Ukraine Latest: Weekly Digest for August 5-11, 2024

August 5/ Venislavsky: Go to war bypassing Territorial Recruitment Centers (TRC’s)

August 6/ Kutkov: The Armed Forces creating a centralized system for work with military families

August 6/ Lyhomanenko: TRC’s are failing communication with military families

August 6/ Karnaukhova: We must scale up the reach of the patronage service for veterans

August 6/ A military armored vehicle that can drive on just two wheels

August 7/ Kravtsov: In what conditions municipal power employees have to work in the Kharkiv region

August 7/ Starenky: Parliament must remove inequality in mandatory conscription of men aged 18-25 for war

August 7/ Porhun, Kolyada, Adamenko: Veteran’s supporter - a whole new job required by the new reality

August 7/ Stupak: Special operation in the Kursk region: who is behind and what’s the goal?

August 8/ Amelyakin: The railway Russia is building in Donbas is going to enhance its logistics capabilities in the region

August 8/ Kovalenko: Russian intelligence services are plotting psychological operations in Ukraine. What one needs to know of it?

August 9/ Interview: United by war: Olefir on going from and back to the country

PHOTO

August 5/ NGU units receive a shipment of new mobile auto repair workshops

August 6/ Russian military pounded downtown Kharkiv

August 6/ Press briefing on "Countering Russian propaganda and misinformation", Kharkiv City

August 7/ Kyivans hiding in subway during air raid alert

August 7/ Inauguration ceremony for the exhibition "Alley of Unbreakable Cities", Mykhailivska Square, Kyiv

August 7/ A day of action for prisoners of war was staged outside Russian Embassy in Kyiv

August 7/ The Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos located in the village of Novoekonomichne was destroyed in the aftermath of a Russian bombing attack

August 7/ The destroyed infectious disease hospital in Myrnohrad

August 8/ Ukraine’s Defense Ministry unveiled the new "Army+" app platform in a ceremony held in Kyiv

August 8/ Presentation of the commemorative coin "Communication and Cyber ​​Security Forces, Armed Forces of Ukraine" took place in Kyiv

August 8/ Inauguration ceremony for the nation-wide Ukrainian artistic and cultural project "Martial Art",  Vinnytsia

August 9/ Protest rally against the construction of a military cemetery

August 10/ The ninth Stabnet mobile stabilization container was transferred to the "Rubizh" brigade in a ceremony held in Kyiv

August 10/ Day of action under the rubrics "Dnipro, don't be silent, be the prisoners’ voice!" was staged in Dnipro City

August 10/ Farewell and funeral ceremony for the fallen soldier Andrii Lukivskyi, Vyshneve, Kyiv Oblast

HOSTILITIES

The General Staff has reported 794 frontline engagements over the week from August 5 through 11.

The Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrsky, in a press statement released August 11, said the operation [in Russia's Kursk Oblast] is going on, but did not provide any details.

As of August 11, the situation on the border with Belarus remains controllable, with no new forces deployments being observed on the Belarusian side of the border. The Ministry of Defense of Belarus announced in a statement on Sunday that it is going to deploy more personnel and equipment to areas bordering on Ukraine.

August 9: Ukrainian Defense Forces mounted a massive UAV attack against an air base located deep inside Russia. The attack targeted Lipetsk-2 military airfield, hitting the base’s warehouses storing some seven hundred glide bombs. Several other facilities located nearby were damaged or destroyed. At the time of the attack, dozens of Su-34 front-line bombers were stationed out there. Besides Su-34s, the base also hosted Su-35 and MiG-31 fighters owned by Russia’s Aerospace Forces. Reports circulating in the media suggest that two of Russia’s newest Su-57 fighter jets might have been damaged in the attack. The aftermath of the attack is yet to be clarified.

August 9: Ukrainian special operation forces conducted an amphibious raid on the Russian-occupied Kinburn Spit in the Black Sea's northwest, destroying six Russian armoured vehicles and about three dozen personnel. At the end of the raid, Ukrainian soldiers planted the HUR’s battle flag on one of the enemy's defending positions.

August 9: A Magura V5 naval drone operated by Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) destroyed a Russian KS-701 Tunets (Tuna) patrol boat and damaged three more Russian watercraft off the coast of Crimea. The attack took place overnight on August 9 near the village of Chornomorske on the north-western coast of Crimea, according to HUR.

The class of the three damaged watercraft is still being established, HUR said in its post on social media.This is not the first successful Ukrainian attack on Russian high-speed Tunets boats used for patrolling and logistics. As reported earlier, HUR destroyed two Tunets patrol boats and damaged two others off the Crimean coast in May.

August 9: Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces targeted and hit Russian anti-aircraft missile units in an unspecified location in a Russian-held part of Donetsk Oblast and struck three radar stations:  two for the S-350 air defense system and one the S-300. The General Staff clarified that it confirmed the destruction of one radar for a Russian S-350 air defense system but is verifying the aftermath of the strikes on the other two radars. Meanwhile, reconnaissance data suggests that all the three radar stations stopped working after the strikes.

August 6: A Ukrainian first-person-view (FPV) drone hit and downed a Russian Mi-28 attack helicopter over Russia's Kursk Oblast. The drone operated by the Special Operations Center "A" at the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) was able to to hit the helicopter's tail rotor, in what observers say was "one of a kind special operation in the history of warfare." On August 9, an SBU drone hit and downed another Russian helicopter while in mid-air over Kursk Oblast. 

August 6: Special operations unit Artan within HUR’s Maritime Center carried out a successful overnight operation on Tendrivska Spit in northern Black Sea. According to Ukraine’s military intelligence, the raid saw an elite commando unit land at the Tendrivska Spit.  The attack destroyed Russian armored vehicles, including an MT-LB and a hostile electronic warfare system, as well as fortifications. The Russian units suffered casualties, though their exact number is still unclear.

August 3: At least one Russian warplane and ammunition storage facilities were destroyed in a Ukrainian strike on a Russian military base in the Rostov region, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) reported. "Space intelligence data show that a Su-34 fighter-bomber was destroyed as a result of fire damage to the military airfield at Morozovsk on August 3," HUR  said in a statement on Telegram, adding that satellite imagery show two more Su-34 aircraft were likely damaged in the explosion of the aircraft ammunition storage facility.

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Situation in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation

August 8

Ukraine makes its own decisions regarding military operations, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller has said, commenting on the events in Russia's Kursk region.

Ukraine has the right to launch strikes inside enemy territory, following a surprise incursion in Russia’s Kursk region, the European Commission said in a statement.

Ukraine has a right to defend itself, and this right to defend itself includes also hitting the enemy on its territory, “ said Peter Stano, the European Commission’s Lead spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy.

One of the strategic goals of the Ukrainian incursion in Russia’s Kursk region could be to demonstrate the ability to seize the initiative in the war, which may have long-term political consequences for Moscow, said Rainer Saks, an Estonian security expert. “This is a challenge to the future of the Russian political regime. If they fail to handle it, certain domestic political developments may begin to unfold in Russia. I’m not saying this will happen immediately, and it’s not something that occurs over days or hours. But it could have long-term effects,” the expert said.

Russia had failed to calculate the situation and overlooked an amassing of "Ukraine’s friendly forces" on the border with its Kursk region: Ivan Tymochko, chair of Ukraine’s Ground Forces’ council of reservists.

Marcus Faber, the head of the German Bundestag’s defence committee, does not consider the possible use of German weapons by Ukrainian forces in the fighting in Russia’s Kursk Oblast to be a problem.

Faber noted that German weapons become Ukrainian weapons after being supplied to Ukraine, and this applies "to all weapons", including Leopard 2 battle tanks. "Because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the territory of both states is a war zone. The use of weapons is subject to the provisions of international law," he explained.

An overview of the events in Sudzha Raion, Russia’s Kursk Oblast, is available here.

August 9

Ukraine’s actions in the Kursk region were consistent with U.S. policy, according to Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh. “They are taking actions to protect themselves from attacks that are coming from a region that is within the U.S. policy of where they can operate, our weapons, our systems, and our capabilities,” Singh stated to reporters. She said that Ukraine’s action was not escalatory, as it was taking the necessary steps to achieve success on the battlefield.

Kyiv’s offensive gets a greenish light from its allies: Politico

The conduct of a "limited military operation" in the Russian Federation’s Kursk region has forced the West to recognize that the Ukrainians have a right to transfer the war to the territory of the aggressor state, and these events also deepen the split between the Russian intelligence services and the military: Harri Tiido, Estonian diplomat and political journalist

August 10

In the latest White House briefing, National Security spokesperson, John Kirby, said the United States remains in contact with the Ukrainian side regarding the events in the Kursk region. Kyiv’s attack on the Kursk region falls in line with the rules around using US supplied weapons. Though the goals of the incursion apparently aren't clear to Washington, Kirby said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has raised concerns about the potential threat to a nuclear power plant in the Kursk region, urging both sides to exercise maximum restraint to avoid a nuclear accident and to ensure the "physical integrity of the nuclear power plant."

Russian authorities have announced the introduction of an “anti-terrorist” regime in the Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod regions bordering Ukraine.

 Part of the effect and purpose of the Kursk operation could be to demonstrate, once again, the fallacy of the Kremlin’s red-line argument that taking the war to Russia with Western weapons would set off World War III and nuclear Armageddon: Andreas Umland, an analyst at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs.

August 11

Markus Faber, head of the Bundestag Defense Committee stated that the Kursk operation lays the groundwork for negotiations with the successor to the current Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

Faber noted that the operation against Russian forces near Kursk is going better than expected.

"The progress shows the Russian population that their dictator is losing control and that the military leadership is overwhelmed. A good foundation for peace negotiations with Putin's successor. And negotiations with Putin before the International Criminal Court," wrote the head of the Defense Committee.

He pointed out that the advance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces caused the aggressor to withdraw its troops from the frontline in eastern Ukraine, reducing pressure on Ukrainian troops in that region.

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The Frontline situation by days of the week

August 5

Kharkiv axis: The adversary is regrouping forces and capabilities in Vovchansk town, trying to retake lost gains and draw Ukrainian units out of their defenses.

Tavria axis: the adversary was showing no sings indicating it is mustering up an offensive attack, continued with assaults on Ukrainian defenses with small squads of infantry.

Siversk axis: The adversary was persistently trying to breach through Ukrainian defense lines in areas outside of Verkhnyokamyanske, Ivano-Daryivka, Pereizne, and Vyimka, having launched seven assaults on these neighborhoods.

Toretsk axis: the adversary, using air fire support from bomber aircraft, launched 15 attacks on Ukrainian defenses.

Pokrovsk axis: Fierce fighting was ongoing in the areas near Kalynove, Vozdvyzhenka, Novooleksandrivka, Ivanivka, Zhelanne, Novoselivka Persha, Karlivka, and Yasnobrodivka.

August 6

The Pokrovsk - Kostiantynivka highway remains under Ukrainian military control, the Defense Forces are performing their tasks to prevent hostile advances in other stretches of the frontline.

News reports that emerged saying that the Russian forces entered and occupied the village of New York, the Donetsk region, are untrue; heavy fighting for control of the village is ongoing.

Chasiv Yar axis:  Russians troops are trying to force across the canal and enter the town, storming from several different flanks.

Lyman axis: the invading army 15 times stormed Ukrainian troops defending the approaches to Makiivka, Torske, Nevske, and Terny neighborhoods, as well as Serebryansky Forest.

Toretsk axis: the invading forces intensified their assault actions, with 13 hostile attacks reported for that day, particularly in the areas of New York, Toretsk, and Pivnichne.

Pokrovsk axis: the adversary was attacking towards the neighborhoods of Vozdvyzhenka, Novooleksandrivka, Zhelanne, Oleksandrivka, Kalynovka, Vesele, Ivanivka, Kalynove, Skuchne, and Yasnobrodivka.

August 7

Kupyansk axis: the enemy launched two assaults towards Petropavlivka and Novoosynove, but never succeeded.

Siversk axis: the enemy mounted four assaults in an attempt to advance closer to Verkhnyokamyanske and Pereizne neighborhoods.

Toretsk axis: the adversary amounted seven assaults towards Toretsk, Pivnichne, and New York, launched six bombing attacks on Toretsk town; hit New York and Kurdyumivka twice with unguided air-launched rockets.

Pokrovsk axis: since day-start, the adversary was assaulting towards Panteleimonivka, Vozdvyzhenka, Novooleksandrivka, Hrodivka, Zhelanne, Novozhelanne, and Yasnobrodivka neighborhoods.

August 8

Kharkiv axis: The adversary conducted a personnel rotation among its units fighting in Vovchansk town; brought in a reinforcement of soldiers redeployed from the parts of the Luhansk region currently under Russian control.

Lyman axis: the Russian troops were attacking towards Makiivka, Nevske, Terny, and Serebryansky Forest areas.

Siversk axis: The adversary was persistently trying to break through Ukrainian defenses located near Verkhnyokamyanske, Ivano-Daryivka, Spirne, and Vyimka neighborhoods, having mounted eight assaults on defending Ukrainian positions.

Kramatorsk axis: since day-start, the Russians mounted six attacks aimed to dislodge Ukrainian troops out of their entrenchments.

Pokrovsk axis: the situation out there remains dire, with fierce fighting ongoing in the areas near Kalynove, Vozdvyzhenka, Novooleksandrivka, Zhelanne, and Karlivka neighborhoods.

August 9

Kharkiv axis: the invading forces mounted an assault towards Vovchansk town.

Lyman axis: Russian troops mounted seven attacks on Ukrainian defenses located near the neighborhoods of Makiivka and Nevske, as well as Serebryansky Forest.

Siversk axis: The day saw nine combat engagements, with the adversary seeking to advance towards Bilohorivka, Verkhnokamyanske, Spirne, and Vyimka neighborhoods.

Toretsk axis: the day saw the number of hostile attacks increased to 12, with the enemy attacking towards Bila Hora, Dyliivka, New York, and Toretsk.

August 10

Pokrovsk axis: since early hours of the day, the invading forces mounted 25 attacks aimed to push Ukrainian soldiers out of their defending positions located near eight different neighborhoods.

Lyman axis: Russian forces mounted nine attacks targeting Ukrainian entrenchments defending the approaches to Nevske and Makiivka neighborhoods.

Kupyansk axis: the adversary launched four attacks on Ukrainian defense lines located near the neighborhoods of Stelmakhivka and Berestove.

August 11

Luhansk axis: The invading forces tried to break through Ukrainian defenses near Stelmakhivka (the Luhansk region), as well as Nevske and Makiivka villages, and Serebryansky Forest.

Kharkiv axis: the adversary thrice launched storming attacks targeting the approaches to Vovchansk town and Tykhe neighborhood.

Lyman axis: the Russian forces were attacking towards Makiivka, Nevske, and Novosadove neighborhoods, as well as towards Serebriansky Forest.

Pokrovsk axis: since early hours of the day, the Russians mounted 26 attacks attempting to draw Ukrainian troops out of their defending positions located near Vozdvyzhenka, Novooleksandrivka, Kalinove, Novohrodivka, Hrodivka, Zhelanne, Orlivka, and Mykolaivka neighborhoods.

Since the start of week, the Russian adversary had intensified shelling attacks on the Operational Zone OTU Kharkiv, while increasing its military presence in and around Vovchansk town.

Kyrylo Budanov, chief of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR) delivered a speech at the Kyiv School of Economics. Following are the key highlights:

the Russian Armed Forces offensive will go down in a month and a half or two months’ time;

the enemy will be unable to completely destroy our energy system; there will be no total blackouts or shutdown of the entire country;

Russia will either have to end the war or declare a state of large-scale mobilization if the war drags on until the summer of 2025;

Russia estimates, that if Ukraine mobilizes all conscripts aged 18+, then it will be able to wage war until 2033;

liberating Crimea would be easier than retaking Donbas; from a military perspective, it is much easier to retake Crimea than Donbas, which has a frontline longer than 1,000 kilometers and a depth of over 200 kilometers. After all, the enemy can be knocked out through two main points of entry to the peninsula. Through the combined pressure by Ukrainian troops and the destruction of Russia's communication links, the peninsula can be easily isolated.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine are working creating a centralized system for working with servicemen, family members of the dead, missing, and captured soldiers.

WAR: LOSSES AND AFTERMATH

ENEMY LOSSES

Russia’s war toll in personnel and equipment over the week from August 5 through 11, 2024 had totaled:

8,010 personnel

36 tanks

108 combat armored vehicles

387 artillery guns

5 MLRS launchers

8 air defense missile launchers and radars

1 airplane

2 helicopters

301 tactical-operational UAVs

11 cruise missiles

498 automobiles and fuel tanks

66 units of special-purpose equipment.

Ukraine’s Navy attacked and destroyed an offshore gas drilling platform and tower off the Crimea coast, which hosted up to four dozen Russian personnel, as well as technical reconnaissance equipment. The facility was used as a broadcasting station for GPS interference equipment. 

"The occupiers used this location for GPS spoofing to endanger civilian navigation. We cannot allow this," said Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk.

UKRAINE: WAR LOSSES AND AFTERMATH

Russian bombing attacks on the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv had left 20 people dead and 91 others injured over the week under review.

The Russian military pounded Ukraine with over 30 missiles and more than 80 glide bombs over the week from August 5 through 11.

August 5 massive attack with Shakhed drones

Ukrainian Air Defense Forces shot down all of the 24 Shakhed strike drones Russia launched on Ukraine in seven different regions.

Civilian infrastructure facilities in two districts of the Kharkiv region were damaged in the aftermath of the attack.

August 6 drone and missile attacks

Ukrainian forces downed four missiles and 15 out of 16 Shakhed UAV’s Russia launched against Ukraine over that day.

Falling debris from downed drones damaged one residential building and one office building, as well as two gas stations and a forester's house located in the Kyiv region. No resulting fires were reported.

A parking lot in Kyiv’s Desniansky District sustained damage in the aftermath of the attack, with no resulting fires reported.

The ballistic missiles Russia used for an attack on Kyiv could have been of the Russian or North Korean make.

In morning hours of the day, the Russians struck a densely built-up neighborhood in downtown Kharkiv City, presumably with an Iskander missile, killing one person and leaving 12 others injured.

August 6: Volodymyr Chernyshov, a Kropyvnytsky city resident and former operator of the TV channel Viter (CBN) fell at the frontline.

August 7 drone attack

Ukrainian air defense units took out 30 Shakhed strike drones launched by Russia against Ukraine over the day.

In the Kyiv region, two persons were injured and 22 private households in two communities were damaged by the falling debris from downed Russian drones.

August 9

A Russian missile strike on a supermarket in Kostyantynivka, a town in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, killed 14 people and left 44 others injured. There are three children among the dead and one of the injured is in serious condition.

A Kh-38 missile had been used in the strike.

August 11 drone and missile attack

Ukraine's air defenses shot down 53 out of 57 Shakhed drones Russia launched on Ukraine over the day.  North Korean-supplied KN-23 ballistic missiles were also used in the attack.

The falling debris from a downed Russian missile damaged private households in the Brovary District, the Kyiv region, and left two people dead, among them a 4-year-old child, and three others seriously injured, among them a teenager aged 13.

WAR: POLITICAL DECISIONS, TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGHS, ARMAMENTS, ALLIED AID

Ukrainian home front

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky:

August 5: Met with the Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky to discuss the battlefield situation and the provision of weaponry for frontline units.

August 6: chaired a meeting at the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Headquarters. Oleksandr Syrsky, speaking via a video link, reported the meeting about the situation at the Ukrainian frontline. The meeting endorsed a funding boost for the national missile development and production program among other important decisions.

August 9: chaired a meeting at the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Headquarters addressing the need for air defense enhancements, the frontline situation and special operations in distant areas among other issues. The Armed Forces chief, Oleksandr Syrsky reported the meeting about the defensive operations targeting the axes of Russian attacks.

August 7: enacted legislations extending the validity of martial law and the duration of war conscription campaign

August 7: signed into law a bill on a military funeral ritual and ceremonial burials at the National Military Memorial Cemetery.

August 7: signed into law a bill regulating the reinstatement of military ranks amid martial law.

August 8: met with a bipartisan delegation of the US House of Representatives to discuss Ukraine’s air defense capability enhancements and ways to stop “any attempts by Russia to prolong this war”.

August 8: announced that this September will see the launch of a new mobile application for school and university students and teachers named Mriya (“dream”).

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Visits to Ukraine

August 5: Japan's Minister of Justice Ryuji Koizumi visited Kyiv for a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Maliuska to sign a memorandum on bilateral cooperation in judicial reform, human resources development and anti-corruption efforts.

Maria Eagle, Minister of State for Defense Procurement and Industry in the UK Ministry of Defense visited Kyiv for a meeting with colleagues and managers of major arms manufacturing companies.

August 8 visit by a bipartisan delegation of the House of Representatives of the US Congress

Verkhovna Radar Speaker, Ruslan Stefanchuk hosted a meeting with the delegation to discuss Ukraine’s security situation and defense needs.

At a meeting with the bipartisan U.S. House delegation, Ukraine’s Presidential Envoy to Crimea, Tamila Tasheva briefed the Congress members about the situation with regard to the rights of indigenous peoples in currently Russian-controlled Crimea.

The First Lady Olena Zelenska discussed with the U.S. Congress members projects dealing with mental disability treatment.

Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, at a meeting with the U.S. Congress team, discussed preparations for the heating season and Ukraine’s priority needs related to power infrastructure protection.

Oleksandr Balanutsa, Deputy Ukrainian Minister of Defense for European Integration Affairs, discussed further US aid and its priorities.

***

JSC "Ukrainian Defense Industries” (aka Ukroboronprom) increased its sales revenues by 72 percent in 2023 year-on-year, making it the fastest growing among the world’s arms manufacturers and bringing it to 49th place among the Top 100 arms producing and military services companies in the world, 2024.

August 8: Defense Ministry unveiled the new "Army+" app platform, aimed at freeing the military from paperwork and reducing bureaucracy in the Armed Forces. Using this application, military service members will be able to fill out reports electronically, which is the most needed digital service in the army. Specifically, soldiers will be able to file appeals for vacation, assistance, or rehabilitation on the platform.

Later on, the app will integrate services for families of service members, including banking, training, digital document management, medical services, logistics, personnel issues, and feedback.

Cabinet of Ministers:

endorsed a decision banning power shutdowns for consumers generating at least 80 percent of self-consumed power;

simplified procedures for the registration and accounting for the vehicles imported into Ukraine’s customs territory amid martial law;

earmarked UAH 0.5 billion for the Internal Affairs Ministry to build and fit out training grounds and shooting ranges;

instructed government ministries, other national executive authorities and regional military administrations to provide for the installation of autonomous power sources in specified locations by the end of 2025;

endorsed procedures for the evacuation of citizens to safety in case of a threat or emergency.

The Finance Ministry has solicited over USD 93 billion worth of budgetary support from international partners over the time from February 2022.

Mali has announced that it has cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of involvement in attacks on Malian soldiers in the West African country in late July.

The Ukrainian government rejected the accusation, saying Mali had failed to provide evidence of any Ukrainian involvement in the attacks by Tuareg rebels, and warned it reserves the right to take all necessary measures, political and diplomatic, in response to the unfriendly moves by the interim government of Mali.

Over January-July 2024, JSC "Ukrgazvydobuvannya" and PJSC "Ukrnafta", the companies affiliated with Naftogaz Group, produced 8.6 billion cubic meters of commercial gas, seven percent up year-on-year.

August 5: Ukraine has received a USD 3.9 billion non-refundable grant from the United States via the World Bank – the first tranche of direct budgetary support from the United States in 2024.

Ukraine at Paris 2024 Olympics:

Zhan Beleniuk, Ukraine’s only gold medal winner at the Tokyo Olympics in the 87 kg Greco-Roman wrestling weight division, settled for bronze in Paris — before announcing his retirement from the sport.

Ilya Kovtun won the silver Olympic medal in men’s gymnastics final, scoring 15.500 and finishing second only to China's Zou Jinyuan (16.200).

The third gold medal for Ukraine at the Olympic Games in France was won by boxer Oleksandr Khizhnyak from Poltava, who defeated Nurbek Oralbay from Kazakhstan in the 80 kg final.

Lyudmila Luzan and Anastasia Rybachok won silver medals in the Olympic canoe sprint for women’s C2 500 meters.

Iryna Kolyadenko won silver in the 62kg freestyle wrestling final.

Overall, Ukraine won three gold, five silver, and four bronze medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, placing 22nd among 84 competing countries at the games.

Ukraine won the biggest number of gold medals at the Olympics since 2012, when it won five at the London Games.

At the closing ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris on August 11, Ukraine’s national flag was carried by silver medal winners Parviz Nasibov and Lyudmila Luzan.

The Health Ministry has invited a competition to select members for a council to oversee the restoration of the destroyed buildings of the National Specialised Children's Hospital Okhmatdyt.

The lawyer for 18-year-old Viacheslav Zinchenko, a suspect in the murder of former Ukrainian MP and linguistics professor Iryna Farion, has filed an appeal against the court's decision to impose a pre-trial restriction measure in the form of detention without the possibility of bail. The Lviv Court of Appeal did not grant the appeal by Zinchenko’s lawyer regarding the pre-trial measure, and ordered the suspect to remain in custody for 60 days beginning from the day he was detained on July 26.

Vsevolod Kniaziev, former chairman of Ukraine's top judicial body and a suspect in a bribery case, was dismissed on August 6 from his post as a Judge of the Supreme Court's Cassation Administrative Court.

The High Council of Justice (HCJ) justified the decision by "a serious disciplinary offense" committed by Kniaziev.

The HCJ also decided to dismiss Oleksiy Tandyr, who fatally struck a National Guardsman at a checkpoint in Kyiv while intoxicated, from his post as a judge of the Makarov District Court of Kyiv Oblast.

ALLIES AND PATRNERS

August 6: The EU Council endorsed the allocation of €4.2 billion worth of macro-financial aid to Ukraine under the €50 billion Ukraine Facility for 2024-2027;

August 9: The United States has announced a new USD 125 million military aid package for Ukraine, including much-needed air defense capabilities and radars to detect and counter enemy artillery and anti-tank weapons.

The Ministry of Defense of Lithuania will provide Ukraine with a new military aid package, including short-range air defense systems among other supplies. The delivery is expected in August.

August 9: The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against 19 individuals, 14 entities, and one aircraft pursuant to Belarus-related Executive Order 14038. This action targets persons involved in supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine through military resource production and transshipment of goods to Russia, sanctions evasion on behalf of Belarusian defense entities, and revenue generation for Belarusian oligarchs in Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s inner circle.

Sixty-seven MEPs have required the EU Commission to impose stricter rules against Hungary, pointing to Hungary’s decision to facilitate visa rules for Russians and Belarusians, which they believe poses a threat to the EU’s security. The MEPs also required the EU to introduce border controls with Hungary and ultimately exclude it from the Schengen Area if it refuses to change its policy.

August 8: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has rejected a request from Ukraine to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he attends the October 1 inauguration of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum.

Deputy Secretary of State for Management & Resources Richard Verma will replace Penny Pritzker as the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery.

The American TV channel ABC has confirmed it will host the initial round of the Trump vs Harris presidential debates on September 10.

Vice President Kamala Harris received the votes of 99% of the participating delegates in the Democratic National Committee's virtual roll call vote.

 Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate in the 2024 presidential election.

Russia has begun delivering advanced air defense and radar equipment to Iran after Tehran asked the Kremlin for the arms.

PUBLICATIONS AND INTERVIEWS

August 5/ Hellfire for the Russians: how the F-16's will be helpful for the Air Defense Forces.

August 6/ Patronage services in military units: the time has come.

August 6/ Yuriy Yuzych, historian, retired Army major: Bandera guys cooperated with MI 6: why are we silent about it?

August 7/ How Russia’s special operations are trying to disrupt war conscription in Ukraine.

August 7/ Natalia Zabolotna, senior vice-head of Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration: Support for veterans today is the key to our successful future tomorrow.

August 7/ Kateryna Pavlichenko, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs: 310 facts of sexual violence committed amid war have already been recorded and documented.

August 8/ Stealing from museums and from underground: how Russian occupiers are looting Ukraine’s historical values.

August 8/ Serhii Kozyr, member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Human Rights: 200 government-owned real estate properties are ready to accommodate internally displaced people seeking short- to long-term shelter.

August 9/ China as peacemaker or what its latest round of shuttle diplomacy on a negotiated end to Ukraine war ended up with.

August 9/ Malcom Nance, the MSNBC counter-terrorism expert and former US navy servicemember discusses his decision to take up arms in Ukraine: After the war is over, the Ukrainian army will train all armies in Europe and the USA.

August 11/ The Baltic countries continue dismantling the Moscow Patriarchate: Estonia follows suit.

Compiled by Maryna Dmytriv, Kyiv