Monday, July 3

Russia’s war against Ukraine

On July 2, girls mourn near the memorial, erected in the center of Bucha, with the names of 501 civilians killed in Bucha by the Russian army last year. (Photo by Oleksii Chumachenko/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Official: Ukrainian army advances in 2 southern directions. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on July 2 that Ukrainian forces had advanced in the direction of Berdyansk and Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Military reports advances on flanks of Bakhmut. Ukrainian forces continue to gradually advance on the flanks of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast, the Eastern Command spokesperson Serhii Cherevatyi told national television on July 2.

Mayor: Part of Rosatom employees leave Russian-occupied nuclear plant. About 100 employees of Russian nuclear monopoly Rosatom have left Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the Russian-occupied town of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlov, the town’s mayor, said on July 2.

Zelensky: ‘If Russian warships stay in Black Sea, they will fear to get close to Crimea.’ President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian Navy Commander Oleksiy Neizhpapa discussed the situation in the Black Sea, Russia’s capabilities to launch missile strikes, and the defense capabilities of the Ukrainian Navy in Odesa Oblast on July 2.

Southern Forces report engaging in heavy combat near Antonivsky Bridge. Heavy fighting is ongoing in the area of the destroyed Antonivsky Bridge in Kherson Oblast, according to Southern Operational Command spokeswoman Natalia Humeniuk.

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Russia’s Wagner Group suspends recruitment for one month. Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has suspended the work of regional recruitment centers for one month, the group’s recruitment channel on Telegram reported on July 2.

Russian TV host: Wagner made close to $10 billion from state contracts. Russian TV show host Dmitriy Kiselev claimed that the Kremlin has spent 858 billion rubles ($9.8 billion at current rates) on funding Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary group, and a further 845 billion rubles on contracts to other companies run by Prigozhin’s holding Concord Group.

UK Defense Ministry: Russia cancels air show due to security concerns. Russia has canceled its international air show, MAKS, due to security concerns, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.

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Ukraine war latest: Russia launches small-scale offensives in attempt to regain control

Ukraine is attacking Russian forces in the Berdiansk and Melitopol directions in southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, creating conditions for a speedy advance.

Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

‘It’s a lottery’: How Ukraine’s assault brigade counterattacks near Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast

More than a month after Bakhmut’s fall to Moscow, Ukraine continues to launch counterattacks on the southern and northern flanks of Bakhmut – forcing Russia to be on defense.

Photo: Ercin Erturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly – Issue 95

 On June 28, Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin reported that the State Concern Ukroboronprom had been dissolved and replaced by a joint-stock company called Ukrainian Defense Industry (UDI). The Cabinet appointed Herman Smetanin as the CEO of the UDI.

Photo: Herman Smetanin/Facebook

Human cost of war

PEN Ukraine: Writer Victoria Amelina dies following Kramatorsk strike. The writers’ association PEN Ukraine said in a statement that Ukrainian writer and war crimes researcher Victoria Amelina died on July 1 after she was critically injured in a Russian missile strike on Kramatorsk.

4 injured in Russian attack on Kherson. Four civilians, including two in a direct hit into a high-rise building, have been injured by Russian shelling in the southern city of Kherson, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported on July 2.

Russian army shells town in Donetsk Oblast, injures 2 civilians. On the evening of July 2, Russian artillery shelled the town of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, injuring two civilians, Suspilne television reported.

Farmer injured in landmine explosion in Kherson Oblast. A farmer was injured in an explosion caused by an unidentified Russian landmine while cultivating a field in the village of Posad-Pokrovske in Kherson Oblast, the regional military administration reported on July 2.

International response

Spiegel: Poland, Germany fail to agree on tank repair center for Ukraine. The Polish and German governments have so far failed to agree on opening a maintenance center in Poland to repair Leopard tanks supplied to Ukraine, Der Spiegel reported on July 2.

Poland to reinforce Belarusian border with counterterrorism forces. Poland will reinforce its border with Belarus with 500 policemen and counterterrorism forces due to the tense situation in the area, Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński reported on July 2.

In other news

BBC: Dismantled remnants of British WW2 fighters found buried in Ukrainian forest. Eight British-made Hurricane fighters from World War II were discovered buried in a forest in Ukraine, the BBC reported on July 2.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Toma Istomina, Igor Kossov, Francis Farrell, Alexander Khrebet, Oleg Sukhov, Natalia Datskevych, Olena Goncharova, Brad LaFoy, and Lili Bivings.

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