Timeline: day 156 of Ukraine’s defense against russia’s aggression

Today is July 29. russia's military attack on Ukraine has been going on for 156 days. We're reporting on the current news. The article will be updated.

What about today?

Key points

Today, Ukraine's Special Operations Forces soldiers are celebrating their holiday in combat conditions. The invaders will never see the faces of the special forces, but they will feel all their power and fury! Heroes, congratulations on the Day of the Special Operations Forces, and thank you for your tireless work to clear Ukraine of the occupiers!

Ukraine will strike the Crimean bridge as soon as there is a "necessity, opportunity and task." National Security Council SecretaryOleksiy Danilov announced it. "If necessary, this decision will be made by the military. As for the Crimean bridge or other infrastructure, believe me, everything is under close control. As soon as there is a need, an opportunity, and a task, we will do everything, not only concerning this object," he said.

In the Kherson region, one of the critical logistical hubs of the occupier—the railway station in Brylivka—has been destroyed; MP Serhii Khlan begins the day with good news. "The russians just brought equipment and ammunition there; everything burned down. Some did not even have time to unload. People are reporting loud explosions and detonations. It is likely to get into the oil depot as well." Many occupiers are demobilized.

The First Deputy Chairman of the Kherson Regional Council, Yurii Sobolevskyi, reported that the Ukrainian forces "worked very well" against the occupiers in the Kherson Region tonight: 2 targets in the Nova Kakhovka area and one target each in Chornobaivka, Oleshky, and Brylivka. There are no casualties among civilians.

The key points from the morning summary of Ukraine's General Staff:

• To the south of Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces repelled attacks on Vershyna (where the enemy had partial success yesterday) and Semyhiria. At the same time, the battles for Novoluhanske continue.
• The assault on the Armed Forces positions in the Soledar area continues.
• The enemy led an offensive on Avdiivka, Pisky, Doslydnie, Krasnohorivka and Velika Novosilka. All, except for the last settlement, are in the Donetsk region.

According to Ukraine's General Staff, the Ukrainian troops repelled the attacks.

The Institute for the Study of War says:

• The russians are trying to maintain the pace around Bakhmut, reducing the intensity of attacks on Siversk. Experts call the possibility of Bakhmut's capture unlikely.
• The russian federation is intensifying offensive operations around Avdiivka to reduce the Ukrainian troops' strikes on Donetsk and its surroundings.
• There are tendencies to prepare an offensive toward Kharkiv.
• The russians probably suffered territorial losses in the Kherson region.

Many areas are under morning shelling. The residential areas of Sloviansk have been under fire from the russians since morning. In the morning, the russians shelled the center of Kharkiv twice—they hit a two-story building and a higher educational institution. In the morning, an anti-aircraft missile was fired over Myronivka, Kirovohrad region. A cruise missile was shot down, which scattered fragments across the village. One of Mykolaiv's districts was shelled with cluster shells; there were casualties. At least four were dead, and seven were injured.

The Kremlin could not recruit many Ukrainians to enforce the occupation laws and fight resistance in the occupied territories. Therefore, russia's interior ministry is creating "temporary police departments" and sending its employees to the Kherson region to support the occupation authorities in "the fight against extremism, facilitating the issuance of russian passports," according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports.

A senior adviser to the US Congress reacted to the video of a russian soldier castrating a Ukrainian soldier. "Castration, murder, rape, the killing of children, leveling of cities. Infinite evil. ATACMS for Ukraine! And modern battle tanks! Give them everything. Everything they need to put an end to this crime against humanity."

Who's coming to Ukraine?

On financial and information aid, weapons and politicians

Yesterday, Volodymyr Zelensky had a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte. In this conversation, Rutte said that his country would not stop supplying military aid to Ukraine this summer. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands stated that the government had approached the limit of its capabilities for providing military support.

News from partners

The USA transferred six fighter-bombers of the fifth generation to Poland. This was done to "strengthen the shield of NATO allies." Six more of these are planned to be sent to Europe. They can be placed on the Greek island of Crete.

Ukraine discovered a ship with stolen Ukrainian grain in the port of Lebanon; Ukrainian diplomats appealed to the authorities of Lebanon with a request to take measures.

Josep Borrell believes that the EU will stop buying russian gas in the future. According to the supreme representative of the European Union, Moscow is aware of these plans.

What about russia's supporters?

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán tried to justify his statement about the "mixing of races." "Sometimes I express myself ambiguously. This is a civilized position; we are proud of what Hungary has achieved in the fight against racism. It's not about racism; it's about cultural differences," Orban said.

It is the "ambiguity" of Orban himself: it became known that Hungary plans to purchase an additional 700 million cubic meters of russian gas in the summer. The Prime Minister himself announced this.

Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico refused to join the position of the American countries and condemn the conflict in Ukraine, according to the declaration adopted at the end of the 15th Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas.

Life considering hostilities

Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers submitted a draft law on the conditions for acquiring Ukrainian citizenship to the parliament. The main proposals under the Law "On Citizenship of Ukraine" are the procedure for examinations on the basics of the Constitution and the required level of proficiency in Ukrainian. The reasons for loss of citizenship were added: non-termination of foreign citizenship and failure to pass exams in the appropriate terms.

Zelensky announced the creation of the College of Europe in Ukraine. This post-graduate education institution will train specialists to work in EU institutions.