Kyiv reports successes in the south. A secret service chief comments on the possible liberation of Crimea. The news ticker on the Ukraine war.
- Operation Crimean Liberation: Ukrainian troops to enter peninsula “soon”.
- Zelenskyj in Bachmut: President visits troops on hotly contested front
- The information processed here comes from international media and news agencies, but also from the warring parties Russiathe Ukraine and their allies. In particular, the information on the losses of the armies involved in the Ukraine war cannot be independently verified.
Update from July 29, 6:40 p.m.: According to Kyrylo Budanov, Major General and head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency HUR, Ukraine may be close to launching a military operation to liberate Crimea. That reports Sky News citing the Ukrainian TV channel TSN. When asked by journalists when Ukrainian troops will enter Crimea, Budanov replied that it would happen “soon”.
Budanov therefore gave no date for the start, only that it should happen in the near future. Crimea has been the target of several attacks in recent weeks, including the explosion that damaged the Kerch Bridge. Ukraine is primarily targeting Russian infrastructure. Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014.
Ukrainian nuclear company accuses Russia of kidnapping employees
Update from July 29, 4:50 p.m.: The Ukrainian energy company Energoatom accuses Russia of detaining an employee of its Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and of torturing him. “More than a month ago, on June 23, 2023, the [russischen] Invaders Serhii Potynh, a labor protection engineer of the Central Technical and Administrative Department of the temporarily occupied Zaporizhia NPP, who worked at the power plant,” Energoatom shared on Telegram.
According to the company, Potynh was seen at a local police station, where the Russian occupiers are said to be detaining other residents and nuclear plant workers. It is said that after the torture he is sent to the hospital so that he does not die. Energoatom appeals to IAEA Director General Grossi and the international community to take all possible measures to release Potynh and all captured NPP employees.
Zelenskyj visits the front near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine
Update from July 29, 2:00 p.m.: Volodymyr Zelenskyy According to his own statements, he visited the front near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. On the occasion of the day of the special forces of the Ukrainian army, he thanked the soldiers on site for their commitment, he said on Telegram. He also released a video showing him shaking hands and handing out awards to several fighters. The Ukrainian President was also informed by commanders about the situation in the heavily contested section of the front. However, he cannot give any details at the moment.
A few months ago, after extremely costly fighting, Bachmut came under Russian control. Since then, Putin’s troops have occupied the city, which had a population of around 70,000 before the start of the aggressive war. As part of their counter-offensive, the Ukrainian army now wants to liberate these areas. Most recently, she reported minor successes, especially in the south-east of the country.
Explosion at Russian ammunition dump in Crimea: Ukraine claims responsibility for attack
Update from July 29, 11:52 a.m.: Saboteurs working for Ukraine apparently managed to detonate a Russian ammunition dump on the Crimean peninsula. This was announced by the Ukrainian secret service via Telegram. The attack is said to have happened on the night of July 29th. The secret service released a Video, on which the attack should be visible. The authenticity of the video, the recording location or the date cannot be independently confirmed.
Heavy fighting in southern Ukraine
Update from July 29, 10:45 am: During the Ukraine war, battles are reported from the south of the country. Particularly fierce fighting is said to be raging around the city of Orikhiv. This is reported by the British secret service. The Ukrainian armed forces managed to push back the attackers. Russia, in turn, would harass the advancing troops of Ukraine, primarily with helicopters.
Update from July 29, 9:10 a.m.: Ukraine has updated figures on Russia’s casualties. According to this, another 390 Russian soldiers have died in the fighting in the past 24 hours. Another tank and eleven artillery systems were also destroyed. This information cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine reports Russia’s losses in the war:
- soldiers: 245,220 (+390 on the previous day)
- tank: 4191 (+1)
- Armored Combat Vehicles: 8167 (+6)
- artillery systems: 4786 (+11)
- vehicles and tankers: 7247 (+7)
- Combat and reconnaissance drones: 4007
- airplanes: 315
- helicopter: 311
- Ships and boats: 18
- Multiple rocket launcher systems: 698
- Source: General Staff of Ukraine data as of July 29, 2023
- Note: According to calculations by independent Russian media from early July 2023, around 47,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the Ukraine war so far. These figures differ greatly from those published by the Ukrainian side.
First report: KIEV – In the Ukraine war, the defenders’ counter-offensive led to further losses for Russia. According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, its own troops have managed to liberate the village of Staromajorske. The settlement is located in southern Ukraine between the cities of Zaporizhia and Donetsk.
Ukraine celebrated the success in Staromajorske as a major breakthrough in the war against Russia. In the battle for the village, the enemy’s defenses were broken through, although the enemy dug in deeply and offered fierce resistance. The settlement belongs, according to the Ukrainian news portal Kyiv Post “to the southernmost points of the summer offensive”. The TO518 road located there is “literally the road to Mariupol”. Russia had occupied the port city at the beginning of the Ukraine war. Since then, Mariupol has been under the control of Moscow.
As Ukraine scores more partial battlefield victories, Russia’s casualties mount. According to Ukrainian information, almost 250,000 Russian soldiers died in the Ukraine war. More than 700,000 soldiers are said to have been wounded. The number of Russian tanks destroyed is said to be approaching the 5,000 mark. This information has not been independently verified.
Russia launches missile attack on Ukraine
Moscow’s will, on the other hand, seems to have been unbroken in the Ukraine war. Russian rocket attacks on Ukrainian cities were reported again on Friday. At least nine people were injured when a Russian missile hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in the center of the country, according to Ukrainian sources. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of “Russian rocket terror”. Ukraine will do “everything to hold Russia accountable for aggression and terror against our people.”
The attack came just hours after Moscow reported repelling two Ukrainian missiles over southwestern Russia. According to Russian authorities, at least 15 people were slightly injured by the falling debris of one of these rockets in the city of Taganrog near the Ukrainian border. (dil/lrg/dpa)
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