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Russo-Ukrainian War, Day 140: 50 UN states condemn Russia’s use of false narratives to justify war

Article by: Zarina Zabrisky

50 UN states condemn Russia’s attempts to justify the war in Ukraine with false narratives. The most devastating Russian attack on Mykolaiv since the beginning of the war. Russians conduct limited and unsuccessful ground attacks in Donbas and Kharkiv and carry out air and artillery strikes in Donbas. Ukrainian forces strike more Russian ammunition depots in the south. Russia buys Iranian drones that could improve Russian aerial reconnaissance. Ukraine has joined the program of cooperation between the armies of NATO countries. Lithuania approved a 10 million euro aid package for Kyiv. The Council of the EU approved the allocation of a new macro-financial loan to Ukraine for 1 billion euros. Ukraine received $1.7 billion in grant aid from the United States. EU countries have frozen Russian assets worth 13.8 billion euros.

Daily overview — Summary report, July 12

A map of the approximate situation on the ground in Ukraine as of 00:00 UTC 13/07/22. There have been no notable changes to control since the last update. Source.

According to military expert Stanislav Haider, as of July 12,

Donetsk Oblast. Ukrainian forces have almost fully lost Bohorodychne (Soviansk direction), though the situation changes nearly every hour in the area. Another Russian attack on Krasnopillia was repulsed. Ukrainian troops keep holding Novoluhanske, have repulsed a Russian assault in the direction of Semihiria and Vuhlehirsk Thermoelectric Plant. Avdiivka and Mariinka remain under firm Ukrainian control.

South of Donetsk Oblast. Ukraine’s Armed Forces successfully repelled Russian counterattacks in the area of Pavlivka. The ​​Dokuchaevsk-Volnovakha area saw the Russians “panicking and waiting for more reinforcements.” A little further north, in Donetsk, there is a limited advance of the Ukrainian troops.

Kharkiv Oblast. Both sides continue tactical operations near Ukraine’s state border. The Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated one village, and also repelled the assaults of small Russian groups in the areas of Dementiivka and Prudianka. The Russian troops lay mines remotely in the area to block Ukraine’s potential advance.

Situation in Ukraine’s east as of 13 Jul 2022. Source.

Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The Russians again reinforced their troops in Vasilivka and Polohy directions in order to prevent Ukraine’s further advance. The reinforcement included the tanks T-72b, T-62, the armored fighting vehicles BMD-2, the artillery pieces – towed D-30 howitzers and SPG 2S1 Gvozdika. In Enerhodar, the Russians set fire to tires and declared that they shot down a Ukrainian UAV.

Kherson Oblast. Ukraine’s main efforts remain focused on defending the regained positions at the Inhulets river west of Kherson. Russians reinforce their troops in the direction of Bilozerka-Chornobaivka expecting Ukraine’s counteroffensive. In Kherson and Nova Kakhovka, the Russian occupation forces “became nervous” after HIMARS strikes and intensified police and repressive measures.

The work of Ukrainian artillery. The Russian ammunition depots and dumps were hit in Luhansk (2x), Berdiansk, Chornobayivka, Kherson, Charivne village, Khartsyzsk, Donetsk’s districts of Kirovskyi, Petrovskyi, Leninskyi. Also, the Ukrainian troops conducted a strike on a Russian military unit in Melitopol District.

 

Situation in Ukraine. July 13, 2022. Source: ISW.

The General Staff’s operational update regarding the Russian invasion as of 06.00 am, July 12, 2022 is in the dropdown menu below. 

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The one-hundred-fortieths (140) day of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people to a russian military invasion continues.
In the Volyn and Polissya directions, part of the personnel and equipment was rotated in the units of the Armed Forces of the republic of belarus, which perform the task of strengthening the protection of the belarusian-Ukrainian border.
The inspection of the headquarters of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Zhlobynsky District of the Gomel Region of the republic of belarus is ongoing. There is still a threat of the enemy launching missile and air strikes from the territory and airspace of this country.
In the Siversky direction, the composition and position of the enemy troops did not change much. The occupiers fired mortars at the positions of our troops in the Vovkivka area of ​​the Sumy region.
In the Kharkiv direction, the enemy is holding a group of troops from the Western and Eastern military districts. Focuses the main efforts on defense.
The enemy shelled the city of Kharkiv and the settlements of Sosnivka, Dementiivka, Mykilske, Ruski and Cherkasski Tyshky, Pytomnyk, Slatyne, Prudyanka, Nove, Ivanivka and Zalyman with barrel and rocket artillery.
In the Sloviansk direction, the enemy does not stop artillery shelling in the areas of the settlements of Dolyna, Dibrivne, Kurulka, Mazanivka, Adamivka, Virnopillya, Husarivka, Chepil, Velyka Komyshuvakha, Krasnopillya, Khrestyshche, Dovhenke and Mayak.
Ukrainian defenders successfully repulsed the assault in the direction of Dovhenke and Dolyna settlements. It is not excluded that the enemy will continue to conduct offensive operations to improve the tactical position and create favorable conditions for conducting an offensive in the direction of Izium – Sloviansk.
In the Kramatorsk direction, the enemy did not conduct active operations, but carried out shelling from barrel artillery and mortars in the areas of the settlements of Tetyanivka, Mykolaivka, Kryva Luka, Siversk, Serebryanka, and Spirne. Conducted an airstrike near Verkhnokamyanske.
In the direction of Bakhmut, the occupiers shelled the districts of Berestovo, Bilogorivka, Soledar, Pokrovsky, Bakhmut, Opytne, Vesela Dolyna, Vershyn, Travneve, Kodema, Toretsk, and Shumy. It carried out missile and air strikes on Toretsk and Rayske and airstrikes near Berestove. It conducted aerial reconnaissance with Orlan-10 UAVs and engaged subversive and reconnaissance groups.
In the Avdiivka, Kurakhivka, Novopavlivka and Zaporizhzhia directions, with the aim of restraining our troops, the enemy conducted artillery fire in the areas of the settlements of Avdiivka (Coke Chemical Plant), Vesele, Mariinka Novomykhailivka, Pavlivka, Prychystivka, Zaliznychne, Biloghirya, Mala Tokmachka, Novodanylivka and Kam’yanske. There were the airstrikes near Kamianka, Avdiivka and Novomykhailivka.
In the South Buh region, in order to prevent the regrouping of our troops, the aggressor directed artillery fire on the areas of the settlements of Bila Krynytsya, Partyzanske, Blagodatne, Kyselivka, Novohryhorivka, Zorya, Kotlyareve, Shevchenkove, Stepova Dolyna, Ukrainka, Mykolaiv and Kulbakine. Unmanned aerial vehicles were used to control the fire.
In the Black Sea and Azov sea zones, the enemy’s naval group focuses its main efforts on blocking civilian shipping. Four Kalibr sea-based cruise missile carriers are kept ready for missile strikes.
The moral and psychological state of the personnel of the occupiers remains low, systematic consumption of alcoholic beverages and desertion are noted. The occupiers complain about the ineffectiveness of their attacks on Ukrainian positions.

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Military Updates 

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the aviation of the Ukrainian Air Force has carried out 1,700 group air strikes against the occupying forces, said Yuriy Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force command.

The German Ministry of Defense published a complete list of military assistance to Ukraine. It includes both lethal and non-lethal military assistance: from cartridges and anti-tank mines to multiple rocket launchers and air defense systems from the warehouses of the Bundeswehr. It also includes industry supplies funded by the federal government’s Modernization Initiative. Dates for the delivery of weapons are not reported. In order to use some equipment, the Ukrainian military must undergo training. Some weapons must be modernized.

As part of the 2022 budget process, the funds for the upgrading initiative were increased to a total of 2 billion euros for 2022. The additional funds are intended primarily to benefit Ukraine. At the same time, they will be used to finance the increased German compulsory contributions to the European Peace Facility (EPF), which in turn can be used to reimburse the EU member states for the costs of providing support to Ukraine. (as of July 12, 2022)

Lethal and Non-Lethal Military Support Services Delivered:

  • 3,000 Panzerfaust 3 cartridges plus 900 grips
  • 14,900 anti-tank mines
  • 500 STINGER anti-aircraft missiles
  • 2,700 STRELA flying fists
  • 7 Panzerhaubitzen 2000 including adaptation, training and spare parts (joint project with the Netherlands)
  • 21.8 million rounds of handgun ammunition
  • 50 bunker fists
  • 100 MG 3 machine guns with 500 spare barrels and bolts
  • 100,000 hand grenades
  • 5,300 explosive charges
  • 100,000 meters of detonating cord and 100,000 detonators
  • 350,000 detonators
  • 10,500 rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition
  • 10 anti-drone cannons*
  • 14 anti-drone sensors and jammers*
  • 100 auto injectors
  • 28,000 combat helmets
  • 15 pallets of clothing
  • 280 motor vehicles ( trucks , minibuses, SUVs)
  • 100 tents
  • 12 power generators
  • 6 pallets of material for explosive ordnance disposal
  • 125 binoculars
  • 1,200 hospital beds
  • 18 pallets of medical supplies, 60 surgical lights
  • Protective clothing, surgical masks
  • 10,000 sleeping bags
  • 600 shooting glasses
  • 1 radio frequency system
  • 3,000 field telephones with 5,000 reels of field cord and carrying equipment
  • 1 field hospital (joint project with Estonia)
  • 353 night vision goggles
  • 4 electronic anti-drone devices
  • 165 binoculars
  • Medical supplies (including rucksacks, first-aid kits)
  • 38 laser range finder
  • Fuel diesel and petrol (current delivery)
  • 10 tons of AdBlue
  • 500 pieces of wound dressings to stop bleeding
  • 402,000 rations one-person packs (EPa)
  • MiG-29 spare parts
  • 30 armored vehicles

Lethal and non-lethal military support services in preparation/implementation:

(For security reasons, the Federal Government is refraining from providing further details, particularly on the modalities and times of the deliveries, until the handover has taken place.)

  • 53,000 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition
  • 8 mobile ground radars and thermal imaging devices*
  • 3 self-propelled howitzers 2000
  • 4,000 shots of anti-aircraft tank practice ammunition
  • 10 (+10 optional) Autonomous Surface Drones*
  • 14 tractor units and 14 semi-trailers*
  • 2 tractors and 4 trailers*
  • 43 Recon Drones*
  • 1 high-frequency device incl. equipment*
  • 10 protected vehicles*
  • 7 jammers*
  • 8 electronic anti-drone devices*
  • 4 mobile, remote-controlled and protected demining devices*
  • 65 refrigerators for medical supplies
  • 1 vehicle decontamination point
  • 54 M113 armored personnel carriers with armament (systems from Denmark, conversion financed by Germany)
  • 30 GEPARD anti-aircraft tanks including around 6,000 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition*
  • Air Defense System IRIS-T SLM*
  • Artillery detection radar COBRA*
  • 80  pickup *
  • 3 MARS multiple rocket launchers with ammunition
  • 100,000 first aid kits*
  • 3 Armored Recovery Vehicles 2*

* It is a matter of deliveries from industry-financed from funds from the upgrading initiative. Some of the deliveries involve repair work or production is still ongoing; in addition, some training services are still provided.

Regional Updates 

In the Donetsk Oblast, in Chasiv Yar, the bodies of 45 dead people were found, including 1 child, 9 people were rescued from the rubble, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported.

In the Luhansk Oblast, armed forces of Ukraine hit the Russian air defense unit.

Situation in Kharkiv. 13 July 2022. Source: ISW.

In the Kharkiv Oblast, the Russian invaders opened fire from the MLRS on the industrial districts. 6 fires, 4 injured, multiple buildings destroyed, fires at private enterprises and industries, cars damaged, and trees cut.

In the Sumy Oblast, the Russians shelled the territories of four communities.

Situation in Kherson and Mykolaiv Oblasts. 13 July 2022. Source: ISW.

In the Mykolaiv Oblast, daily attacks continue.  Today, the city of Mykolaiv endured the strongest Russian rocket fire since the beginning of the war.

Total damage in 24 hours:
  •  12 injured
  • 24 rocket craters were found in the city.
  • Occupiers hit the city with S-300 and MLRS systems from the territory of the Kherson Oblast.
  • One two-story house burned to the ground, nearby buildings were damaged by debris and shock waves.
  • In another five-story building, the tail of the rocket broke through the ceiling from the 5th to the 3rd floor.
  • One school destroyed.
  • Two hospitals, a bank and a post office damaged.
  • Five trolleybuses destroyed.
  • Rockets also hit the territory of the fish industry enterprise. Buildings and vehicles were destroyed.
  • In the Kherson Oblast, a column of military equipment of the Russian army is reported to be moving from Melitopol towards Kherson.

In the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a Russian military base is burning in Melitopol. The invaders moved their military equipment there after the Ukrainian army inflicted devastating strikes on the Russian base near the airfield in Melitopol.

According to British Defence Intelligence, (last 48 hours): 

In the Donbas, Russian forces will likely focus on taking several small towns during the coming week, including Siversk and Dolyna on the approaches to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. The urban areas of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk likely remain the principal objectives for this phase of the operation.

  • Russia continues to seek to undermine the legitimacy of the Ukrainian state and consolidate its own governance and administrative control over occupied parts of Ukraine. Recently this has included an initiative to twin Russian and Ukrainian cities and regions to develop post-conflict administrations and a decree to make it easier for Ukrainians to obtain Russian citizenship.
  • Anti-Russian sentiment in occupied Ukraine is leading to Russian and pro-Russian officials being targeted. The Russian-appointed administration in Velykyy Burluk acknowledged that one of its mayors was killed on 11 July 2022 by a car bombing. The targeting of officials is likely to escalate, exacerbating the already significant challenges facing the Russian occupiers and potentially increasing the pressure on already reduced military and security formations.

Losses of the Russian army 

As of 12 July, the approximate losses of weapons and military equipment of the Russian Armed Forces from the beginning of the war to the present day:

Humanitarian 

Ukraine returned the bodies of 30 dead soldiers. The operation was carried out in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast in accordance with the norms of the Geneva Convention. Russian media reports that the Russian Federation received 30 bodies of dead Russian soldiers.
Five Ukrainians released from Russian captivity in the temporarily occupied territories of the Kherson region.
The exhumation of the first mass grave began in Mariupol. If no relatives are present, the bodies are reburied in a mass grave without identification.

️️Environmental 

Representatives of Ukraine, Türkiye, Russia, and the UN meet in Istanbul to unblock the export of Ukrainian grain.

The Ukrainian Conference on Responsibility will be held in The Hague on July 14. The purpose of the Conference is to coordinate common efforts and ensure that the war crimes committed by the Russian army during the war in Ukraine do not go unpunished, the Government of the Netherlands reports.
The EU blocked the assets of the Russian Federation in the amount of 13.8 billion euros. More than 12 billion euros of Russian oligarchs and organizations are frozen in five EU member states.
European countries stopped extraditing persons requested by the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation. After the start of the war in Ukraine, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office received 43 refusals to extradite from its counterparts in Europe.

Support 

NATO and the EU want to tighten control over the transfer of weapons to Ukraine due to fears that they could later end up on the black market, reports Financial Times.
The United States controls the movement and use of American weapons in Ukraine, said State Department spokeswoman Bonnie Jenkins. “We are confident in the Ukrainian Government’s commitment to appropriately safeguard and account for US-origin defense equipment. So without getting into operational details, I can say that the United States engages actively with Ukraine’s Government to ensure accountability for the defense articles and security assistance provided by the United States. And actually, I just want to highlight that the most effective path toward reducing risk would be for Russia to end this war and withdraw its forces from Ukraine.”

Germany will stop buying Russian coal from August 1, and from December 31 will refuse Russian oil, said Deputy Finance Minister Jörg Kukis. Russia accounts for 40% of German coal imports and 40% of oil imports, writes Reuters.

Lithuania purchased Wingman anti-drones and radars for Ukraine. Anti-drones will help the Ukrainian military shoot down Russian UAVs at close range.

Lithuanian government approves  10 million euro aid package for Ukraine. According to the Prime Minister of Lithuania, these funds are intended for critical infrastructure, basic needs and services.
Israel is reported to be sending a batch of military equipment to Ukraine: 1,500 helmets, 1,500 body armor, hundreds of mine suits, 1,000 gas masks and dozens of hazardous substance filtration systems.
Spain is ready to transfer 10 Leopard 2 A4 tanks and 20 M113 armored personnel carriers from army reserves to Ukraine.
️The EU Council approved the allocation of a new macro-financial loan to Ukraine for 1 billion euros, according to First Deputy Head of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis. The money will be used to meet urgent budgetary needs. The funds are provided in the form of a loan, but on preferential terms. The interest will be covered by the European Union.

Ukraine received $1.7 billion in grant aid from the US, said Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal. This is the second US grant in the last two weeks. The total amount of assistance was $3 billion.

New Developments 

On July 11, 2022, over 40 United Nations states issued a joint statement condemning Russia’s attempts to justify the military invasion of Ukraine with false narratives. “We condemn Russia for once again abusing its UN Security Council seat to spread disinformation. We reject Russia’s continued efforts to distort history for its own political purposes and to promote hugely damaging false narratives and disinformation about neighboring countries,” the statement says.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmygal discussed the recognition of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism with Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. They also considered ways to confiscate the frozen assets in favor of Ukraine.

Ukraine became an associate member of the program of technological cooperation of the armed forces of the countries of the Alliance. According to the Ministry of Defense, as an associate member of the Multilateral Interoperability Program (MIP), Ukraine has received the right to jointly develop and amend key NATO standards regarding the interaction of command and control systems and related standards. “Ukraine has a powerful IT potential and is a worthy ally of NATO. I am sure that we will bring our expertise to the development of collective security,” said the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov. The MIP is a program of technological cooperation between the Armed Forces of NATO member states, which was established at the level of national developers of combat control information systems and aims to achieve interoperability of national C2IS systems.
EU countries freeze Russian assets worth 13.8 billion euros. More than 12 billion euros of the Russian oligarchs’ and organizations’ assets are frozen in five EU member states.

Assessment

  1. On the war. 

The Institute for the Study of War has made the following assessment as of Saturday 12 July, 2022:

Russian forces remain in a theater-wide operational pause in Ukraine. Russian forces continue to regroup, rest, refit, and reconstitute; bombard critical areas to set conditions for future ground offensives; and conduct limited probing attacks. The Russian Ministry of Defense did not claim any new territorial control on July 12.[1] ISW has previously noted that an operational pause does not mean a cessation of attacks.[2] Current Russian offensive actions are likely meant to prepare for future offensives, the timing of which remains unclear.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reported on July 11 that Iran will provide Russia with “up to several hundred UAVs” on an expedited timeline.[3] Sullivan did not specify the kinds of drones Iran will be supplying. AEI’s Critical Threats Project has provided a quick summary of the basic kinds and capabilities of Iranian drones. Sullivan noted that Iran will also provide weapons-capable UAVs and train Russian forces to use Iranian drones as early as July. Russian milbloggers and war correspondents have long criticized the Kremlin for ineffective aerial reconnaissance and artillery fire correction measures due to the lack of UAVs. Former Russian military commander and milblogger Igor Girkin stated that Ukrainian forces have successfully defended the Donetsk Oblast frontline due to the advantage of Ukrainian UAV capabilities in the area.[4] Russian milblogger Andrey Morozov (also known as Boytsevoi Kot Murz) blamed Russian state media for grossly misrepresenting the availability of Russian UAVs and their ability to support accurate artillery fire.[5] Russian frontline correspondent Alexander Sladkov also complained that Russian forces can build more drones but have not done so.[6]

  • Key Takeaways
  • The Kremlin is reportedly sourcing Iranian UAVs likely to improve Russian aerial reconnaissance and indirect fire accuracy in Ukraine.
  • Russian forces conducted limited and unsuccessful ground assaults north of Sloviansk and east of Siversk.
  • Russian forces continued air and artillery strikes around Bakhmut and Avdiivka.
  • Russian forces conducted multiple unsuccessful ground assaults north of Kharkiv City.
  • Russian forces likely conducted a false-flag attack on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in occupied Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
  • Russian and Ukrainian sources reported that Ukrainian strikes killed multiple Russian officers in Kherson City on July 10.
  • Ukrainian forces continued to strike Russian ammunition depots on the Southern Axis.
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