Timeline: day 182 of Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression
Today is August 24. russia's military attack on Ukraine has been going on for 182 days. We're reporting on the current news. The article will be updated.
What about today?
Key points
Today, Ukraine celebrates the 31st anniversary of its Independence declaration. Congratulations, Ukrainians!
Half a year ago, the Moscow horde decided to seize our country and finally destroy Ukrainians and deprive Ukraine of its independence "in three days." However, we persevered! The Armed Forces of Ukraine and every Ukrainian man and woman responded severely to the Kremlin invaders. We continue to fight and are ready to mercilessly destroy the enemy. The courage of Ukraine inspired the whole world! With such unity and the support of partners, victory will be ours!
Military experts say that today the russian army is degrading, both in terms of equipment, infantry, and a system of military management. In the meantime, the reverse process has begun in the Ukrainian forces: our soldiers are mastering Western weapons, learning new methods of warfare in the West, giving a worthy rebuff to the "second army of the world," which was considered invincible just six months ago.
The key points from the morning reports of Ukraine's General Staff:
- In Sloviansk's direction, our soldiers inflicted fire damage on the occupiers and forced them to flee.
- In the direction of Bakhmut, the enemy conducted offensive battles on the axis of Bakhmut and Kodema. There was no success.
- In the Avdiivka direction, the enemy waged offensive battles toward Pisky and Nevelske. There was no success.
- In the Sloboda direction, the enemy conducts combat operations to hold previously occupied lines.
- The russian occupiers are suffering losses in all directions where hostilities are ongoing, the General Staff reports.
The Ukrainian forces hit the occupiers and their ammunition depot in the south. In general, the Ukrainian defenders destroyed the enemy's ammunition depot and eliminated more than ten invaders and several units of enemy equipment.
"We meet this day in different places. Some are in trenches and dugouts, in tanks and IFVs, on the sea, and in the air. They are fighting for independence on the front lines. Some are on the road, in cars, trucks, and trains. They are fighting for independence, delivering what's necessary to the front lines. Someone is on a smartphone or computer and fights for independence fundraising so that those on the road have something to carry to those on the front lines. We meet this day in different circumstances, conditions, and even in different time zones, but with a single goal to preserve the independence and victory of Ukraine! We are united. Happy Independence Day, Ukraine!" President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Ukrainians on holiday.
Grain initiatives continue to work not only at sea. The first train with corn from Ukraine arrived in Germany, Bild reports. On Tuesday, a train with 1,200 tons of corn from Ukraine was unloaded in the German city of Rostock at the grain terminal. It is a test train. Four more will follow them. The regularity of such trains means that Ukraine will receive more and more of the much-needed currency for its grain.
Nuclear security
The trip of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delegation to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) may take place within the next few days. But it will happen on the condition that the negotiations between Ukraine, IAEA, and russia will be successful. The Director of the IAEA, Raphael Grossi, stated.
At the UN Security Council meeting, the USA and Britain called russia the culprit of the crisis surrounding the Zaporizhzhia NPP. Their position is as follows: russia should withdraw its troops from the ZNPP and Ukraine in general, so there will be no crisis around the nuclear plant.
At the same time, the representative of russia cynically stated that there are no heavy weapons on the territory of the ZNPP and that the russian army does not use the plant for military purposes.
The representative of Ukraine at the UN offered the IAEA to organize a permanent mission at the Zaporizhia NPP.
Who's coming to Ukraine?
On financial and information aid, weapons, and politicians
Ukraine plans to receive up to $16 billion from international partners this year. Prime Minister Shmyhal announced this. Shmyhal said that more than 40% of the government's annual expenditures—almost $11.5 billion—are aimed at military needs. The head of the government also reported that the country has already received more than $14 billion in external financing from its allies.
In addition, the head of the Cabinet of Ministers stated that since russia's full-scale invasion began, Ukraine has spent almost a trillion hryvnias from the state budget. Therefore, partners' help is vital to us and necessary. Thank you!
The Pentagon published a photo of the military aid load for Ukraine. "The work continues. It never stops. Our servicemembers are working around the clock to make sure the Ukrainian people have the equipment they need to defend their country," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote. The photo was taken at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
Norway and the United Kingdom have agreed to supply Kyiv with Black Hornet micro-UAVs worth more than $9 million. For $40,000 per unit, the Ukrainian forces can receive more than 200 such reconnaissance UAVs.
News from partners
Sunflowers on Downing Street 10, the residence of the British Prime Minister, were put as a sign of support for Ukraine.
In Estonia, a court punished a man for stepping on the national flag of Ukraine and wiping his feet on the flag. He was sentenced to 3 months in prison, but the sentence was replaced by 510 hours of community service.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, proposed to allow russians into Lithuania only after they answer the question of "whose is Crimea?" clarifying that the entry into the country of those who recognize Crimea as russian "does not meet the national security interests of Lithuania."
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who is running for the post of prime minister after the resignation of Boris Johnson, is even more determined about russia. She said she was ready to use nuclear weapons if necessary. Also, Liz Truss promised to declassify intelligence about russia more often if she is elected prime minister. "I will go further as prime minister by doing everything possible—including declassifying more intelligence—to expose Putin's playbook to the world. My government will use intelligence strategically to reveal the Kremlin's attempts to undermine and destabilise freedom-loving democracies," she wrote in The Daily Telegraph.
Sanctions on the aggressor!
Finland is ready to expand sanctions against russia and advocates a total energy embargo. This was announced by the Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin. It is interesting that Sanna Marin also added that Finland should have listened more to the opinion of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in the past decades in matters related to russia and security threats in the region. So, more and more European countries realize what has been evident to us for a long time—russia threatens civilization.
Life considering hostilities
Google congratulated Ukrainians on Independence Day. Traditionally, a new doodle appeared on the start page of the Google search engine. The picture is made in yellow and blue colors. It depicts people holding hands. They look up into the sky, where a large bird carries a blue-yellow ribbon in its beak. After clicking on the picture, the user is transferred to a page that contains information about this holiday.
In Ukraine, they created a platform on which they plan to collect money for the restoration of libraries, cultural centers, religious buildings, etc. The project is called "Save Ukrainian culture."
Ukrposhta informs that everyone can purchase Free.Unbreakable.Invincible festive postal block online.
