The Druzhba Hotel, heavily damaged in a Russian missile strike on Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, August 7, 2023

Monday’s Coverage: Ukrainians Again Hit Bridges Used by Russia’s Military

Map: Institute for Study of War

UPDATE 1653 GMT:

In a video briefing with reporters from Latin American countries, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that Ukraine will fight back against Russia in the Black Sea to lift Moscow’s blockade of Ukrainian ports.

Vladimir Putin reimposed the blockade on July 17, ripping up the July 2022 deal to allow movements of grain, foodstuffs, and other goods from three ports.

Zelenskiy said, following Ukrainian strikes on a Russian warship inside Russia and a tanker near Russian-occupied Crimea:

If Russia continues to dominate the Black Sea, outside its territory, blockading or firing at us again, launching missiles at our ports, Ukraine will do the same. This is a just defense of our opportunities, of any corridor.

We don’t have that many ships. But they should clearly understand that by the end of the war, they will have zero ships, zero.

He called on Russia to stop firing missiles and drones at Ukrainian ports.

UPDATE 1647 GMT:

The Ukrainian State security service SBU says it has foiled an attempt by Russian hackers to penetrate combat information system of Ukraine’s military.

The SBU said, “As a result of complex measures, SBU exposed and blocked the illegal actions of Russian hackers who tried to penetrate Ukrainian military networks and organize intelligence gathering.”

It said the hackers tried to obtain “sensitive information on the actions of the Ukrainian armed forces, the location and movement of the defense forces, and their technical support”.

Cyber-experts also found that hackers planned to use Ukrainian military tablets to spread viruses in the battle system.

UPDATE 1640 GMT:

Norway has joined Finland in banning Yango, the local branch of the Russian taxi service application Yandex, from transferring personal data of customers to Russia (see 1149 GMT).

The Norwegian Data Protection Authority said, “There is an acute risk to privacy as Russian authorities could potentially monitor the movements of Norwegian citizens via Yango.”

The independent Russian outlet Meduza, citing Yandex staff, told the Finnish Office of Data Protection that customer information was being controlled by the Russian State security service FSB.

In June, a Moscow court fined Yandex 2 million roubles (£16,350) for refusing to provide the information to the FSB.

Yango operates in 14 countries including Finland and Norway.

UPDATE 1634 GMT:

The UN humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, Denise Brown, has condemned the deadly Russian missile strikes on civilian sites in Pokrovsk:

It is absolutely ruthless to hit the same location twice in the space of minutes, causing the death and injury of people who had quickly come to help the survivors – including rescue workers from the State of Emergency Service of Ukraine.

They are frontline responders, helping people in their most difficult times and must be respected.

This horrifying attack is certainly a serious breach of international humanitarian law and violates any principle of humanity.

It adds to the very long list of attacks in Ukraine, including many over the past few days, that must be investigated as they violate international humanitarian law.

UPDATE 1238 GMT:

The Russian Education Ministry has issued new history textbooks to indoctrinate high school students with the Kremlin’s version of its invasion of Ukraine.

Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov told Russian TV that the four textbooks for 10th and 11th grade students detail “the reasons for the start of the special military operation, the purpose of the special military operation, denazification, demilitarization”.

The 11th-grade textbook also pushes propaganda on Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian territory, including “the reunification of Crimea and Sevastopol, the causes and course of the special military operation, and the entry of new regions into the Russian Federation,” Kravtsov said.

Krastov added that the the textbooks will be updated “as soon as we win”.

We are already winning the information war, but the special military operation will end, and it will end with our victory and of course we will supplement the history textbook.

UPDATE 1149 GMT:

Finland’s Office of Data Protection has issued an urgent order to suspend the transfer to Russia of any personal data of customers of the Yango taxi service — a branch of the Russian company Yandex — operating in Finland and Norway.

Finland acted on a request by the independent Russian outlet Meduza, following a Russian Government decree providing the State security servce FSB with round-the-clock remote access to the databases of taxi firms, including Yandex’s foreign services, from September 1, 2023.

Yandex employees have expressed concerned about the control of the data by the FSB.

Finland’s ombudsman for data protection said in a statement:

The information collected by the Yango Taxi App may include, for example, customer location information and taxi ride address. The DPA of Finland believes that Yango cannot protect personal data as required by EU law after the legislative reform in Russia.

UPDATE 1142 GMT:

Russian exports to China have fallen for the first time since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Chinese customs data in July showed $9.2 billion in imports from Russia, an 8% decline in compared to July 2022.

In June, China’s imports from Russia had grown 15.7%.

Chinese-Russian trade fell from a wartime high of $20.83 billion in June to $19.49 billion last month.

UPDATE 1136 GMT:

Video of the aftermath of Russia’s deadly missile strikes on an apartment block and hotel in Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine:

UPDATE 1109 GMT:

Western officials are describing “sobering” assessments of the state of Ukraine’s two-month counter-offensive in the east and south of the country.

Ukrainian forces have liberated about 250 sq km (96.5 square miles) of territory, but have faced Russian fortifications built up for months, including heavily-seeded minefields delaying the progress of armored vehicles.

A “senior Western diplomat” said, “They’re still going to see, for the next couple of weeks, if there is a chance of making some progress. But for them to really make progress that would change the balance of this conflict, I think, it’s extremely, highly unlikely.

Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois, who recently returned from meetings in Europe with US commanders, explained, “Our briefings are sobering. We’re reminded of the challenges they face. This is the most difficult time of the war.”

Another “senior Western diplomat” said:

The Russians have a number of defensive lines and they [Ukrainian forces] haven’t really gone through the first line.

Even if they would keep on fighting for the next several weeks, if they haven’t been able to make more breakthroughs throughout these last seven, eight weeks, what is the likelihood that they will suddenly, with more depleted forces, make them? Because the conditions are so hard.

Another “senior US official” said that while recognizing the difficulties for the counter-offensive, there is hope for further liberation of territory.

We all recognize this is going harder and slower than anyone would like – including the Ukrainians – but we still believe there’s time and space for them to be able make progress.

Multiple officials said the approach of autumn, when weather and fighting conditions are expected to worsen, gives Ukrainian forces a limited window to advance.

Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, told the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, “Heavy fighting continues, Ukrainian troops step by step continue to create conditions for advancing. The initiative is on our side.”

UPDATE 1103 GMT:

The UK has sanctioned another 25 individuals and businesses supporting Vladimir Putin’s access to foreign military supplies.

Those listed include businesses in Iran, Turkey, Dubai, Slovakia, and Switzerland that are supplying drones and microelectronics and attempting to supply arms to Moscow.

Iran’s Paravar Pars Company and seven of its executives, already subject to US sanctions, are labelled as “a key regime-linked UAV manufacturer” with Tehran “responsible for supplying Russia with the kamikaze drones used to bombard Ukraine”.

Three Russian electronics companies have also been cited.

UPDATE 0948 GMT:

UK military intelligence notes that Vladimir Putin has signed a decree authorizing heavy weapons for Russia’s National Guard, Rosgvardia.

The decree following the June 23-24 rebellion and advance on Moscow by Wagner Group mercenaries.

Rosvgardia, made up of 200,000 personnel, is led by Putin’s former bodyguard Viktor Zolotov.

The analysts note that despite Zolotov’s declaration of the National Guard performing “excellently” during the Wagner rebellion, “there is no evidence that Rosvgardia carried out any effective action”.

UPDATE 0845 GMT:

Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko has revised the toll from last night’s Russian missile strikes on Pokrovsk.

Kyrylenko said that seven people — five civilians, a rescuer, and a soldier — were killed. Among the 81 wounded are 39 civilians, including two children; 31 policemen; seven emergency responders; and four military personnel.

Among the slain was Andriy Omelchenko, the deputy head of the emergency services in the Donetsk region.

Twelve high-rise buildings, a hotel,
a prosecutor’s office, a pension fund office,a pharmacy, two shops, two cafes, and two cars were damaged.

UPDATE 0817 GMT:

Pro-Ukrainian hackers breached the website of the Moscow Technical Inventory Bureau, transferring information to the Ukrainian military and publishing a portion of the database.

The Bureau, a Russian state service, holds data about real estate developments and buildings in Moscow.

The hackers posted on the Bureau’s website: “Information about civil servants, politicians, military and intelligence officials who support the war with Ukraine has been handed over to the Ukrainian Defense Forces.”

Published data included addresses and register numbers of facilities belonging to Russia’s State security service FSB and military units in Moscow.

UPDATE 0757 GMT:

The latest Russian shelling of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine has killed one civilian and wounded 13.

Residential areas and an “invincibility point” were targeted in 68 attacks.

In Kruglyakivka in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine, two people were killed and nine wounded, including two rescuers and two policemen.

Two men were injured on Tuesday morning in Kozacha Lopan when private houses and commercial buildings were hit.

In the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine, the body of a man was found under the rubble of a destroyed house. An 83-year-old woman was injured.

UPDATE 0745 GMT:

The first group of US-made Abrams M1-A1 heavy battle tanks will be in Ukraine by early autumn.

Army Acquisition Chief Doug Bush said in a press briefing on Monday that the shipment of the Abrams was approved over the weekend.

“They are done. Now they have to get to Europe, and then to Ukraine, along with all of the things that go with them. Ammunition, spare parts, fuel equipment, repair facilities.

The US began training Ukrainian troops on the tanks in May in Germany. The 31 tanks being sent have been undergoing refurbishment and preparation for shipment for several months.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Continuing its mass killing of civilians with missile and drone strikes, Russia has slain at least eight people and wounded at least 67 in a “double tap” attack on a hotel and pizzeria in Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine on Monday night.

The first Russian missile destroyed the top floor of a five-story residential building. Kateryna, a 58-year-old resident of Pokrovsk, recounted, “That’s it, bang, and that’s all. A flame filled up my eyes. I fell down on the floor, on the ground. My eyes [hurt] a lot.”

The second missile, 37 minutes later at 7:52 p.m., hit the nearby hotel, killing two emergency responders and wounding police officers and other rescuers.

Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said the Russian attacks damaged two “private sector residential buildings, a hotel, catering establishments, shops, and administrative buildings”.

Pokrovsk is about 50 km (30 miles) from the frontline and 70 km (43 miles) northwest of Russian-occupied Donetsk city.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy broke the news of the initial strike on an “ordinary residential building”, posting video of the damage.

Zelenskiy’s message appeared to have been sent before revelation that the Russians had struck the hotel with the second missile, causing most of the casualties.

In an earlier assessment of the toll, Ukraine Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said there were five killed and 31 wounded, including a high-ranking emergency official, 19 police officers, five rescuers, and one child.

The assault echoed Russia’s systematic use of “double tap” strikes in the killing of Syrian civilians and rescuers, in its military intervention and airstrikes from September 2015 to prop up the Assad regime.

The Pokrovsk hotel, the Druzhba, and the Corleone pizzeria had been used by many journalists.

The BBC’s Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse wrote:

See also Bodies and Minds at Risk: Journalists on Ukraine’s Frontline

On June 27, the Russians hit another pizzeria frequented by both residents and foreigners, including journalists and writers, in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine. Thirteen people were killed and 56 wounded.

See also Ukraine War, Day 490: 11+ Killed, 56 Injured in Russian Attack on Kramatorsk Restaurant