Newsletter 31/07/2024
Daily news digest
TOP
Massive drone attack: Ukraine's air defense forces down 89 Shaheds, one missile
"Overnight into July 31, the enemy attacked [Ukraine] with a Kh-59 guided air missile launched from the airspace of the occupied Kherson region and 89 Shahed UAVs launched from Yeysk, Seshcha, Kursk, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk. The main direction of the attack was the Kyiv region," said Ukrainian Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk.
Shooting down "Shahed" in the eastern direction in the morning of July 31, 2024
Source: Official Telegram channel of the Air Force Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk
Ukrainian forces hit Russian ammo depot near Kursk - General Staff
Last night, a strike was made on a military equipment storage facility near the town of Kursk (Russian Federation).
According to the General Staff, units of the Ukrainian Navy in collaboration with other units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine carried out the attack.
"Detailed information on the outcome of the attack is being verified. Ukrainian soldiers will continue to take all possible legal measures to stop Russia's armed aggression against our people. To be continued...,” the press service said.
Ukraine's special forces hit Russian base in Syria - media
On July 25, special forces of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) carried out a complex strike on a Russian base in Syria.
The target of the attack was Russian military equipment at the Kuweires airbase, which is located east of Aleppo and occupied by Russian forces.
The released videos purport to show key moments of the attack: first, a Russian mobile EW complex is destroyed, followed by drones attacking Russian military objects at the airbase itself. The strike was reportedly carried out the day after a meeting in the Kremlin between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday, July 24.
Two Russian bombers were damaged during strike on Olenya airfield - DIU
Two Russian Tu-22M3 bombers were damaged during a strike on the Olenya airfield in Russia.
According to media reports, it was an explosion over the location of the aircraft, and that the damaged sides have the corresponding tail numbers - No. 33 and No. 31. It may take several months for Russia to restore these aircraft.
The military intelligence has clarified the date and time of the attack. Earlier it was reported that the attack on the Olenya, Diagilevo and Engels military airfields in the Saratov region of the Russian Federation took place at night and in the morning of 27 July 2024.
War
Ukraine refutes Russia's fake about capture of Toretsk
The city of Toretsk in the Donetsk region remains a Ukrainian city as Ukrainian forces managed to thwart the enemy's plans to advance into the territory of the community.
Russians keep children from Luhansk region in military camp near training ground in Novosibirsk region
Children from the temporarily occupied Bilovodsk, Luhansk region, are in a Russian military camp in the Novosibirsk region of the Russian Federation, where military officers are teaching them firearms and drill.
At least 361 people abducted from TOT of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions since 2022 - CTRC
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, at least 361 people have been abducted by Russians in the temporarily occupied territories (TOT) of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, including 101 representatives of the Crimean Tatar people.
Defense
U.S. to provide Ukraine with its own missiles for F-16s - WSJ
The weapons for the F-16, which will be provided by the United States, will include AGM-88 HARM air-to-ground missiles, JDAM long-range guided bombs and GLSDB small-sized precision munitions.
Politics
MEPs preparing letter to European Commission over Hungary's decision to simplify entry for Russians
A group of MEPs is planning to send a joint letter to the European Commission calling for restrictive measures against Hungary due to Budapest's decision to simplify the entry procedure for citizens of Russia and Belarus.
Two top officials from Putin's inner circle are served suspicion notices in Ukraine
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has collected a large-scale evidence base on the Secretary of the State Council of the Russian Federation Oleksii Dyumin and the Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation Yunus-Bek Yevkurov.
It has been established that both officials are members of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's inner circle and help him wage war against Ukraine.
Thus, Dyumin, who used to be Putin's bodyguard and later became the governor of the Tula region, "mobilised" the region for hostilities in Ukraine. In particular, he organised the partial mobilisation of men in the Tula region, created the Centre for Unmanned Systems and set up the production of FPV drones and other drones there, and instructed his subordinates to meet Russia's military needs in every way possible.
Deputy Defence Minister Yevkurov, for his part, ensures the ongoing training of contract soldiers and those mobilised into the Russian armed forces, who then go to war in Ukraine.