Extreme temperatures, outside and in the war
Now, as the fighting enters its sixth month, critical manpower and equipment problems could again slow Russian operations and give Ukraine’s counteroffensive a better chance to succeed, U.S. and European officials said.
According to NYT, the signs of Russia’s challenges abound: artillery shells missing their targets, intercepts of Russian soldiers complaining they have been given old tanks and a sharply rising death and injury toll in its military ranks.
Ukraine and Russia are preparing for the start of an extremely active phase of hostilities in the south. This was stated by the head of the joint coordination press center of the Southern Defense Forces Nataliya Gumeniuk during the telethon. According to her, because of this, it is necessary to evacuate the civilian population from the regions as much as possible.
Russian properties confiscated for the benefit of Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a presidential draft decree on the seizure of 903 objects belonging to Russia, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has said. “As we promised, we are taking Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. We are doing this systematically and under all procedures. We do not replace the law with our willingness, but implement this strategic task in a legal way. The seized assets are converted into funds allocated for our defense and restoration,” Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Friday.
According to him, some 79 items are corporate rights, while 824 items are property.
They seem to propose fifty-fifty, but guarantees are required
After a shipment of Ukrainian grain sailed through Istanbul on August 3 under an agreement designed to address the growing food crisis across the world, Press Secretary for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov on Friday appreciated the possibility of a deal on metals. While speaking about the possibility of concluding an agreement on metals, Peskov stated that nothing had been “officially formulated.”
“All depends on details. I will refrain from stating any position now. No official statements have been provided yet,” he said
Chinese people understand Ukrainian much worse than Russians?
Ukraine is seeking an opportunity to speak “directly” with China about its ongoing war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, noting that his country had consistently sought close ties with Beijing in the years preceding the conflict.
In an exclusive interview with the Post, the Ukrainian leader urged the Asian superpower to use its outsize political and economic influence over Russia to bring the fighting to a stop.
In another development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China called on the countries of the world to sign a general agreement to pledge that they will not use nuclear weapons the first.
Decisive battle will be given in Kherson and Zaporozhe
Russia’s war on Ukraine is about to enter a new phase, if it hasn’t already, with the heaviest fighting shifting to a roughly 350-kilometer front line stretching southwest from near Zaporizhzhya to Kherson, paralleling the Dnieper River. The fight for the city of Kherson alone “could prove decisive in determining the ultimate outcome of the war,” according to at least one account. According to Aleksey Arestovich, the adviser to the head of the President's Office, the active events in the direction of Zaporizhzhya and Kherson will start in about a week.
President Zelensky signs a series of important laws
President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed laws on safety guarantees for journalists, assistance to internally displaced persons, and protection of the civilian population. In particular, it goes to the law on providing additional guarantees of protection to media representatives working in the areas of hostilities.
“This will strengthen the protection of our journalists. The law on ensuring the rights and freedoms of IDPs is eliminating bureaucratic barriers that limit assistance to people. The law on the protection of the civilian population in the event of emergency situations and hostilities,” said President Volodymyr.
In addition, the President signed the law that “creates conditions for comprehensive thermal modernization of buildings and simplifies the process of restoring the residential sector damaged by the strikes of the occupiers.”
Nu văd! Nu aud! Nu vorbesc! – legea omului din teritoriile ocupate
In July, the Russians conducted a poll in the occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhian oblasts regarding joining Russia; support for this idea amounted to only 30%, said the Latvia-based Russian media outlet Meduza. It noted that two interlocutors close to the administration of the Russian president told Meduza that in mid-July, a closed sociological survey was conducted in the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts on whether local residents want to join Russia. According to survey results, about 30% were in favour of joining, and the same number (under the conditions of occupation) were in favor of keeping the oblasts within Ukraine. The rest "hesitated to answer".
However, as Meduza writes, despite such low indicators, the Kremlin believes that "referendums will be held properly."
Prospects of a killer becoming a “hero” are great
The Wagner PMC has recruited at least 1,500 prisoners to participate in the war against Ukraine. It is reported that the “recruiters” are most interested in criminals convicted of murder and robbery. Those selected are taken to a colony in Rostov-on-Don, where a training camp is organized. It is written that the first group of prisoners left for the war zone on July 20.
Ukrainian do not accept (i[?]) morality of Amnesty International
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba commented (see IPN ) on the words of the Secretary General of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, that their report on social networks is “attacked” by Russian and Ukrainian bots and trolls.
“Apparently the Secretary General of Amnesty International is calling me a ‘bot’ and a ‘troll’, but that doesn’t stop me from saying that her report distorts reality, draws a false moral equality between aggressor and victim, and contributes to Russia’s disinformation efforts. This is false ‘neutrality’.” not truthfulness,” the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry wrote.
