Military and Diplomatic Highlights:
As of August 5th, the Ukrainian military is reporting the following Russian losses:
o 249,110 Soldiers (Wounded or Killed)
o 4,232 Tanks
o 8,251 Armored vehicles
o 4,943 Artillery
o 315 Aircraft
o 311 Helicopters
o 4,116 Drones
o 1,347 Cruise missiles
As of July 31st, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Ministry of Defense has trained 20,000 Ukrainian recruits.
Poland reported that on August 1st, two Belarusian helicopters violated Polish airspace. In response the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded an explanation from Belarus.
The Polish government remains concerned on the deployment of Wagner troops to Belarus:
o Poland’s Ministry of National Defense has redeployed troops to the border.
o The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces have been monitoring this deployment and have forces also deployed along the border with Belarus.
The UK Ministry of Defense is reporting the following:
o Attack on Russian Naval Ship:
ü During the night of August 3 and 4, the Russian Navy landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak almost certainly suffered serious damage after being struck while near the Black Sea Fleet’s (BSF) Novorossiysk base. Images of the vessel listing at 30-40 degrees suggest that several watertight compartments were breached, or that the crew’s damage control efforts were ineffectual.
ü Routinely assigned to Russia’s Northern Fleet, the vessel has augmented the BSF since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has often ferried military and civilian traffic between Russia and occupied Crimea when the Kerch Bridge has been disrupted due to attacks.
ü The Olenegorsky Gornyak represents the largest Russian naval vessel seriously damaged or destroyed since the sinking of the cruiser Moskva on April 13, 2022.
ü This is a significant blow to the BSF, which previously relocated most of its units to Novorossiysk due to the high threat to Sevastopol.
o Recent Russian Drone attacks:
ü In the last two weeks, Russia has conducted several waves of strikes against Ukrainian ports on the Danube River using Iranian-produced one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAVs).
ü They are likely attempting to coerce international shipping into stopping trading via the ports.
ü OWA UAVs have struck targets as close as 200 meters from the Romanian border, suggesting that Russia has evolved its risk appetite for conducting strikes near NATO territory.
ü There is a realistic possibility that Russia is using OWA UAVs to strike this area in the belief they are less likely to risk escalation than cruise missiles: Russia likely considers them as acceptably accurate, and they have much smaller warheads than cruise missiles.
o New Russian Military Formations:
ü Over the last two months, Russia has likely started forming up major new formations to add depth to its ground forces. These include the 25th Combined Arms Army.
ü Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has mainly deployed mobilized reservists to back-fill established formations, or as part of territorial defense infantry regiments.
ü It has rarely established new, all-arms organizations such as combined arms armies which are designed to be a self-sufficient force. An exception to this was the 3rd Army Corps created in summer 2022, which has generally performed poorly.
ü Russia will likely deploy any new formation as a reserve force in Ukraine. However, in the longer term, Russia aspires to strengthen its forces facing NATO.
ü Without a major new wave of mandatory mobilization, Russia is unlikely to find enough new troops to resource even one new army.
The International Atomic Energy Agency on August 4th reported that they observed no mines or explosives on the rooftops of Unit 3 & 4 reactor buildings and turbine halls at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
War and Atrocity Crimes Investigations Highlights:
As of July 30th, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 26,015 civilian casualties (9,369 killed and 16,646 injured) in the country.
The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine has registered 1,235 new war crimes as of August 4th.
The Conflict Observatory has published a new report showing evidence the Russian forces are forcing Ukrainians in occupied areas to accept Russian citizenship:
o Residents of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya oblasts are subjected to threats, intimidation, restrictions on humanitarian aid and possible detention or deportation which are designed to force them to become Russian citizens.
o These efforts parallel the passportization campaign that Russia executed in Crimea and areas of Donetsk and Luhansk since 2014.
o These tactics violate international law (Hague Convention and the Geneva Conventions).
Humanitarian Impact and Response and Recovery Highlights:
As of August 3rd, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is reporting the following:
o Relentless fighting and hostilities continue to drive increasing humanitarian needs in Ukraine, particularly impacting people who remain in communities close to the front line.
o 17.6 million people are in need and 11.1 million people are targeted to receive assistance.
o Only 4% of the people who received aid, live in areas under the control of the Russian Federation.
o $3.9 billion is required and $1.2 billion has been received. Lack of funding is hampering operations, adding to the challenges imposed by insecurity and other obstacles.
There are now 5.9 million refugees and 5 million Internally Displaced Persons.
On August 3rd, humanitarian partners delivered aid to over 3,000 people in four frontline communities in the Kherson region.
On July 31st, aid workers with a non-governmental organization were injured by Russian shelling while they were cleaning debris from the Kakhovka Dam flooding.
Healthcare and Public Health Update:
o As of August 1st, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that there have been over 1,000 attacks on healthcare verified in the country.
o A doctor just beginning his career in medicine was killed outside his hospital in Kherson by a Russian attack. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator has condemned this attack.
o Russian forces bombed a blood transfusion center in Kupyansk on August 5th. This attack also resulted in an unknown number of fatalities and injuries.
Food Security Update:
o On August 2nd the Ukrainian government reported that more than 40,000 tons of grain and a grain elevator were damaged by a Russian attack in Izmai.
o The World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director also reported attacks on the Reni and Chornomorsk ports.
o UN Security Council Resolution 2417 established that food infrastructure is not a legitimate military target.
o On August 5th, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine has strongly condemned Russian attacks on Izmail and other Ukrainian ports.
Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) Update:
o The ETC finalized the testing phase of the Remote Site on Vehicle (RSoV) project. The ETC is procuring four additional RSoV kits to be stationed in Kyiv, Dnipro, and Odesa to support the safety and security of humanitarians on mission in frontline areas.
o The ETC dismantled the data connectivity equipment in the common premises in Dnipro and plans to relocate this equipment to the new UN common premises in Kharkiv to provide data connectivity and back-up services via Starlink to humanitarians.
Russian Dis-information Campaign Highlights:
The Russian President continues to deny that the Russian government is abducting Ukrainian children. Here is the fact check.
News Front which is working for the Russian government claims that Russia never rejected peace in Ukraine. The fact check is available here.
The Russian government continues to push false narratives on the Russian Africa Summit and food security.
Cultural Heritage Protection Highlights:
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has verified that as of July 26th there is damage to 274 cultural heritage sites. This includes:
o 117 Religious sites
o 27 Museums
o 98 Buildings of historical and/or artistic interest
o 19 Monuments
o 12 Libraries
o 1 Archive
On July 31st, Conflict Observatory, and the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative reported that there could be as many as 1,689 cultural heritage sites that have been damaged by Russian forces.
Damage to Cultural Heritage Sites in Odessa:
o On July 30th a UNESCO team arrived to document the damage to cultural heritage sites in the city caused by recent Russian attacks.
o Conflict Observatory has published a report on the damage to the Odesa Transfiguration Cathedral caused by Russian airstrikes on July 23rd.
o The International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas has reinforced its support to a national non-government organization to provide immediate aid to five damaged museums and manage an emergency aid fund.
Sources:
Ukraine Humanitarian Response 2023: Situation Report, 3 August 2023
Ukraine ETC Situation Report #25 (Reporting period: 01/07/2023 to 31/07/2023)
Ukraine: Civilian casualties as of 31 July 2023
Damaged cultural sites in Ukraine verified by UNESCO
UNESCO Kyiv Twitter Page
OCHA Ukraine Twitter Page
WHO Ukraine Twitter Page
· Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Twitter Page · Ukrainian Red Cross Twitter Page · Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine Twitter Page · United Kingdom Ministry of Defense Twitter Page · PolyGraph Info Twitter Page · EU East Stratcom Task Force Disinformation Review Twitter Page · Conflict Observatory Twitter Page · Antiquities Coalition Twitter Page · Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Twitter Page · Poland’s Minister of National Defence Twitter Page · Poland’s Ministry of National Defence Twitter Page · International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas Twitter Page Resources Ukraine - Logistics Cluster Concept of Operations - 03 August 2023 (New) https://reliefweb.int/map/ukraine/ukraine-logistics-cluster-concept-operations-03-august-2023 UN Refugee Agency, Ukrainian Refugee Operational Data Portal http://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine Centre for Humanitarian Data, Ukraine Data Explorer https://data. humdata.org/visualization/ukraine-humanitarian-operations/ Humanitarian Logistics Association, Ukraine Crisis Information Website https://www.humanitarianlogistics.org/donate ACAPS Ukraine Analysis Hub https://ukraine-analysis-hub.acaps.org/ UKRAINE- HEALTH CLUSTER ACTIVITIES Dashboard https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/ukraine/ukraine-health-cluster-activities U.S. Department of State, Disinformation Website https://www.state.gov/disarming-disinformation/ U.S. Department of Defense, Support for Ukraine https://www.defense.gov/Spotlights/Support-for-Ukraine/ Alliance For Securing Democracy War in Ukraine Dis-Information Dashboard https://securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/war-in-ukraine/ National Democratic Institute Disinformation Coordination Hub https://t.co/OctUrivBQC International Fact-Checking Network, #Ukraine Facts https://ukrainefacts.org/ Monetary Donations
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