Daily overview — Summary report, July 29
According to military expert Stanislav Haider, as of July 26,
Russia. “Klimovo, Bryansk Oblast. Artillery shelling of a military unit near the airfield. A lot of equipment was destroyed on the territory of the airfield, oops,” Haider wrote.
Donetsk Oblast. Russian attempts to carry out an assault in the direction of Yakovlivka, Bakhmut, and Semyhirya failed, they retreated with losses. Ukrainian troops also repulsed the Russian assaults in the areas of Ivano-Dariivka and Hryhorivka. In the Avdiivka direction, supported by tanks, gun-based and rocket artillery fire, Russian forces resumed assaults in the direction of Pisky and the city of Avdiivka but retreated after they failed. North of Bogorodychne, Ukraine’s Armed Forces slightly expanded their zone of control. North of Sloviansk, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are advancing in three possible directions. The Russians continued their attempts to attack Soledar and Vershyna. In the direction of Vuhledar, the Armed Forces of Ukraine repelled Russian attacks, and launched counterattacks, after the Russians had reinforced this area.
The illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is continuing.
The map below is the latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 28 July 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/qMPs8CICqw
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/EcU9CGVPlz
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) July 28, 2022
Kharkiv Oblast. There was another fruitless Russian offensive in the Prudianka area. Something is brewing up southwest of Izium – the Ukrainian Armed Forces blew up a Russian pontoon crossing in the Studenok area, the Ukrainian Command gave a hint about Brazhkivka, and a few days ago, Ukrainian troops advanced a couple of kilometers from Dmytrivka.
Kherson Oblast. Russians dared to build a pontoon bridge in the Dariivka area. Ukraine forces continue to work in the areas of Snihurivka and Kyselivka. The Russian forces threw their troop reserves, which are still capable of something, into Kherson Oblast – one of the occupying armies previously withdrawn from Ukraine appeared near Kherson. Ukrainian offensive actions beyond the crossing over the Inhulets near Dariivka are underway, and the Ukrainian bridgehead there continues to expand. In Arkhanhelske, the Russians are in trouble – Ukrainian troops have fire control over the area, and over Visokopillia. In Kherson proper, the Russians seized a passenger ship moored on Quarantine Island and are using it to ferry across the Dnipro River in the area of the damaged Antonivskyi bridge.
Zaporizhzhia Oblast. In the area of Huliaypole, Ukrainian troops carried out successful actions and pushed the front line back a couple of kilometers, liberating part of the territory. The strengthening of the Russian troops in this direction also continues as Ukraine’s Armed Forces are advancing in small steps.
The work of Ukrainian artillery. Russian ammunition warehouses were destroyed in Ilovaisk (Donetsk Oblast), Donetsk city’s Kyivskyi and Kuibyshevskyi districts, Kherson Oblast’s Chornobaivka and Brylivka. Strikes also took place on POL storage (“petroleum-oil-lubricants”) in Donetsk’s Kyivskyi district, and on a Russian base in the area of Nova Kakhovka’s hydroelectric power plant.
The General Staff’s operational update regarding the Russian invasion as of 06.00 am, July 29, 2022 is in the dropdown menu below.
Military Updates
https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1552757033509670912
Russia launched a massive strike in the early morning, with air raids all over Ukraine. The Russians fired missiles of different classes in the morning but from three directions, including Belarus and the Black Sea. From the Black Sea, the Russian invaders fired Caliber cruise missiles; from the Zyabrovka military airfield in the Gomel region in Belarus, missiles were launched by Iskander operational-tactical systems, and Tu-22m3 bombers fired X -22 from the Shaykovka airfield in Russia.
Regional Updates
https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1552725324399534083
In the Kharkiv Oblast, Russians launched several rocket attacks. As a result of shelling, industrial facilities damaged, fires broke out. Residential buildings destroyed in Chuguev, firing from the MLRS. Private households and outbuildings damaged.
In the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, invaders fired over 40 Grad rockets at Nikopol. 6 private houses and outbuildings damaged, a power line hit. Russians also fired at the Kryvyi Rih district from the MLRS. 1 dead, two injured. The agricultural enterprise is damaged, it is on fire.
In the Chernihiv Oblast, nine explosions reported. Rocket strikes launched from the territory of Belarus fell in a forest area.
In the Kyiv Oblast, Russians launched a missile attack with Kalibr cruise missiles. Five missiles landed in the Vyshhorodsky district. An infrastructure facility shelled. Two more missiles were shot down by air defense. ️15 injured. on a military unit in Lyutezh. One building was destroyed and two were damaged. One cruise missile was shot down in the air over the Buchansky quarry.
The site of one of this evening's hits in Mykolaiv
"Preliminarily, one woman was wounded in the [Russian] attack," according to Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych.https://t.co/T2AXH6uQlC pic.twitter.com/ty0FMa0VPE
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) July 28, 2022
In the Mykolaiv Oblast, as a result of night shelling, a school was destroyed. Another rocket hit the territory of the water station of our Shipbuilding University, damaging the warehouse. Hits on the private sector reported. Residential buildings damaged.
https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1552808874503053312
According to British Defence Intelligence, (last 48 hours):
- Since March, the Russian private military company (PMC) Wagner Group has operated in eastern Ukraine in coordination with the Russian military. Wagner has likely been allocated responsibility for specific sectors of the front line, in a similar manner to normal army units.
- This is a significant change from the previous employment of the group since 2015, when it typically undertook missions distinct from overt, large-scale regular Russian military activity.
- This new level of integration further undermines the Russian authorities’ long-standing policy of denying links between PMCs and the Russian state. Wagner’s role has probably changed because the Russian MoD has a major shortage of combat infantry, however Wagner forces are highly unlikely to be sufficient to make a significant difference in the trajectory of the war.
Losses of the Russian army
As of 29 July, the approximate losses of weapons and military equipment of the Russian Armed Forces from the beginning of the war to the present day:
⚰️russia's combat losses in Ukraine as of July 29
▪ 40500 killed soldiers (+270)
▪ 3987 APV (+8)
▪ 1749 tanks (+7)
▪ 900 artillery systems (+6)
▪ 222 aircraft and 190 helicopters
▪ 15 boats and cutters#StopRussia #StandwithUkraine pic.twitter.com/oFzewoyjJq— VoxUkraine (@voxukraine) July 29, 2022
Russian filtration camps discovered in five settlements in the occupied east of Ukraine where 1.5 million people passed filtration. Those who don’t pass are subjected to torture, the report says, giving the precise location of the camps.
Humanitarian
https://twitter.com/Podoliak_M/status/1552912619413061634
A video of two Russian-speaking soldiers castrating the prisoner of war with a clerical knife goes viral. Dmytro Koval, an expert on international law from the NGO Truth Hounds, said that this is the most obvious example of a war crime. Russian propagandists push the narrative of the video being a fake aimed at discrediting the Russian troops.
Environmental
Legal
Support
New Developments
Ukrainian engineer from Kryvyi Rih Vitaliy Bryzhalov created the first Ukrainian electric truck and planned to produce first batch in 2022-2023. However, when the war started, his team put the project on pause and started producing cheap and high-mobile buggy for the military. pic.twitter.com/QNiRbRrCqU
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) July 28, 2022
Assessment
- On the war.
The Institute for the Study of War has made the following assessment as of 29 July, 2022:
The Russian grouping in Donetsk Oblast is likely seeking to capitalize on recent marginal gains southeast of Bakhmut by continuing to attempt to advance in that area. Russian forces may be de-emphasizing attempts to take Siversk in order to concentrate on Bakhmut, but it is too soon to tell. Russian forces continued efforts to advance northward on Bakhmut from recently gained positions around Novoluhanske and the Vuhlehirska Power Plant while pursuing southwestward advances along the T1302 highway from recently captured positions in Berestove. By contrast, Russian forces have been struggling to make concrete gains around Siversk and have not made any confirmed advances toward the city since the capture of the Luhansk Oblast Administrative border in early July. Russian command is likely, therefore, seeking to maintain momentum around Bakhmut, potentially at the expense of continued pressure on Siversk. Russian forces remain unlikely to take Bakhmut itself, despite recent incremental advances in its direction.
Putin replaced Colonel-General Gennady Zhidko as deputy defense minister and head of the Main Military-Political Directorate on July 28.[1] Putin signed a decree appointing Colonel-General Viktor Goremykin to Zhidko’s position and has not publicly announced the appointment of Zhidko to a new position.[2] ISW previously reported that Zhidko would become the overall commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, a report that appears to have been incorrect.[3]
Key Takeaways
- Russian forces in Donetsk Oblast likely seek to capitalize on recent marginal territorial gains around Bakhmut and may deprioritize efforts to take Siversk.
- Russian forces conducted limited ground assaults northwest of Sloviansk and northeast and southwest of Bakhmut.
- Russian forces may be intensifying offensive operations around Avdiivka to reduce Ukrainian strikes in and around Donetsk City.
- Russian forces may be setting conditions for renewed offensive operations toward Kharkiv City.
- Russian forces attempted a limited ground offensive on the Southern Axis but are likely facing territorial losses in Kherson Oblast.
- Russian forces are attempting to preserve their ground lines of communication over the Dnipro River connecting Kherson City to rear areas in eastern Kherson Oblast.
- The Kremlin continued measures to compensate for officer and manpower losses in Ukraine.
- The Kremlin is continuing to institutionalize its occupation administrations in occupied parts of Ukraine to prepare for sham referenda, annexation, and integration into Russia.
- Russian occupation forces are continuing to pressure Ukrainian civilians in occupied areas to use Russian rubles and passports and to attend Russian-run schools, setting conditions for longer-term social control in occupied territories.