Saturday, August 5

Russia’s war against Ukraine

The Mozyr oil refinery in Belarus, where Russia is allegedly preparing a false-flag operation to drive Belarus into Russia’s war against Ukraine, is seen in a photo from the phone of a Russian POW obtained by Ukraine’s Security Service.

Media: Poland asks EU for over $1 billion to increase Ukrainian grain transit.

Poland had asked the EU for an investment of 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) so that Warsaw can increase its capacity for transiting Ukrainian grain, the Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported on Aug. 4.

Putin critic Navalny jailed for 19 more years on ‘extremism’ charges. A Moscow court sentenced jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny to another 19 years of imprisonment, Russian media reported on Aug. 4.

SBU: Russia preparing false flag operation to drag Belarus into war against Ukraine. According to intelligence obtained by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), Russia is preparing a large-scale false flag operation at the Mozyr oil refinery in Belarus.

Court orders arrest of suspects in Brovary helicopter crash case. The Pechersk Court in Kyiv imposed restrictive measures on five State Emergency Service officials suspected in the case of the Brovary helicopter crash that killed Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky in January.

Official: Ukrainian forces break through Russian first line of defense in south.

“In some places” of the southern front line, the Ukrainian military has broken through the Russian first line of defense, moving to the “intermediate one,” Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported on Aug. 4.

IAEA finds no mines on 2 out of 6 reactors of occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was granted access to the roofs of reactors three and four of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Aug. 4.

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Media: Russian Black Sea vessel damaged in SBU operation. The Western and Ukrainian media reported on Aug. 4 that a Russian landing craft in Novorossiysk was damaged by a drone in a joint operation between the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ukrainian Navy, citing their sources within the service.

Reuters: Russia doubles defense spending plan for 2023. Russia has doubled its defense spending plan for 2023 to more than $100 billion, which makes up one-third of all public expenditures, Reuters reported on Aug. 4.

White House: Russia seeks to buy more munitions from North Korea.

Russia seeks to buy more munitions from North Korea for the war in Ukraine as Moscow grows increasingly dependent on foreign supplies, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Aug. 3, citing U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

UK Defense Ministry: Russia strikes Danube ports to halt shipping. Russia has conducted several drone strikes against Ukrainian ports on the Danube River in an attempt to halt international trading via these ports, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Aug. 4.

Russia claims Ukraine attacks Crimea, Novorossiysk naval base. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Aug. 4 that 13 Ukrainian drones were shot down in Crimea overnight, and two unmanned surface vessels were destroyed while attacking a naval base in Russia’s Novorossiysk.

Donetsk Oblast enlistment office head charged with corruption, aiding criminals. The State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) announced on Aug. 4 that the head of the Donetsk Oblast military enlistment office had been charged with illegal payments to his subordinates and helping criminals avoid justice.

Poland detains Belarusian suspected of spying for Russia. Polish security services detained already the sixteenth person suspected of taking part in a Russian espionage network, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminiski said on Aug. 4.

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Ukraine war latest: Overnight attack reported at Russian naval port

Unnamed sources in the SBU cited by CNN and several Ukrainian media outlets later said that a Russian landing ship stationed in the naval port of Novorossiysk was damaged by one of the surface drones.

Photo: Stringer/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine may be winning ‘world’s first cyberwar’

For Ukraine’s main cybersecurity agency, Russia’s full-scale war began over a month before Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine from all directions – with a large cyber attack on Jan. 14, 2022.

Photo: State Special Communications Service

Human cost of war

Ukraine retrieves bodies of 44 fallen soldiers. Ukraine managed to return the bodies of 44 fallen Ukrainian soldiers from the occupied territories, the Reintegration Ministry reported on Aug. 4.

Russian forces injure civilian in Kherson Oblast. Russian troops hit the village of Stanislav in Kherson Oblast on Aug. 4, wounding a 40-year-old man, the regional administration reported. At least four houses were damaged in the attack.

Civilian injured in Russian airstrike on village in Kherson Oblast. Russian airstrike against the village of Odradokamianka in Kherson Oblast at around 10 a.m. on Aug. 4 injured one civilian, the Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported.

Russian forces kill 2, injure 14 over past day. Russian forces attacked nine oblasts over the past day, killing at least two people and injuring at least 14 others, local officials reported early on Aug. 4.

Attacks on Nikopol injure 2, damage homes and infrastructure. Russian forces shelled Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast during the evening of Aug. 3 and into the night, injuring two people and damaging more than two dozen homes, Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak said on Telegram.

General Staff: Russia has lost 248,490 troops in Ukraine. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Aug. 4 that Russia had lost 248,490 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year. This number includes 640 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

China to participate in Ukraine peace plan meeting. Chinese Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui will participate in an international meeting on the implementation of Ukraine’s peace formula, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Aug. 4.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleksiy Sorokin, Martin Fornusek, Teah Pelechaty, Lili Bivings, Dinara Khalilova, and Rachel Amran.

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