[Korrespondent] 23:40 Zelensky in the evening video message thanked the Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners of the Center Air Command and the South Air Command for the successful destruction of Russian missiles that were launched from the Black Sea in the morning: Russian terrorists launched across Ukraine during the day and in the evening."
23:13 In the western part of the occupied Melitopol, about ten powerful explosions were heard, the mayor of the city Ivan Fedorov said.
22:39 Washington believes that Ukraine already has enough Western HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, and sees a priority task to ensure uninterrupted supply of ammunition, said Pentagon Deputy Chief Colin Kahl.
21:47 There is more and more evidence that the Russians are still preparing "referendums" on secession from Ukraine in the occupied regions of the south of our country. More details - in the material Pseudo-referendum in the South .
21:08 Blinken said that if the United States allows Russia to seize Ukraine, this will lead to the fact that the world "will begin the season" of such wars. According to him, Russia's war against Ukraine threatens the fundamental principles of the international system, and therefore it is important now to counter Russian aggression.
21:04 The Russian Federation has lost 70-80 thousand people since the invasion of Ukraine - including those killed and wounded, Foreign Policy reporter Jack Detsch said, citing Pentagon data.
20:32 Russia has notified the United States that it is temporarily withdrawing its facilities from inspections as part of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). The Russian Foreign Ministry said that this was a forced measure due to the actions of the United States, which actually deprive Russia of the right to inspections in the States. The basis of modern strategic weapons is nuclear weapons.
20:14 The Pentagon announced the allocation of a new $1 billion military aid package to Ukraine. It will include additional ammunition for HIMARS and 75,000 rounds of 155-mm caliber. Ukraine will also receive 1,000 Javelin systems, hundreds of AT4 anti-tank systems and 50 armored medical vehicles.
20:00 The buyer refused the Ukrainian grain, which was on the ship Razoni to the Lebanese port of Tripoli, the Ukrainian Embassy in Beirut reported. The refusal was justified by the delay of the cargo for a period of more than five months due to the war. Now the supplier is looking for a new buyer in Lebanon or any other country. Razoni became the first dry cargo ship with Ukrainian grain to leave the port of Odessa as part of the grain agreement between Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN. There are 26,000 tons of corn on board.
19:41 Washington will provide Ukraine with another $4.5 billion in budget support , the US Agency for International Development has reported. Thus, budgetary support from the United States will be increased to $8.5 billion. The funds will go to the government of Ukraine in stages, in August Kyiv will receive $3 billion.
19:16 The Armed Forces of Ukraine repulsed the enemy offensive in the Bakhmut and Avdiivka directions. In particular, the enemy’s assault actions in the directions of the settlements of Bakhmut, Zaitsevo, Vershina and Kodema, as well as attempts to attack in the directions of Avdiivka and Peskov, were stopped, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in the evening report .
19:03 Russia continues to buy imported components for its weapons, despite sanctions, according to a report by the Royal United Kingdom Defense Research Institute (RUSI). Analysts examined Russian weapons found in Ukraine and found at least 450 types of components produced in the West - in the US, Japan, Switzerland, the UK and other countries. Some of them were produced after the imposition of sanctions in 2014. Experts note that there is a network of suppliers and sellers in East Asia and other countries that are ready to supply such components to the Russian Federation.
18:55 The State Emergency Service has developed the MineFree application, which will help Ukrainians bypass mines. In it, you can view a map showing potentially dangerous areas, receive a message when approaching a dangerous object, inform rescuers about explosives or suspicious items.
18:39 The leader of the "DPR" Pushilin confirmed the information that in the occupied Mariupol they want to hold a "trial" of the captured fighters of Azovstal. Earlier, the mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boychenko, reported that the occupiers were assembling prison cells on the stage of the chamber philharmonic, where they planned to hold a demonstrative "trial" of the defenders of Ukraine in September.
18:17 Zelensky said that he had the first conversation in the history of bilateral relations with the President of Botswana: "Thanked for condemning the actions of the Russian Federation, for support at the UN and at other sites, called for joining restrictive measures. He assured that Ukraine would remain a reliable food exporter."
18:13 The EU is discussing the imposition of sanctions against Turkey due to rapprochement with Russia, writes the Financial Times. Sources among Western officials said they were concerned about the promise of Erdogan and Putin to expand cooperation in trade and energy. At the same time, the EU has not yet held discussions on this issue, and there are disagreements in the union itself on the possible imposition of sanctions against Ankara.
18:10 The White House called on Russia to stop all military operations near Ukraine's nuclear facilities.
17:58 Military instructors from Finland will also take part in the training of fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the UK. According to the Ministry of Defense of the country, Finland sends about 20 instructors.
17:54 The invaders brought to Melitopol extras from other occupied territories of the Zaporozhye region in the amount of 700 people and held a "forum" in the city's Palace of Culture under the leadership of Gauleiter Yevgeny Balitsky, who at one time scored less than 10% in local elections. According to Ivan Fedorov, mayor of the city, the invaders realized that their plans to hold a pseudo-referendum were on the verge of collapse, "because even at gunpoint Russia is supported by no more than 10% of Melitopol residents." Therefore, it was decided to create a "picture" for the Russian media by organizing a "forum" at which it was decided to prepare for a "referendum".
17:43 "Governor" of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhaev said that he sent a team of Sevastopol managers to the Zaporozhye region to help with the organization of the "referendum".
17:25 The main threat to the Zaporizhzhya NPP at the moment is that it is connected to the energy system of Ukraine with just one operating power line, Energoatom President Petr Kotin said on the air of the telethon. According to him, the Russians damaged the lines connecting the plant with the Zaporizhzhya TPP and the energy system of Ukraine, and now, in the event of damage to the last line, the ZNPP will be forced to go into blackout mode - a complete blackout: "This situation is already very unsafe from the point of view of keeping nuclear fuel in a safe state in reactors and spent fuel pools".
16:58 The SBU reported that it had detained the killers of the special services of the Russian Federation who planned the murders of the Minister of Defense and the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. For the murder of each of them, the "curators" from the GRU promised a reward in the amount of 100 to 150 thousand dollars.
16:25 Amnesty International used the testimonies of people under pressure from the occupiers to prepare a scandalous report, says the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security under the Ministry of Culture and Information. In particular, according to the department, the material was collected on the territory of filtration camps and prisons, the survey was conducted among those who "wished" to provide such information.
The Center notes that such information collected on the territory of the camps should not have been used at all in compiling the report, since the interviews were selected under constant pressure from the law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation. Sometimes this kind of "correct" interview was the only chance to pass the filter and leave the occupied territories. In addition, the materials collected by journalists and hired volunteers were checked by the administration of institutions and, in some cases, by employees of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.
16:11 Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets called on the UN Secretary General, the IAEA and the entire world community "to take all possible measures to send a mission on security issues to the Zaporozhye NPP, completely demilitarize the territory of the NPP and provide security guarantees to the employees of the nuclear power plant and residents of the city of Energodar to service the station." In the relevant letters, he refers to the data of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, according to which the territory of the ZNPP is mined, and the plant employees are subjected to torture and enforced disappearances, they receive threats.
15:52 On August 11, Copenhagen will host the Conference of Northern European Allies to support Ukraine at the level of defense ministers, in which Reznikov will also take part. As spokesman for the German Ministry of Defense Arno Kolatz said, this event will be a continuation and expansion of the Ramstein format: "It is important for us that assistance can be stable, long-term. And this somewhat distinguishes this format from the Ramstein format, where we are talking about short-term arms supplies to Ukraine."
In Copenhagen, among other things, issues of long-term financing, training of the Ukrainian military, etc. will be discussed. Kolats noted that Germany plans to make its contribution, which will be "slightly wider than in the Ramstein format."
15:46 The "referendum" in the Zaporozhye region will be held in person, the electronic voting option is being considered, "but it's too early to talk about it," the "authorities" of the occupied region said.
15:44 In Kharkiv, as a result of enemy shelling, CHPP-3 was damaged, which provides heat and hot water to almost a third of the city, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA, said.
15:41 The Kremlin's representative at the IAEA has invited an international mission to Zaporozhye to carry out "activities in the framework of the implementation of safeguards, as well as monitoring the state of nuclear safety and security," according to a note circulated among diplomats in Vienna, Bloomberg writes.
15:33 Germany will help Ukraine to receive the next 8 billion euros of assistance from the EU as soon as possible, said Finance Minister Christian Lindner during an online conversation with Shmygal.
14:58 Today, at about 11:20, Russian servicemen from the territory of the Russian Federation fired at the village. Katerynivka, Shostka district, Sumy region, resulting in the death of one person. According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, a local resident, who was riding a bicycle through the village, died from a shrapnel wound in the neck.
14:47 On the morning of August 8, the Russian military fired at the Pavel Pol area of ​​Kharkov from the Uragan MLRS with cluster shells, more than 22 of which did not explode, the National Police reported. As a result of the shelling, one person was killed and another was wounded.
14:32 The Desnyansky court of Chernihiv sentenced Russian tanker Mikhail Kulikov to ten years in prison, who fired at a residential building, reports the profile publication Grati. Kulikov, the trial of which began on June 24, admitted his guilt. The court found him guilty of violating the laws and customs of war. Kulikov became the second Russian military man convicted in Ukraine after the Russian invasion. The first - Vadim Shishimarin - was sentenced to 15 years.
13:59 Germany excludes the possibility of launching Nord Stream 2 even in the event of a difficult situation in the coming months, said German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit.
13:45 The so-called "head" of the occupied Zaporozhye region, Yevhen Balitsky, signed an order on preparations for a "referendum" with the aim of "reuniting" the occupied territories with Russia.
13:24 On August 7, the Russians fired Kh-47M Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic missiles at military facilities in the Vinnytsia region. According to the command of the Air Force, the main carrier of missiles of this type is the MiG-31 fighter, Tu-22M3 and Tu-160 bombers can also be used. This is the latest type of missiles that are in service with the Russian Federation. After being put into service in 2018, only a few dozen were produced. Since February 24, only a few combat uses of missiles of this type have been recorded, which the enemy is trying to use against extremely important targets.
13:19 The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that on August 7, the Armed Forces of Ukraine allegedly fired at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant from the area of ​​​​the settlement of Marganets, as a result of which the Kakhovskaya high-voltage line was damaged, which provided electricity to the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.
13:12 The head of the Nikolaev OVA, Vitaly Kim, spoke about the results of a two-day curfew in Nikolaev: "We have dealt with a group that will not harm us. Russian speakers have not been shot, nothing has been mined, everything is fine, we are working on." According to him, 20 proceedings were opened over the weekend, five people who were wanted were detained.
12:48 Peskov commented on Zelensky's words that if pseudo-referendums are held in the occupied territories, there can be no talk of any negotiations with the Russian Federation: "The fact is that the residents of the region have these plans. It's not us who are holding a referendum. Here, apparently, it is necessary to understand to whom Zelensky is addressing with this statement - to the citizens of Ukraine of the mentioned regions or to the citizens of Russia... If to the citizens and leadership of Russia, then we are the wrong address. there are a lot of those who do not want to live in his country."
12:43 There are currently no necessary prerequisites for a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, Peskov said. According to him, the meeting of the two presidents is possible only after the delegations of negotiators "do all their homework, and this is not happening now." "There is no negotiation process between the Russian Federation and Ukraine now, since the Ukrainian delegation has gone off the radar," he added.
12:38 The first ship with Ukrainian products arrived at its final destination in Turkey, the Ministry of Infrastructure reported.
12:31 The Russians have declared their readiness to blow up the mined Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, Energoatom reports with reference to the statement of the head of the troops of radiation, chemical and biological protection from the Russian Federation, Major General Valery Vasiliev. "As you know, we have mined all the important facilities of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. And we do not hide this from the enemy. We warned them. The enemy knows that the plant will be either Russian or no one's. We are ready for the consequences of this step. And you, warriors - liberators must understand that we have no other way. And if there is the toughest order, we must fulfill it with honor," Vasiliev told his soldiers.
12:23 The first three German anti-aircraft self-propelled artillery installations Gepard are already in Ukraine, OK Pivden reported. These installations are among the best in their class and are capable of hitting targets at a distance of 100 meters to 4 kilometers. These complexes will cover important infrastructure facilities from attacks by helicopters and aircraft at low and ultra-low altitudes.
12:16 Near the damaged Antonovsky bridge, they began to build a pontoon crossing, said the "deputy head of administration" of the occupied Kherson region Kirill Stremousov.
In turn, Deputy Head of the Kherson Regional Council Yuriy Sobolevsky said that the occupiers had postponed the opening date of the Antonovsky Bridge, which was scheduled for the end of the week. The collaborators said that the Ukrainian missile hit the construction equipment, the supporting structures of the bridge survived.
"The invaders cordoned off the bridge from two sides, they don't let local residents close, they behave almost inadequately when communicating with people. Be careful and try to stay away from this area. The orcs are specifically on edge. The bridge itself, according to preliminary data, was seriously damaged," Sobolevsky said.
12:09 CBS News, which previously published material stating that only 30% of the weapons supplied by Ukraine's allies end up at the front, reported that the article was amended and the categorical tone was removed. But Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that this was not enough: "You have deceived a huge audience by sharing unfounded statements and undermining confidence in the supply of vital military assistance to a nation resisting aggression and genocide. There should be an internal investigation into who and why did this."
12:04 Baykar has already created a company in Ukraine and acquired a land plot for the construction of a plant for the production of Bayraktar UAVs, Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasily Bodnar said.
12:02 Occupants, fearing HIMARS, are moving their forces deeper into the rear even on Russian territory, writes Defense Express. Thus, the Russians moved the field camp of two units of the 6th Army of the Western Military District, stationed in the Belgorod region, and moved their camp from the village of Komsomolsky, which is approximately 22-23 km from the border with Ukraine.
11:57 During the last air raid in the Uman region, air defense went off. According to the head of the Cherkasy OVA, Igor Taburets, as a result of the fall of the remnants of a downed missile, a civilian infrastructure facility was damaged. Two people were injured and taken to hospital.
11:28 In the sky over the Odessa region, air defense shot down a Russian Caliber cruise missile fired from a submarine in the Black Sea, the city council of Odessa reported.
11:14 The invaders continue shelling Energodar, blaming the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said the mayor of the city Dmitry Orlov. According to him, as a result of yesterday's shelling of the dacha cooperative, four people were injured, one of them in serious condition.
11:10 British intelligence reports that the Russians are using anti-personnel mines along the line of contact in the Donbass. In particular, in Donetsk and Kramatorsk, the occupiers used PFM-1 and PFM-1S mines prohibited by international conventions. These are the so-called "petals", from which many children suffered during the Afghan war, mistaking them for toys. Since then, these mines have likely become even more unreliable and unpredictable, analysts say. This poses a threat to both local residents and the demining process.
10:44 In Kharkiv, Russians are shelling Pavlovo Pole. "There is definitely no military infrastructure in this peaceful and densely populated area," Mayor Igor Terekhov wrote. According to him, information about one dead civilian was confirmed - he left the house and came under fire.
10:27 The Russians are attacking Kharkov, residents are asked not to leave safe places, said the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. According to him, there is preliminary information about the victim in the Shevchenko district of Kharkov.
09:46 At night, the Ukrainian military "worked out fire control" and hit the Antonovsky and Kakhovka bridges, head of the joint coordination press center of the Defense Forces of southern Ukraine Natalia Gumenyuk said on the air of the telethon: "The same fire control that we had been holding for several days, on in this direction. It has its own results, it has hits, quite serious, both on the Antonovsky and Kakhovka bridges."
In addition, according to her, the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed several enemy bases with ammunition in the south: "And we are clarifying which of the results are ours, since we understand that the resistance movement in the occupied territories is quite powerful."
09:38 In Helsinki, the sculpture World Peace was dismantled , which the USSR presented to Finland in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The six-meter bronze sculpture depicts people from different continents holding a globe with one hand and clenching a fist with the other. The sculpture symbolizes peace between continents.
09:36 As part of the grain deal, this morning the first vessel with Ukrainian food left the port of Yuzhny since February 24 - the bulk carrier SACURA is heading to Italy. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, the ship joined the caravan with the bulk carrier ARIZONA, which left the port of Chernomorsk for the Netherlands. There are 60,000 tons of agricultural products on board both ships. The department added that now the goal is to increase transshipment in ports, within two weeks it is planned to reach the transshipment volume of 3-5 ships per day.
09:28 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the enemy on the morning of August 8. The enemy suffered the greatest losses in the Donetsk direction.
- personnel - about 42,340 (+140) people liquidated,
- tanks - 1811 (+6),
- armored combat vehicles - 4070 (+15),
- artillery systems - 960 (+2),
- MLRS - 261 (+1),
- air defense systems - 132 (+0),
- aircraft - 223 (+0),
- helicopters - 192 (+1),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 754 (+4),
- cruise missiles - 182 (+0),
- ships/boats - 15 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 2993 (+15),
- special equipment - 86 (+0).
09:21 There will be no heating season in Slavyansk, Donetsk region, public utilities are engaged in the conservation of communications, the mayor of the city Vadim Lyakh said: "Management companies are preparing multi-storey housing stock for winter. Drain water, conserve heating systems." According to him, the conservation of communications will help preserve them in order to use them in the future.
09:03 Russia is trying to organize the deportation of children from the occupied areas of the Luhansk region. According to the head of the Lugansk OVA Serhiy Gaidai, in the coming days more than a hundred children deprived of parental care can be taken to Russia. For this purpose, the Commissioner for Children's Rights under the President of the Russian Federation arrived in the occupied territories.
08:57 In the Kharkiv region, as a result of enemy shelling, two people died in a day, three more were hospitalized, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA, said. According to him, the defense headquarters this night recorded more than five missile launches from the territory of the Russian Federation, previously from the S-300 air defense system. Some of them "detonated before their destination."
08:50 The "authorities" of the occupied Kherson region said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine delivered another blow to the Antonovsky bridge, "there is damage to the canvas."
08:41 Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called on the Biden administration to recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. At the same time, they said that they would push Congress to pass the corresponding bill, regardless of whether it had Biden's support.
08:22 In the Donetsk region, as a result of hostilities over the past day, five civilians were killed: two in Soledar, one each in Bakhmut, Maryinka and Selidovo. Another 17 people were injured, Pavel Kirilenko, head of the OVA, said.
08:05 The Armed Forces of Ukraine repelled attempts by the Russians to advance in the Verkhnekamensky area in the Kramatorsk direction. In the Bakhmut direction, the enemy tried to conduct assault operations near Bakhmut, Zaitsev, Yakovlevka and Vershina. In the Avdeevka direction, the Russian army tried to advance in the directions of Peskov, Nevelskoye and Avdeevka, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in the morning report .
07:04 The Armed Forces of Ukraine hit the points of temporary deployment of Russian troops at industrial sites in different districts of Melitopol tonight with HIMARS missiles, Mayor Ivan Fedorov said. According to preliminary estimates, a significant amount of military equipment and more than 100 Russian soldiers were destroyed.
Last week, the invaders redeployed a significant part of the air defense from Melitopol to Kherson, Fedorov recalled. He added that the weakening of the air defense system creates the prerequisites for a successful counteroffensive in the Melitopol direction.
06:12 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes that the "power" of the occupied Ukrainian territories can turn the "door-to-door voting" in a pseudo-referendum into an intelligence-gathering operation to destroy the Ukrainian opposition. Also, the Russian occupation authorities are expanding the possibilities for direct intimidation of Ukrainian civilians and making it impossible for any independent oversight of the "voting" process, experts emphasize.
The abolition of in-person polling stations removes many of the requirements for bureaucrats to staff these places. The Russians struggled to recruit people for these positions, recalls ISW. Voting at home also limits the ability of guerrillas to attack.