Press digest – Ukraine

PRESS DIGEST – UKRAINE

Seventh month of heroic resistance of Ukraine against Russian military invasion

Key updates on the war against Ukraine as of August 26, 2022

#RussiaIsATerroristState #ArmUkraineNow

“Ukraine is all 25 regions, no concessions or compromises” — Zelensky addressed Ukrainians on Independence Day

“What is the end of the war for us? We used to say: peace. Now we say victory. We will not seek understanding with terrorists… And we will not sit down at the negotiating table out of fear, with a gun to our temple… We will raise our hands only once – when we celebrate victory all over Ukraine”.

DESTRUCTION AND LOSSES

📌 Nearly 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the war with the Russian Federation — Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

📌Russia announced the “adoption” of 1,000 children deported from Mariupol. More than 1,000 Ukrainian children, illegally removed from occupied Mariupol, were given up for “adoption” in the Krasnodar region of Russia alone.

📌Russia fired 750 cruise missiles at Ukraine from occupied Crimea.

📌Russia on the Independence Day of Ukraine 200 times lifted its planes into the air.

📌The Russian Federation deployed about 400 combat aircraft and 360 helicopters to the borders with Ukraine, including more than 150 attack helicopters.

📌More than 1100 children were affected by the Russian armed aggression in Ukraine. 377 children were killed, and another 733 were wounded.

📌KYIV REGION

On August 25, the Russians launched an attack on the Kyiv region. At least 2 missiles hit infrastructure in the Vyshhorod region.

📌LUHANSK REGION:

200 thousand tons of grain were exported from the Luhansk region to Russia. According to farmers who were forced to remain in the occupied territory, the situation in the region’s agriculture is approaching catastrophic.

📌 KHARKIV REGION:

On August 20, in the Saltivsky district of Kharkiv, under the rubble of a dormitory destroyed by Russian missiles, the bodies of 3 dead were found. In total, in one dormitory 19 people died, and in another – 6 people.

On August 24, 5 people, including a 5-year-old child, were wounded as a result of nighttime Russian shelling in the Kharkiv region.

📌 ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION:

On August 21, a woman died in line to leave the uncontrolled territory. In general, the number of those who died while waiting for a flight to the territory controlled by Ukraine has already exceeded a dozen, as the invaders deliberately delay the queue and do not let people through for several days.
On August 24, Russians shelled Zaporizhzhia twice during the night – civilian infrastructure was damaged, and windows were broken in six houses.
On August 25, Orikhiv once came under massive artillery fire from the Russian military. According to the Regional Military Administration, the 17-year-old boy suffered serious injuries and died on the way to the hospital. A woman was also injured nearby in the village.

📌 Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant:

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that he will discuss Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant with Putin.
The Russian military continues to accumulate military equipment on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant – two more armoured personnel carriers and six special trucks were brought in on August 22.
On August 25, all power units were disconnected from the power grid for the first time in the history of the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
As a result of hostilities in the area of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the last line of communication with the power system of Ukraine was stopped twice. Now the nuclear plant provides its power needs through the line of a neighbouring thermal power plant.
Bloomberg: The IAEA mission plans to visit the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant by 5 September.
On August 23, the UN Security Council meeting, which was urgently convened at Russia’s request, is taking place in New York. For the second time, the Russian Federation is addressing the UN with accusations of the Ukrainian side of shelling the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
📌 MYKOLAIV REGION:
- On August 20, in the town of Voznesensk, the Russians shelled a five-story building and private houses. 14 people have been wounded, including children, including 3 children. As a result, structural elements from the first to the fifth floor were damaged, balconies collapsed, and glass and window frames were broken. About five one-story houses were also damaged.

Russians already damaged about 250 public utilities, including kindergartens, schools, hospitals, and cultural and sports facilities. At the same time, about 1,500 appeals from citizens about damage to residential buildings were recorded.
On August 24, Russians shelled the town of Novyi Buh in the Mykolaiv region. 9 people were wounded, including 2 children.

On August 25, Russian invaders continue to storm residential buildings in Mykolaiv.

📌ODESA REGION:

Invaders fired 5 missiles in the Odesa region on the night of August, 21. Two of them were shot down over the sea, and three hit the territory of one of the agricultural enterprises in the Odesa region, damaging the granary. As a result of the shelling, no one was injured, and the details are being established.

📌DNIPROPETROVSK REGION:

On August 21, the Dnipropetrovsk region was shelled all night – again Nikopol and Kryvyi Rih districts. 25 shells were launched on Nikopol. A school was damaged in the city, one house was destroyed, and about 20 were damaged. Gas stoves and power lines are now out of order. More than 3,000 Nikopol residents were left without electricity.

On August 21, the Russians attacked Zelenodolska territorial community in Kryvyi Rih district using MLRS Uragan. 6 people were injured, including a child, according to the preliminary assessment. Residential houses and a kindergarten building were damaged.
On August 22, Russians shelled Nikopol, Kryvyi Rih, and Synelnykove districts during the night. 4 elderly Nikopol residents were wounded, and 2 of them were hospitalized.

On August 23, the Russian Federation troops again shelled Nikopol and Kryvyi Rih districts – with Uragan multiple rocket launchers. 1 person was killed, and 3 more civilians were wounded.

On August 24, a Russian missile hit a private house in the Synelnikov district around. 2 children were covered under the rubble. They were evacuated, and the children are alive.
On the same day, the Russian military fired missiles at Chaplyne railway station. At least 22 people were killed and about 31 were injured. The missile hit passenger cars at the station.
📌Russians continue to organize a trial of captured Ukrainian defenders in occupied Mariupol. According to the adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, at the moment, the date of the start of the “trial” of the Ukrainian military remains unknown.

📌The parliaments of seven EU countries called for new sanctions against Russia, including visa-related sanctions. The statement was signed by the heads of the foreign affairs committees of the parliaments of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Denmark. They call on the community to urgently strengthen and use comprehensive sanctions against the Russian Federation to stop the ability of the Russian army to continue its aggression.

RUSSIAN AND BELORUSSIAN CONTEXT

⚠️ During a meeting with the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Putin said that Kazakhstan and Russia will hold joint military training within the CSTO framework, without stating the exact date.

⚠️️In Belarus, the military exercise was extended until August 27. In total, the training will last for 17 weeks. The monitoring group “Belarusian Gayun” notes that the army has become more prepared for defensive operations, but is still not ready for a large-scale offensive, since it lacks real combat experience.

⚠️️The occupation administration in Crimea is considering strengthening security on the peninsula after attacks on Russian military infrastructure, – ISW. Probably, this will require diverting part of the combat forces from the front line and performing security tasks in other places in order to “protect” the occupied Crimea.

⚠️️Russia has illegally mobilized 430 workers of the “Dovzhanska-Capitalna” mine in the temporarily occupied city of Dovzhansk (Sverdlovsk) in the Luhansk region.

⚠️️ Russia tried to block Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine that had already begun in New York. In particular, the representative of the Russian Federation spoke out against granting the President of Ukraine the right to speak via video connection, referring to the fact that participation via video link is not provided for by the charter.

⚠️️Russian President Putin signed a decree increasing the regular number of the Russian Armed Forces by 137,000.

DEFENSE UPDATES

📌An attack on Saki airfield in Crimea on August 9 by Ukraine “put more than half of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet naval aviation combat jets out of use, according to a Western intelligence official.

📌The Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed a Russian military base near Alchevsk eliminating about 50 servicemen and 100 military vehicles, according to the Head of Luhansk Region Military Administration Serhiy Hayday.

📌The Armed Forces of Ukraine struck the Antonivskyi Bridge near Kherson on August 22.
“The Antonivskyi Bridge is one of the transport routes that the Russians are trying to revive. We keep it under control and remind of our remote presence,” said Nataliia Humeniuk, spokeswoman of the Operational Command “Pivden” (“South”).

📌 Estimated losses of the Russian Federation Army in Ukraine:

📌 The European Union joined the case of Ukraine against the Russian Federation in the International Court of Justice.

📌On August 20, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine summed up the results of 20 days of work on the Grain Corridor initiative. During these 20 days, 27 ships left the seaports of Ukraine, carrying 670,000 tons of agricultural products. Also, 18 vessels came up for loading, and about 40 applications for calling at ports are under consideration. Today, 2 regular ships left Ukrainian ports within the Grain Corridor.

📌The Ukrainian military destroyed the warehouses and the command post of the invaders in Chornobaivka and Starytsy. According to the Operational Command “Pivden,” the enemy army was reduced by 75 invaders, self-propelled guns “Hyacinth-S”, two T-72 tanks, and six more armoured vehicles. Russia also keeps two surface and one submarine missile carrier in readiness in the Black Sea with a total salvo of 20 Kalibr missiles.

📌On August 23, the President of Poland Andrzej Duda arrived in Kyiv. His visit included a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as participation in a meeting of the Crimean Platform. Also on August 24, Boris Johnson arrived in Kyiv and on August 25.

President Zelensky held a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Luigi Di Maio.

📌The second “Crimean Platform” has ended. This year, 40 presidents and prime ministers, including the leaders of the “Big Seven”, joined the Summit. Representatives of African and South American countries also took part. The main results of the Summit:

“Crimean Platform” will be held offline in Croatia in autumn with the presence of parliamentary delegations from around the world.
Duda said that the West should review the operation of “Nordic Stream-2”. It should be about its complete dismantling.
Trudeau announced new sanctions against 62 people and one enterprise in the defence sector. Canada to create a group to counter Russian disinformation.
Sholtz announced a new package of military aid to Ukraine, which will include some air defence systems, MLRS, and armoured vehicles.
Germany and Japan are allocating more than $60 million to a new FAO program for small and medium-sized farms to create additional grain storage capacity.
Charles Michel stated that Russia uses Crimea as a transit point to deport the Ukrainian population to infiltration camps, and also militarized the peninsula.
Stoltenberg stated that NATO will make efforts to expand military support to Ukraine, and also noted that the winter will be difficult for Ukraine.
Dzhemilev said that various world politicians and statesmen are proposing unacceptable ways to end the war. In particular, refuse to liberate Crimea from Russian occupation.
The Prime Minister of New Zealand called for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Shmygal stressed that Ukraine is ready to demilitarize Crimea in order to eliminate all threats from the Russian Federation both for Ukraine and for Europe.
Zelensky said: “We will return Crimea by any means we consider correct, without consulting other countries.”

📌 Ukraine will become the second country in the world to sign a digital trade agreement with the UK. Thanks to the cooperation, it will be possible to develop digital trade and innovation between Ukraine and the UK. This is reported by the Ministry of Digital Transformation.

PUBLIC AND INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT OF UKRAINE

📌Britain will allocate 15 million GBP of humanitarian assistance for Ukraine. These 15 million GBP, or approximately 18 million USD will be paid to victims of the war in Ukraine.

📌 Ukraine will receive 15 Sky Eagle drones, HARM anti-radar missiles, TOW anti-tank complexes and 1,000 Javelins from the United States, the Pentagon said.

📌 The President of Estonia participated in the weaving of camouflage nets for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“Volunteers all over Estonia have made over 9,000 square meters to help Ukraine. We all can do something to help Ukraine win the war. Wore the shirt that I received as a gift from the President of Ukraine,” Alar Karis noted on his Twitter page.

📌 Germany has provided three more Gepards for Ukraine. The government has also transferred eleven tracked M113 Armored Personnel Carriers and a thousand MRes.

📌Also Germany will give Ukraine twenty 70-mm buggy-based rocket launchers. And the 70-mm APKWS missiles themselves in the amount of $22.6 million will be transferred by the United States, this was announced back in July.

📌 Germany approved the selling of 225 Vulcano high-precision artillery shells, reports Welt am Sonntag. It is noted that the Vulcano shells are not in service with the Bundeswehr, so Germany will supply them to Ukraine directly from the manufacturer as soon as they will be produced.

📌Lithuania is preparing the 30th military aid package to Ukraine.

📌 Poland has handed over five thousand Starlink satellites to Ukraine, the Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov said. It will help Ukrainians to always be in touch and critical infrastructure facilities to work in the most difficult conditions.

📌 Serbia will stop importing Russian oil from November, — Telegraf with reference to Serbian President Vučić.

📌Dutch Ministry of Defense: The Netherlands has announced that it will allocate an additional aid package to Ukraine worth more than €80 million

📌The Russian side claimed “continuous Ukrainian provocations” and asked UN Secretary-General António Guterres to speak.

📌The Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN said that in such a way, Russia is diverting from the Security Council meeting scheduled for August 24, the topic of which will be the consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

📌Slovakia to transfer 30 infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, tanks dispatch is not considered — Minister of Defence of Slovakia Jaroslav Naď

📌Türkiye has transferred 50 armoured vehicles with enhanced anti-mine protection to Ukraine — Defense News

📌Canada will direct 3.85 million Canadian dollars (about $3 million) to two projects to reform Ukraine’s defence sector.

📌Ukraine will receive a $3 billion non-refundable grant from the U.S. on Independence Day — Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhii Marchenko.

📌Boris Johnson announced the provision of a large new $63.7 million military aid package to Ukraine, which will include 850 microdrones, the office of the head of the British government reports

📌Norway and the UK to hand over $9 million worth of microdrones to Ukraine — Ministry of Defence of Norway

📌Norway has taken away from Russia the role of the largest supplier of gas to Europe. Business Insider reports this. Oslo also assures that they are going to extract the maximum volumes of gas in the coming years.

📌Spain sent an anti-aircraft battery, ammunition, and armoured cars to Ukraine. Assistance will include about 20 armoured vehicles, 75 pallets of field artillery ammunition, a full anti-aircraft battery, and 1,000 tons of diesel fuel.

📌Canada moved two C-130J cargo planes and corresponding service personnel as a necessary step amid efforts to supply arms and ammunition to Ukraine.

📌Taiwan has given 800 Revolver 860 short-range bomber drones to Ukraine, – Bild.