Timeline: day 131 of Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression
Today is July 4. russia's military attack on Ukraine has been going on for 131 days. We're reporting on the current news. The article will be updated.
What about today?
Key points
Ukraine values the lives of its soldiers. Suppose our army's command takes people from specific points of the front, for instance, from Lysychansk. In that case, it means only one thing: we will return thanks to our tactics and increasing supply of modern weapons, Volodymyr Zelensky said in a new address. "We will return. We are gradually moving forward in the Kharkiv region, in the Kherson region, and at sea; Zmiinyi Island is a good example. There will be a day when we will say the same about Donbas."
President Zelensky is convinced that thanks to successful tactics and Western weapons, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will take Lysychansk back and the entire Donbas. Today, the priority is not land, and not buildings, but people.
The Institute for the Study of War predicts that russian troops will most likely organize the next offensive in the direction of Siversk. At the same time, more severe attacks on Bakhmut or Sloviansk may begin.
Ukrainian forces will probably continue their combat withdrawal to the E40 highway, which runs from Sloviansk through Bakhmut to Debaltseve. It's not yet clear whether the Armed Forces of Ukraine will decide to defend themselves in the Siversk district, ISW notes.
The American magazine The Economist writes about the probability of Ukraine's counteroffensive near Kherson. The publication says Ukraine is preparing for a counterattack from the west, Mykolaiv, and the north, from Zelenodolsk (Kryvyi Rih district). A military intelligence officer of Ukraine told the newspaper that the Ukrainian forces' advanced units are now about a kilometer from the outskirts of Kherson. "The next week or two will be even more interesting," he promises.
This time will not be easy. The Institute for the Study of War writes about a preventive artillery strike by russian troops near Kherson, which is supposed to disrupt Ukraine's offensive actions; the satellite shows an abnormally high number of fires along the front line in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.
Ukrainians will see the first victories of Ukraine in the war against the russian aggressor in August; the chief of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, is sure of this. However, he does not give way details yet. "Do you want me to reveal all the plans now so the enemy can read and prepare? Is that how you imagine it?… I will answer you rhetorically. If you analyze my statements, do you see that I have made a mistake at least once? So wait," said Budanov in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
In the so-called "DNR," the Ukrainian forces did an excellent job in Snizhne, destroying one ammunition warehouse, one of the most significant enemy warehouses in the region. Snizhne is approximately 65 km from the front line.
In the south, the Ukrainian military attacked enemy ammunition warehouses with missiles and aircraft and destroyed 47 occupiers and several pieces of equipment.
Today, July 4, is the Day of the National Police of Ukraine. We congratulate all policemen who faithfully and truthfully serve the Ukrainian people. Together we will win!
Who's coming to Ukraine?
On financial and information aid, weapons and politicians
Germany began to train Ukrainian crews to operate MARS II MRLS. This weapon's damage range is up to 70 km.
Helping IDPs and refugees
Cate Blanchett's blue and yellow suit will be sold at a charity auction. All money raised from the auction will go to help Ukrainian families.
News from partners
A two-day conference on Ukraine's restoration will start in Switzerland. More than 40 countries and 20 international organizations were invited to participate in the forum. They will discuss the plan for Ukraine's recovery and development, particularly the reforms we need to implement and financial assistance from international partners.
German President Steinmeier admitted that Nord Stream 2 was a mistake. "My dedication to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was a clear mistake. We held on to bridges that russia no longer believed in and that our partners warned us about," the president said.
The President of Germany says the war against Ukraine caused "the strongest dynamics of geopolitical and geoeconomic changes." The consequences of this are unpredictable, and no one will be able to avoid it. Steinmeier also noted that due to the war in Ukraine, the world needed economic, military, and political reorientation.
What's in russia?
It's not just about putin. More than 70% of russian citizens support the russian armed forces' actions on the territory of Ukraine; these are the results of a survey by the research organization Levada Center.
Sanctions on the aggressor!
Australia will impose sanctions against 16 russian ministers and ban the import of gold from the country.
London is considering confiscating frozen russian assets to transfer them to Ukraine, the British Foreign Ministry reported.
The American pharmaceutical company MSD informed its russian counterparties about their terminating supplies of a number of its vaccines, which have analogs from other manufacturers, to russia. The company will not supply MSD vaccines for chicken pox, measles, rubella, and mumps.
Donetsk and Luhansk regions
The occupiers captured Bilohorivka and Zolotarivka, Serhii Haidai, the head of the Luhansk region, said. He also noted that the russian occupiers were entrenched in Lysychansk and crossed the Siverskyi Donets River.
Late yesterday evening, the occupying forces again shelled Kramatorsk with Smerch missile systems; resulting, one woman was injured.
On July 3, the russians killed nine civilians in the Donetsk region, with six victims dying in Sloviansk, one dead in Avdiivka, one victim in Bakhmut, and one in Zaitsevo. Among the dead were two children: one in Sloviansk and one in Zaitsevo. Another 25 people were injured.
Kharkiv region
A school was bombed in Kharkiv's Shevchenkivskyi city district today. The blow was around 4 am. So far, there are no victims, but the rubble is still being dismantled, Governor Oleh Synehubov said.
In the direction of the Derhachi community's Prudianka, the russian occupying army was conducting assault operations. The Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled the attack, Ukraine's General Staff reported. In the Sloviansk direction, the occupiers were going to resume the offensive, so they transferred a battalion tactical group from the temporarily occupied Izium in the direction of Snizhkivka. The russian federation also deployed additional artillery units there.
Over the past week, the Kharkiv region's police have documented 30 deaths of civilians in the area as a result of russian armed aggression against Ukraine. Serhii Bolvinov, the head of the Kharkiv region police investigative department, said. Since the beginning of hostilities in the region, it became known about the death of 936 people.
The occupiers shelled the village of Bezruky in the Kharkiv region — three civilians were killed, and another 81-year-old woman was injured; she was rescued and taken to the hospital.
Sumy region
Yesterday, the terrorist country russia fired more than 230 rockets at the Sumy region, particularly 140 flechette and phosphorous munitions in the Znob-Novhorodske community.
In addition, ruscists fired at the Atynske Psychoneurological Dispensary; part of the buildings was destroyed, and three facility patients were injured.
After 8 am, the occupiers shelled the Shalyhine community. There were ten hits. There are no casualties or damage.
Over the past week, the sapper group of the Interregional Center for Humanitarian Demining and Rapid Response of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (the city of Romny) found 70 explosive items in the Sumy region, including artillery shells, mortar mines, hand grenades, anti-tank grenades, rifle grenades, powder charges, and explosives. The group also found dangerous finds in the territories of Okhtyrka, Konotop, and Sumy districts.
Dnipropetrovsk region
Valentyn Reznichenko, Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, reports that the night in the Kryvyi Rih district was restless again. The enemy fired artillery at two communities — Zelenodolsk and Shyroke. The russians forces shelled cities and villages. In Shestirnia, the blast wave blew out the windows in the kindergarten. Fortunately, people were not injured.
Thirty-eight leisure clubs for children were organized in Kryvyi Rih. Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city's military administration, announced this on his Telegram channel. Clubs were set up in schools and extracurricular facilities with shelters in case of an air raid. They devote the first half of the day in the clubs to creativity and the second to sports. In particular, art workshops, psychological training, dance marathons, and sports games are organized for children.
Zaporizhzhia region
Over the past 24 hours, the occupiers have shelled 50 positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporizhzhia region and attacked two peaceful settlements. Near Enerhodar, the occupiers simulate combat clashes with units of the Ukrainian forces every evening.
Kherson region
The russians moved 17 wagons with ammunition to the railway station in the village of Myrne in the Kherson region, the Ukrainian General Staff reports.
Odesa region
The South operational command reports a discovered sea mine in the Dniester estuary. The mine, brought from the Black Sea, was in the coastal area of the estuary with difficult access. Specialists of the Navy's detonation team neutralized it through a controlled detonation on the spot.
West of Ukraine
Yesterday in Uzhhorod, despite the abnormal heat, 200 people took part in the race for the Ukrainian Armed Forces and raised over 100,000 hryvnias for the army. Participants of the race covered distances of 2 km or 6 km.
