On the 170th day of Russia’s large-scale military invasion of Ukraine, Russian troops continue their attempts to capture the neighboring country’s settlements. Ukraine’s Armed Forces and their territorial defense units are resisting the aggression. It is impossible to verify the statements of representatives of both sides of the conflict from independent sources. According to the UN, about 14 million Ukrainians have already left their homes.

military actions

The Bakhmut leadership remains one of the most difficult sectors of the front, according to a summary of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Massive tank and artillery bombardment is being carried out near the settlements of Pereezdnoe, Veseloye, Bakhmutskoye, Soledar, Vershina and Kurdyumovka. Aviation is involved near Vyemka, Ivano-Daryevka, Disputed, Yakovlevka, Soledar and Bakhmutsky. Russian troops had partial success in the Gorlovka-Zaitsevo region, the report says.

Russia has already used about 85% of its active military in the war against Ukraine, including troops sent from the Far East and around the world, the New York Times reported, citing US officials. According to another post in the same publication, citing US intelligence and military officials, around 500 Russian military personnel are killed or wounded in Ukraine every day.

Martial law and mobilization in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented the Verkhovna Rada with bills to extend martial law and general mobilization regime in the country for 90 days, starting from August 23, i.e. until November 21. Mobilization and martial law were introduced in Ukraine on February 24, against the backdrop of an armed Russian invasion. They have already been extended twice by 90 days – first until May 25th and then until August 23rd.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) discovered a group of intruders in the Zaporizhia region who helped Ukrainian men flee abroad to avoid mobilization, the Zaporizhia Regional Military Administration said. The route out of Ukraine passed through Crimea, annexed by Russia. Those who tried to avoid the mobilization posed as volunteers or those who visited relatives in Ukraine.

Consequences of an airfield attack in Crimea

Before the explosions, aircraft worth $650-850 million were parked at Saki airfield in Russia-annexed Crimea, Forbes Ukraine magazine calculated, based on various sources. He estimated the approximate cost of Russian military aircraft as follows: Su-30SM – $50 million, Su-24MR – $6 million, Il-76 – $86 million. The magazine noted that, in some cases, there may be circumstances that significantly affect the price of individual equipment.

Viktor Sokolov will become the new commander of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, Russian and Ukrainian media as well as Telegram channels reported. Sokolov is 59 years old, he has already held the positions of deputy commander of the Northern Fleet (since 2013) and head of the Navy Military Scientific Center “Naval Academy named after the Fleet Admiral of the Soviet Union NG Kuznetsov” (since 2020).

Military assistance to Ukraine

Britain delivered another batch of M270 MLRS to Ukraine. According to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, these multi-launch rocket systems have already arrived in the country. “Thanks to Ben Wallace and all the British people! Your support is incredible and very important to Ukraine. The Ukrainian army deftly uses this ‘resupply’ on the battlefield. PS More ‘gifts’ will be arriving soon,” Reznikov wrote. on his Twitter microblog.

The Netherlands joined the training program initiated by the United Kingdom for the Ukrainian military. According to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, the Dutch instructors will begin their mission in August.

Finland, after joining NATO, together with Estonia, intends to integrate coastal defense, capable of blocking the access of Russian ships to the Baltic Sea and making it NATO’s inland sea, said Estonian Defense Minister Hanno. Pevkur. “The integration of Finnish and Estonian missile defense will allow closing the Gulf of Finland to Russian warships. The Baltic Sea with Finland and Sweden joining NATO will become the alliance’s inland sea,” Pevkur said, noting that the range flight range of Estonians and Finnish missiles is greater than the width of the Gulf of Finland.

Damage to the Russian economy

Putin’s war with Ukraine in the first quarter after the attack sent the Russian economy back four years, causing one of the longest recessions in its history, according to Bloomberg. The report notes that international sanctions have dealt a tangible blow to trade and the automotive industry, while consumer spending in the Russian Federation has slowed. Meanwhile, according to the pessimistic forecasts of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the Russian economy will return to growth at the 1% level no earlier than 2025.

Kyiv has called on the government of US President Joe Biden to impose sanctions on all Russian private banks in order to deprive Russian President Vladimir Putin of the opportunity to finance the war. Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova said she had already submitted a relevant request to the US Treasury Department.

The controversy surrounding the ban on issuing visas to Russians

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko criticized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for disagreeing with calls for a total ban on issuing visas to Russian citizens. The day before, the chancellor said that he did not like such phone calls, as the war in Ukraine is “Putin’s war”. It is unfair to punish all Russians, the EU has already introduced large-scale sanctions against the leadership of the Russian Federation, he believes.

In response to this, Klitschko wrote on social media: “Russian citizens are fighting in Ukraine, torturing and killing peaceful Ukrainians and children, destroying our cities and villages.” The mayor of Kyiv argued his demand to stop issuing visas to Russians on the grounds that, in his opinion, the majority of Russian citizens “support Putin’s policy and his bloody imperial ambitions”. Earlier, Scholz’s stance on visas was criticized by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.

Amnesty rejects criticism

The international human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) denied the statement by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine that AI had received evidence of the deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in civilian areas from people who ended up in Russian prisons and filtering camps.

“Amnesty International categorically denies these allegations, which are baseless and absolutely false,” the organization said, noting that its representatives do not even have access to Ukrainian territories seized by Russia. AI emphasized that human rights activists exclusively used the testimony that people in Ukrainian-controlled territories agreed to give voluntarily and under safe conditions.