Ukraine Daily

Thursday, August 18

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

A firefighter extinguishes a fire in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, following a Russian rocket attack on a school on July 21, 2022. (Alex Chan Tsz Yuk)

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Russian media: Russia to appoint Krasnodar mayor as so-called ‘head’ of temporarily occupied Kharkiv Oblast. Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov claimed that Russia has appointed Krasnodar Mayor Andrey Alekseenko to control temporarily occupied parts of Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast, reports RFE/RL. According to RFE/RL, anonymous sources confirmed the announcement, although Krasnodar’s local administration has not commented. On his Telegram channel, Alekseenko said on July 30 that Krasnodar “took patronage over” Kharkiv Oblast.

Military enlistment office in Russia’s Smolensk Oblast practices handing out conscription notices. The “training run” of general mobilization was held on Aug. 17 with the purpose of assessing the performance of the enlistment centers, Russian independent news outlet Meduza reported, citing local Russian news reports. Conscription notices were handed out to both reservists and any other men under 60 and on the military register, according to the reports.

Intelligence: Russia tries to recruit mercenaries from Central Asia. Russia is conducting a recruitment campaign targeting citizens of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence. The Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate also said that discontent is growing in Chechnya because locals are being forced to join Russian troops in Ukraine under the threat of criminal prosecution and torture.

Russia pulls military aircraft out of Crimean airbases after recent explosions. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate reported that no less than 24 planes and 14 helicopters had been transferred out of airfields in Crimea to bases further away from the frontline and out of the peninsula to Russia. The withdrawal comes after large explosions at the Saki and Hvardiiske airfields.

Institute for the Study of War: Russian forces likely losing confidence in security of Crimea. The U.S. think tank reported on Aug. 17 that Russian military leaders are likely on “high alert” following recent strikes in Crimea, resulting in a potential restructuring of its forces in the region. Russian propaganda is reportedly trying to falsely frame recent attacks on Russian military facilities in Crimea as “terrorist attacks” to deflect the blame Russia bears for its war in Ukraine.

Defense minister: War won’t freeze but intensity of conflict may decrease due to fewer resources. Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told the Voice of America that Russian troops had lost at least a third of their combat potential, including 30% of their elite troops. He said resources were being depleted on both sides.

Chinese troops to participate in Russia’s joint military exercises. China’s Defense Ministry said on Aug. 17 that its troops will travel to Russia’s “Vostok” (East) exercises set to take place from Aug. 30 to Sept. 5. China said that its participation in the drills is part of ongoing bilateral cooperation with Russia and is “unrelated to the current international and regional situation.” Troops from other countries, including India, Belarus, Mongolia, and Tajikistan, are also expected to join.

Authorities seize corporate rights, real estate of Russian enterprise in Ukraine worth over $9.5 million. The Prosecutor General’s Office reported on Aug. 17 that the enterprise, whose beneficial owner is a Russian citizen, is accused of evading $4 million worth of taxes from 2019-2021. The agency is resolving the issue of transferring the seized property to the Agency for Investigation and Management of Assets.

Read our exclusives here

Over the past six months, Ukraine has made its way from the West not giving it a chance against Russia and providing us with weapons for guerrilla warfare — to the West talking about the war until victory and sending us advanced artillery, air defense, missiles, kamikaze drones, and vehicles worth billions of dollars. If there’s one thing that this war has taught us, it’s the following: stay away from snap judgment and bold prophecies. Read our latest opinion piece by defense reporter Illia Ponomarenko.

Suicide missions, abuse, physical threats: International Legion fighters speak out against leadership’s misconduct. Read our investigation here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Update: Death toll from Russian attack on Kharkiv rises to 7. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported that 7 people were killed and 17 more injured in Russian shelling of a residential building in Kharkiv’s Saltivka neighborhood.

Governor: Russian forces kill 2, injure 7 in Donetsk Oblast on Aug. 16. Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported that Russian forces killed two people in the communities of Avdiivka and Zaitseve. These numbers do not include casualties in Russian-occupied Mariupol and Volnovakha.

General Staff: Russia has lost 44,100 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Aug. 17 that Russia had also lost 1,886 tanks, 4,162 armored fighting vehicles, 993 artillery systems, 263 multiple launch rocket systems, 136 air defense systems, 196 helicopters, 233 airplanes, 792 drones, and 15 boats.

International response

Poland slams Scholz’s opposition to EU tourist visa ban for Russians. Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said on Aug. 17 that he sees Berlin’s position as an ignorant attempt to divide “good Russians and a bad tsar.” Przydacz argued that there is “enormous support” for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s policies among ordinary Russians. As calls for an EU-wide travel ban for Russian citizens are growing, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he doesn’t support such a coordinated approach to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine because “this is not the war of the Russian people, but it is Putin’s war.”

UN Secretary-General to meet Zelensky, Erdogan in Lviv. United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that Antonio Guterres will meet the presidents of Ukraine and Turkey, Volodymyr Zelensky and Tayyip Erdogan, in the western city of Lviv on Aug. 18 before heading to Odesa in the south the following day. Dujarric added that Guterres will be discussing the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is being used by Moscow as a military base to launch attacks on Ukraine.

Zelensky: 55 diplomatic missions have resumed work in Kyiv. In his evening video address, President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted the importance of maintaining embassadorial services during the war and said that 55 embassies have already resumed their work. On Aug. 17, Zelensky also received credentials from the new ambassadors to Ukraine from Belgium, Spain, Kyrgyzstan and Romania.

Ukraine to receive $450 million from Canada to purchase of gas ahead of heating season. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal thanked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Twitter for the assistance. Economic depression in Ukraine and a volatile gas market have raised fears of a difficult and cold winter ahead for Ukraine.

Denmark ready to limit entry of Russian tourists regardless of EU decision. In comments to Danish news agency Ritzau, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod called it a “disgrace” that Russian tourists can sunbathe in Europe while Ukrainian cities are being “bombed beyond recognition.”

Australia cancels approval for new Russian embassy building. Local authorities in Canberra cited failure to meet construction deadlines as the reason for terminating the lease on the new embassy’s building site, though they mentioned that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine “did not help” Russia’s case, according to ABC News.

In other news

NATO says it will increase presence in Kosovo if tensions with Serbia escalate. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made the statement at a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels, Reuters reports. Vucic will meet with Kosovo counterpart Albin Kurti on Aug. 18, after tensions rose earlier this month on the Serbian-Kosovo border. NATO’s peacekeeping force currently has close to 4,000 troops in Kosovo and has already increased its presence in the north, according to Stoltenberg.

Investigation: Pro-Kremlin lawmakers live lavishly in France, Monte Carlo. Vadym Stolar and Ihor Abramovych, lawmakers from the pro-Kremlin Opposition Platform-For Life party, live in France’s Cote d’Azur, according to online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda. Stolar and Abramovich left Ukraine a few days before Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 and have not returned since then. Another Opposition Platform-For Life lawmaker and businessman, Hryhoriy Surkis, and his brother Ihor live in Monte Carlo, Ukrainska Pravda reported. The party, which was banned in June, was led by Viktor Medvedchuk, a close ally of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and a suspect in a treason case.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleg Sukhov, Alexander Query, Liliane Bivings, Asami Terajima, Toma Istomina, Teah Pelechaty, Francis Farrell, and Dariya Akhova.

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