine, the hard way. This is something that the Western pundits must never forget.
Kudos to the FT for agreeing to print Gabuev’s piece, because it exposes for how brazen Russian propaganda can be.
News From the Battlefield
At 4 minutes and again at 7 minutes into his video, the Latest Denys describes Russia’s efforts to jam the Starlink System, and the efforts by the U.S. to help Ukraine to suppress Russian jamming, involving a new antenna. Starlink has become critical to Ukraine’s success in coordinating drone surveillance with artillery.
The July 30th “Reporting From Ukraine” covers Ukraine’s continuing campaign to degrade Russian logistics, by hitting supply depots and major transportation hubs. At 2:50 into his video, he describes a successful sabotage operation on a Russian ammunition dump near Sevastopol, headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. At 3:35 into his video he describes Ukraine’s use of seaborne drones against ships from the Black Sea Fleet attempting to enforce a blockade against Ukraine grain ports.
In his previous report, on July 29th, Reporting From Ukraine covered Ukraine’s stopping and rolling back a Russian offensive in the Luhansk Oblast, and continued advances south of Bakhmut.
7/21/2023 Sitrep
Russian Invasion of Ukraine 12:00 noon July 30 to 12:00 noon July 31, 2023
Abbreviations:
RMA = Regional Military Administration SBU = Security Service of Ukraine
RASHISTS = russian Facists/all russian invaders
INTERNATIONAL
Monday, July 13
12:56 am: In the Polish Senate, it is expected that the criminal group "Wagner", which is currently gathering forces on the territory of Belarus, will start a terrorist operation in the Suwalski Corridor, which connects Poland and Lithuania.
● This was said by the Deputy Marshal of the Polish Senate, Michal Kaminski, on the air of the telethon.
● "I cannot exclude, and no one in Poland excludes it, that in order to protest the solidarity of NATO with Poland, NATO with the east of Europe, they may try to enter Poland. Most likely, it will be like a terrorist operation of the Wagner group not a full-scale invasion, like in Ukraine," he said.
8:05 am: The US and Australia intend to strengthen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, including in the field of intelligence. This is stated in a joint document based on the results of the 33rd Australian-American Ministerial Consultation (AUSMIN), the Voice of America reports.
8:05 am: Coup in Niger: Country's neighbors threaten to send in troops if military doesn't return president - BBC.
8:05 am: Czech authorities have blocked the bank accounts and frozen the assets of Vladimir Yevtushenkov, a Russian businessman with ties to Putin - Radio Prague.
Sunday, July 30
7:55 pm: A meeting of advisers to state leaders regarding the implementation of the Ukrainian "peace formula" will soon take place in Saudi Arabia, — Office of the President of Ukraine.
● The day before, the WSJ reported that in early August, Saudi Arabia intends to host peace talks on the war in Ukraine, which will be attended by high-ranking officials from 30 countries.
11:45 pm: Great Britain is training 2,000 Ukrainian special forces for military operations in Crimea, the Sunday Express reports.
NATIONAL
Monday, July 31
12:15 am: Missile danger – all of Ukraine.
● This was reported by the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
7:06 am General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Tonight, the Russian Federation launched a missile attack on the city of Kharkiv.
● Over the past 24 hours, the enemy has launched 4 missile strikes, 42 air strikes, and fired 76 rounds of rocket-propelled grenades at the positions of Ukrainian troops and populated areas. More than 20 military clashes took place.
● Russia continues to illegally integrate the temporarily occupied territories into its information environment.
● Servicemen of the Russian occupation forces arrived in the settlement of Milove, Luhansk region, to connect the city's communications and Internet network to Russian operators.
● Over the past day, the aviation of the defense forces has struck 7 strikes on areas where enemy personnel are concentrated, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
● Also, 4 enemy attack UAVs of the Shahed-136 type and 4 operational-tactical reconnaissance UAVs were destroyed.
● During the day, units of missile troops and artillery hit the enemy's anti-aircraft missile complex, 8 artillery pieces in firing positions, 2 radio electronic warfare stations, as well as 2 areas of concentration of enemy personnel, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
9:50 am: Russia may be preparing for new powerful shelling of Ukraine, - spokesperson of the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine Nataliya Humenyuk.
● "The activity of tactical enemy aviation in the southeast direction was powerful. And this suggests that the enemy is gathering intelligence and can prepare for powerful attacks in the future, because we see that the enemy is also beginning to tighten up strategic aviation and prepare for certain maneuvers," she said.
11:56 am: According to UNESCO, more than $2.5 billion is the damage caused to the Ukrainian tourism and culture sector in the first year of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Voice of America.
● Many museum treasures were destroyed or illegally exported to Russia. Together with its partners, Ukraine is making efforts not only to preserve its cultural heritage, but also to hold exhibitions of its artistic values abroad.
Sunday, July 30
12:57 pm: The threat of using ballistics is in the East and South of Ukraine, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports.
1:24 pm Naval Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces: As of 9:00 a.m., there were 4 enemy ships on combat duty in the Black Sea.
● "There are 8 enemy ships on combat duty in the Mediterranean Sea, 2 of them are carriers of Kalibr cruise missiles - a total salvo of up to 24 missiles," - writes the press service of the Navy.
2:39 pm: the Russians have received technology that allows you to jam Starlink at "zero", reports the commander of the "Birds of Magyar" RTGR.
● According to Magyar, the Russians are already testing and preparing the appropriate technology for industrial production.
● This information has been forwarded to the competent authorities. At the same time, Magyar urged competent people to work on unified countermeasures.
● "The front without Starlink is significantly more difficult than even the front without the F-16," writes the RTGR commander.
3:06 pm: The women's fencing team of Ukraine, after losing the match against the French team, lost to the South Korean team with a score of 32:45 in the match for the third place.
● Olga Kharlan, Alina Komaschuk, Yulia Bakastova and Olena Kravatska competed in the national team.
● As a result, the Ukrainian national team took 4th place at the World Championship.
3:20 pm: Volodymyr Zelensky visited the rehabilitation center for Ukrainian defenders in Ivano-Frankivsk.
3:41 pm: Over the past day, units of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed 9 Russians, 1 truck and 49 quadcopters.
● This was reported by the press service of the Armed Forces Navy.
4:01 pm: Volodymyr Zelenskyi held a meeting of the Congress of local and regional authorities.
● "We also discussed budget issues today. Local budgets have significant resources that must be spent from a state-oriented position.
● Everyone sees the needs on the front lines. Everyone can see what the volunteers are focusing on," the president noted.
4:24 pm: Dismantling of the Soviet coat of arms began at the "Motherland-Motherland" monument.
● By Independence Day, the monument will officially receive a new symbol — the Ukrainian trident.
7:13 pm General Staff of the Armed Forces: During the day, the enemy launched 4 missile and 34 air strikes. In particular, he used 4 attack drones of the "Shahed-136" type, all of them were destroyed.
● Also, the Russian Federation launched 37 attacks from rocket salvo systems on the positions of Ukrainian troops and populated areas, about 20 combat clashes took place.
● The number of casualties in units of the Russian occupation forces, which physically do not have time to remove the dead from local morgues, has increased significantly - General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
● In the city of Svatove, Luhansk region, the territory of the city morgue is overflowing with the bodies of dead Russians. The occupiers have not taken them away for almost a week.
● In the city of Starobilsk, the invaders forcibly moved part of the civilian medical personnel from local medical facilities to the so-called military hospitals to provide medical aid to the wounded occupiers, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
● During the day, the aviation of the defense forces made 7 strikes on the areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment of the enemy, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
● During the day, units of missile troops and artillery hit the enemy's anti-aircraft missile complex, 8 artillery pieces in firing positions, 2 radio electronic warfare stations, as well as 2 areas of concentration of personnel of the occupiers.
8:16 pm: Military 93 OMBr showed a downed Russian plane.
● Previously, 2 pilots ejected.
8:55 pm: The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is testing samples of "tactical sneakers" for Ukrainian servicemen, — the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
● More than ten Ukrainian firms presented their models of tactical sneakers to the Ministry. Next, the shoes must pass the technical specification taking into account the recommendations and suggestions of the military, after which the reference sample will be approved.
9:15 pm: By October 1, Ukraine will be technically ready for the 2023-2024 heating season, — Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov.
● "Today, the state of preparation is 60%. This is the average for Ukraine. We have a clear schedule and by October 1 we plan to be 100% ready for all the facilities that are needed," the minister said.
9:34 pm: The commander of the RTGR "Birds of Magyar" provided an interim report on the first stage of the "Birds of Magyar" Mega Gathering https://cutt.ly/mega_zbir
● "Out of 9,000, we have already received 1,500 drones, 4,500 are on the way and the final 3,000 will arrive soon," — Magyar.
● 33 units of the Armed Forces have already received the FPV F7 PEOPLE'S DRONES!
10:50 pm: The Verkhovna Rada approved the draft law on de-Soradization, which provides that the concept of "urban-type settlement" will disappear in Ukraine.
● According to the draft law approved by 262 people's deputies, all settlements with compact buildings and a population of more than 10,000 inhabitants will have the status of a city. Cities that do not meet this definition will not be downgraded.
MORDOR - RUZZIA
Monday, July 31
11:25 am: Kremlin can no longer protect Russians from war with Ukraine, British intelligence.
● As noted in the summary, the Russian authorities give priority attention to the introduction of amendments to the legislation, which allow to quickly draft more men into the army. In mid-July 2023, the State Duma increased the maximum age of conscription for military service from 27 to 30, keeping the lower limit at 18.
Sunday, July 30
1:44 pm Center of National Resistance: the Russian Guard conducted training on suppressing riots in the Russian Federation and Belarus.
● The training took place in two stages: the first was countering the mass disobedience of the mobilized and their family members during the full mobilization of the Russian population.
● The second stage is the restoration of "order" on the territory of Belarus after the alleged "launching of missile strikes by the armed forces of Ukraine and Poland on the camps of the Wagnerites".
5:44 pm: rosZMI published footage of the repair of the Crimean bridge.
10:04 pm: Russian mass media reports about the crash of an unknown drone near Taganrog, Russia.
10:25 pm: Rostov Governor Golubev confirmed the attack on the outskirts of Taganrog.
● "As a result, the roof of a private house and a car were damaged. The emergency medical team went to the scene, but no injuries have been recorded so far.
● The identity of the UAV is being established," he said.
11:16 pm: In Bryansk, a UAV flew into the police building. Video from local social networks.
REGIONS
SUMY
Sunday, July 30
12:22 p.m.: The number of dead as a result of a rocket attack on Sumy has increased to two, injured - 20.
● This was reported by the press service of the city council.
● It is known that three people remain in the hospital.
6:57 pm: Only in the evening was the demolition of rubble in Sumy at the site of the Russian missile hit completed. Terrorists hit one of the city's educational institutions, Volodymyr Zelenskyi said.
● Two people died. 20 people were injured in this attack. The educational building of the school was completely destroyed: four floors were simply blown away by a rocket. Dormitories, houses, even church and Sunday school buildings were damaged.
KHARKIV
Monday, July 31
12:03 am: Kharkiv region – missile danger.
12:08 am Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kharkiv.
12:38 am: As a result of the strikes of the Russian Federation, non-residential premises were hit, a fire broke out, - the mayor of Kharkiv.
● There is no information about the wounded at the moment.
6:43 am: As a result of rocket fire in Kharkiv on the night of July 31, warehouses were hit, one person was injured, - Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office
● "At 12 o'clock in the morning, the Russian occupiers launched S-300 missiles over our region from the territory of the Belgorod region," informed the spokesman of the department, Dmytro Chubenko.
● In addition, in the village of Velikiy Burluk of the Kharkiv region, another rocket hit the territory of a private home. No one was injured in this case.
DONETSK
Monday, July 31
12:32 am: "In the evening, the Russian military again shelled Kostyantynivka," the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Roslov told Suspilno.
● Three people, including a child, are injured. According to preliminary information, Russian troops used cluster munitions.
● Also, according to the Donetsk regional prosecutor's office, as a result of the morning shelling of the village of Predtechine of the Kostiantyniv community, a man who was buried under the rubble died.
8:57 am Donetsk RMA: On July 30, the Russians killed 1 resident of Donetsk region — in Predtechyn. Another 7 people were injured during the day.
Sunday, July 30
5:15 pm: the Russians intensified their attacks in the Maryinka district of the Donetsk region, 18 combat clashes were recorded.
● This was announced by the speaker of the Defense Forces of the Tavria direction, Captain Valery Shershen.
● "We are talking about assaults by "Storm-Z" units with the use of armored groups, especially in the direction of Oleksandrivka - Maryinka," - noted Shershen.
5:59 pm: Ukrainian partisans conducted a sabotage operation in Mariupol, reports the Center of National Resistance.
● "Yesterday, Group "Y" [...] neutralized three units of military trucks, caused significant damage to the building in which the military engineering unit of the occupiers is located, and disabled the equipment for the production of "dragon's teeth", - the message reads.
6:12 p.m.: Spokesman of the Defense Forces of the Tavria direction Valery Shershen reported that Ukrainian soldiers liberated Staromayorske in conditions of total mining.
● "When our stormtroopers moved beyond the middle of the village of Staromayorske, to the southern outskirts, they encountered total mining. The Russians mined everything possible, even our SSO specialists were puzzled, our engineers had a lot of work, and sappers resorted to various tricks during demining." , - he said.
6:41 pm: During the last day in the Taurian direction, the enemy's losses in killed and wounded amounted to more than two companies.
● Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the operational and strategic group of troops "Tavria", announced this.
● 20 units of enemy military equipment were destroyed. 2 enemy ammunition depots were also destroyed.
ZAPORIZHIA
Sunday, July 30
6:27 pm: The Ministry of Internal Affairs released a video of how the Offensive Guard continued to attack Russians in southern Ukraine.
● The published video shows the combat work of the "Kara-Dag" brigade. The National Guard storms the positions of the Russian invaders in the Zaporozhye direction.
DNIPRO
Monday, July 31
7:43 am Dnipro RMA: the Russians shelled the Nikopol district of the Dnipropetrovsk region seven times during the night
● The enemy targeted the Marganets community and Nikopol itself. There were no casualties as a result of the Russian attacks.
9:05 am Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kryvyi Rih.
9:10 am: The Chairman of the Kryvyi Rih City Defense Council Oleksandr Vilkul confirmed the information about the explosions in the city.
9:41 am: The mass media report that a residential building was hit in Kryvyi Rih.
10:23 am: the Russians fired two rockets at Kryvyi Rih, said Ihor Klymenko, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
● One rocket hit the 4-story building of the educational institution. There are probably people under the rubble. The second rocket destroyed the section from the 4th to the 9th floor of the residential building. A fire broke out.
● As of 10:15, one person died, 10 residents sought medical help. Rescue operations are ongoing.
10:37 am: Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets showed the consequences of a Russian rocket hitting a nine-story building in Kryvyi Rih.
10:56 am: According to preliminary information, Russia attacked Kryvyi Rih today, using ballistic weapons, said Yuriy Ignat, the spokesman of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
● "You know how dangerous ballistic weapons are, how quickly they can arrive, and how destructive they are. We have to wait until the remains of missiles are found on the spot, and then we can finally say what it was," Yuriy Ignat said.
11:09 am: The number of injured in Kryvyi Rih has increased to 20, two people have died, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klymenko, announced on the telethon.
● "At the moment, 20 people have been injured. Two have already died. About 5-7 people are under the rubble," he said.
11:38 am: The number of victims in Kryvyi Rih has increased to 25, - Prosecutor General's Office*
● Among the victims are four children. Rescue and search operations are ongoing. The exact number of victims is being established.
11:45 am: The number of victims in Kryvyi Rih has increased to 31, including four children, reported RMA head Serhii Lysak.*
● According to him, the condition of most people is satisfactory, two wounded are in serious condition.
12:00 pm: The number of victims in Kryvyi Rih has increased to 34, - head of the city's Defense Council Oleksandr Vilkul.*
● "The rubble is still being dismantled, there may still be 8 people under it," Vilkul said.
KHERSON
Monday, July 31
8:23 am Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kherson.
8:40 am Kherson RMA: Over the past day, the enemy launched 68 attacks, firing 358 shells from mortars, artillery, Grads, tanks and UAVs. The enemy fired 36 shells into the city of Kherson,
● the Russian military aimed at the residential quarters of the populated areas of the region; the territory and buildings of the plant and enterprise in Kherson. As a result of Russian aggression, 5 people were injured.
9:25 am Kherson RMA: Today, around 8:20, the occupiers shelled the central part of Kherson with the "Grad" anti-aircraft missile system.
● "An employee of the city utility company was hit by an enemy attack. The man died on the spot from his injuries," Prokudin said.
10:05 am: Two more injured as a result of morning shelling in Kherson, RMA reported.
● Men, 46 and 43 years old, received contusions as a result of the shelling.
10:45 am Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kherson.
Sunday, July 30
2:00 pm Kherson RMA: Russians hit a residential building in the village of Novodmytrivka.
● "A 33-year-old woman received a facial injury, she was hospitalized in a moderate condition," the message reads.
● Also, according to OVA, a 39-year-old resident of Vesely went to the hospital after yesterday's mortar shelling.
5:29 pm Kherson RMA: Russians shelled Berislav, a local resident was injured.
● "At the time of the enemy strike, a 55-year-old man was in the yard of the house. Previously, he had a shrapnel wound in his leg," the message reads.
11:25 pm Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kherson.
MYKOLAIV
Sunday, July 30
12:41 pm Mykolaiv RMA: Yesterday, the Russians fired artillery at Ochakov, and there were no casualties.
● "Also, the enemy [...] carried out artillery shelling of the water area of Ochakivsk community. There were no casualties," Kim writes.
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://espreso.tv/
https://cutt.ly/Blyskavka
https://t.me/uawarinfographics
https://t.me/svoboda_radio