On the 165th day of the full-scale war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine on Sunday, August 7, 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 readily verify information disclosed by representatives of both sides of the conflict from independent sources.

The course of hostilities

Russian forces carried out limited ground attacks northwest of Sloviansk and east and south of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said. Furthermore, according to the ISW, the Russian military tried to break through the Ukrainian defensive lines north, west and south of Donetsk. At the same time, in southern Ukraine, the Russian army did not carry out offensive operations, but focused on defense, analysts say.

In turn, British intelligence reported on “tactical and operational difficulties” of the Russian Armed Forces and linked them partially to battlefield death and the removal of various commanders from their posts. As the UK Ministry of Defense pointed out, “the unsatisfactory performance of the Russian armed forces during the invasion of Ukraine” cost the Russian military leadership dearly and likely led to the dismissal of at least six Russian commanders. In addition, at least 10 Russian generals died on the battlefield, according to the British Defense Establishment.

The Office of the Prosecutor General of the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s Republic” (“LPR”) reported one death and nine wounded when a shell hit an apartment building in Alchevsk, Luhansk region, on the night of August 6. The “LNR” was accused of bombing the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Chernivtsi region remains the only region in Ukraine where no rockets have been launched since the start of the war. According to Ukraine’s First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Yevgeny Yenin, Russian troops inflicted more blows in the Luhansk region: they were fired four thousand times. In addition, according to Enin, the Donetsk (more than three thousand attacks) and Nikolaev (seven hundred attacks) regions were severely affected.

In all regions of Ukraine, except for the Crimean peninsula annexed by the Russian Federation and the occupied Kherson region, on the night of August 7, an air alert was announced. Explosions sounded in Vinnitsa, similar reports came from other regions of Ukraine.

Energoatom: As a result of the bombing, an employee of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant was injured

As a result of the bombing of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (ZNPP) on August 6, a worker at the station received a shrapnel wound – he was taken to the city hospital, reported Ukraine’s National Nuclear Power Generation Company Energoatom. According to her, projectiles from the RF Armed Forces hit the territory of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, in the vicinity of the dry storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. We’re talking about 174 containers, each containing 24 SNF assemblies. Three radiation monitoring sensors were damaged and therefore timely elimination of the leak is still impossible, the corporation said. According to her, on August 6, a power plant and a water intake in Energodar were also bombed. The Ukrainian corporation called for the immediate withdrawal of the Russian military from ZNPP territory and the establishment of a demilitarized zone there.

In turn, the “administration” of Energodar, which is located in the part of the region temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, said that on the night of August 7, a 220 mm projectile fired by the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the Uragan rocket launch system multiple was used.

In connection with the difficult situation at the nuclear power plant, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a more decisive international response to “Russian nuclear terror”. The Ukrainian leader spoke by phone with the head of the European Council, Charles Michel. According to Zelensky, sanctions are needed against the Russian nuclear industry, as well as the use of Russian nuclear fuel.

Kyiv asked Berlin to increase the supply of modern weapons

Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, in an interview with the German edition of Tagesspiegel, urged Berlin to increase the supply of modern weapons. According to Podolyak, Ukraine needs long-range artillery and multiple rocket launch systems to effectively destroy the Russian military’s supply chains and logistical stockpiles — as well as drones and air defense systems.

In addition, Kyiv is waiting for anti-aircraft systems such as the IRIS-T, which Germany had previously said about its readiness to supply, the consultant noted. “We need more of them to protect at least Kyiv, Kharkov, Dnipro, Nikolaev and Odessa,” Podolyak said. Ukraine expects the active participation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in this matter, the source said.

Four ships carrying Ukrainian agricultural products left the ports of Odessa and Chornomorsk

Four ships carrying Ukrainian agricultural products left the ports of Odessa and Chernomorsk. This was reported by the Ministry of Defense of Turkey and the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov. Dry cargo ship MV GLORY with 66 thousand tons of maize is heading to Istanbul, MV STAR HELENA with 45 thousand tons of flour – to China, MV RIVA WIND with 44 thousand tons of maize – to Iskenderun in southern Turkey, MV MUSTAFA NECATI with 6 thousand tons of sunflower oil – for the Italian port of Monopoli.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Deputy Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotsky told German media group Funke that around 20 million tonnes of wheat is likely to be harvested in Ukraine in 2022, about two-thirds of last year’s crop.

AI partially apologized for the report on the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but did not abandon the conclusions

Amnesty International (AI), an international human rights organization, has issued a partial apology for its report accusing Ukraine of endangering civilians by its military. “Amnesty International deeply regrets the anger and outrage that our press release on Ukrainian military tactics has provoked,” the letter told Reuters.

At the same time, human rights activists do not intend to abandon the conclusions set out in the report. “Amnesty International’s priority in this and all other conflicts is to ensure the protection of civilians. In fact, that was our sole objective in publishing the latest study. While we fully support our findings, we regret the pain caused,” the statement said.

US Secretary of State tries to win favor with African countries

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in South Africa as part of the first leg of a trip to three African countries following his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov’s visit to the continent in July. According to several experts, the US and Russian foreign ministers are trying to win the favor of African states against the background of the unwillingness of many of them to previously support one of the parties to the war in Ukraine. During the trip, Blinken is expected to announce Washington’s new African strategy, the US State Department said. The US Foreign Minister will also visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.