Day 525 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Wheat Rose in Price by nearly 5% after New Russian Attacks on Odesa

Ukraine | August 2, 2023, Wednesday // 10:22|  views

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Day 525 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

  • Drone attack on Kyiv and Odesa, port infrastructure damaged
  • Wheat rose in price by nearly 5% after the new Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports in Odesa
  • Over 40 direct battles on the front in Ukraine per day
  • Tensions between Kyiv and Warsaw over the words of a Polish diplomat
  • The Pentagon: 150 thousand fighters are participating in the Ukrainian offensive, it may last until the winter
  • Investigation: Over 80 Russian oligarchs supplied Putin's army
  • Ukrainian partisans poison Russian officers
  • The war has caused a collapse in the birth rate in Ukraine
  • Captured Ukrainians were subjected to horrific war crimes in Kherson during the Russian occupation


Drone attack on Kyiv and Odesa, port infrastructure damaged

Explosions blasted in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, the mayor of the city, Vitaly Klitschko, announced. Ukraine's air defense was activated after drone attacks, with debris from the drones falling on two neighborhoods of the capital, Klitschko explained.

A non-residential building was damaged, emergency crews are on the scene. There are no victims. The air alert for Kyiv and the surrounding area remains in effect.

Regional governor Oleg Kiper reports a Russian drone attack with explosives on Odesa. It caused fires that damaged port infrastructure, AFP and BTA reported.

"As a result of the attack, fires broke out in port facilities and industrial infrastructure in the region, and an elevator was damaged," Kiper said on Telegram.

So far, no casualties have been reported in the attack.

Wheat rose in price by nearly 5% after the new Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports in Odesa

Wheat rose nearly 5% in early trade today after renewed Russian attacks on Ukrainian port facilities in the Odesa Oblast renewed supply concerns.

As of 09:00 a.m. Bulgarian time, wheat futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange rose by 4.84%, rising in price for the first time after five consecutive sessions of price declines from near two-week lows reached during trading on Monday.

"There is talk of new Russian attacks on grain infrastructure on the Danube River, limiting Ukraine's ability to use aid from European countries to sell grain on foreign markets, pushing up prices," a Singapore-based grain trader told Reuters.

Russian drones attacked ports and grain storage facilities in the southern part of Ukraine's coastal Odesa Oblast in the early hours of Wednesday, setting some of them on fire, regional governor Oleg Kiper wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Wheat Futures Chart (in dollars per bushel)

Over 40 direct battles on the front in Ukraine per day

During the past 24 hours on the front in Ukraine, there were over 40 direct battles with the Russian occupation forces, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army informed in the morning briefing. Ukrainian forces have forced the Russians to withdraw from their positions in the area south of Avdiivka, said the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. Russian forces are trying to regain control of territories north and west of the village of Klishchiivka, which are of strategic importance to the battle for Bakhmut. In the region of Kupiansk, Lymanske and Kherson, Russian forces have limited themselves to shelling without offensive actions, the announcement of the General Staff in Kyiv also states. It is noted that the situation was calm only on the border with Belarus.

Russia was earlier reported to have inflicted further damage on Odesa's Danube ports. The Ukrainian Air Force said it had repelled a three-hour attack by Iranian Shahed drones launched from the Azov Sea over the Black Sea. The mayor of the city, Vitaly Klitschko, announced a powerful Russian attack against the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. There are no victims or injured. The unmanned aerial vehicles invaded the airspace simultaneously from several directions, but they were all intercepted by the anti-aircraft defense, reported the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Serhiy Popko. Russia has also attacked Kherson, an air alert has been declared in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Sumy regions.

Tensions between Kyiv and Warsaw over the words of a Polish diplomat

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned the Polish ambassador in Kyiv in connection with "unacceptable statements" made by Marcin Pshidach, head of the International Policy Bureau in Andrzej Duda's office, Reuters reported, citing BTA.

"At the meeting, it was emphasized that the statements about the Ukrainians' ‘ungrateful attitude’ towards Poland's aid are false and unacceptable," said Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko.

Polish media reported that yesterday Pshidach spoke about a possible extension of the ban on the import of Ukrainian agricultural goods and called on Kyiv to show that it appreciates the support given to it by Poland in the course of the war with Russia.

"Now the most important thing is to protect the interests of Polish farmers," said Pshidach. "I think it would be beneficial for Kyiv to start appreciating the role that Poland has played in protecting Ukrainian interests in recent months and years," he added.

Five Central European countries, including Poland, want the EU to extend the ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine until the end of the year, Reuters notes. The measure in question expires on September 15.

Last month, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Warsaw would not allow imports of Ukrainian agricultural goods after that date, regardless of what Brussels decides.

The Pentagon: 150 thousand fighters are participating in the Ukrainian offensive, it may last until the winter

150,000 military personnel are participating in the counteroffensive operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to liberate Russian-occupied territories, but despite the inclusion of new forces in the battle, progress is slow, Politico writes, citing Pentagon representatives. In Washington's estimation, the fighting in the South could last well into the winter.

According to the portal, the joining of the battles of the Zaporizhzhia division near Orikhiv last week of additional reinforcements of soldiers trained in Western countries have not brought significant results so far. A Pentagon official says that the progress of the Ukrainians is measured in hundreds of meters.

“They're mostly making small, smooth progress across the board. They still face stiff Russian resistance — the second and third lines of defense”, one Politico source said.

According to Pentagon data, 150,000 people are currently involved in the offensive along the three main axes of the attacks, including several brigades trained by Western armies. Ukraine still keeps some forces in reserve.

Pentagon spokesman Gen. Pat Ryder declined to elaborate on the Ukrainian operations during Tuesday's briefing. He only stated that "this is and will be a tough battle for them (the Ukrainians)". According to "Politico" sources, defense department officials expect the counteroffensive to continue at least through the fall, and possibly into the winter.

Progress is impeded by minefields; even as the Ukrainians force them, Russian helicopters and artillery lay follow-up mines behind them to cut off Ukrainian troops from reinforcements. The Vampire anti-drone mobile systems that have begun to reach Ukraine may help in the fight against the Russian air force. These are laser-guided missile launchers mounted on pickup trucks.

The Ukrainians are also expecting the delivery of American tanks in September "Abrams", which Washington believes will change the situation on the front.

Investigation: Over 80 Russian oligarchs supplied Putin's army

81 persons included in the pre-war ranking of Forbes magazine for the "200 richest Russians" were openly involved in supplying the Russian army. This is shown by an investigation of the "Псы войны" Project ("Dogs of War"), reports the site "Svoboda" (the Russian division of Radio "Free Europe"). The project details the role of Russian oligarchs in the war with Ukraine.

The total amount of the contracts that the businessmen concluded with the Ministry of Defense in Moscow for the entire time of the military conflicts with Ukraine - from 2014 to 2023, is no less than 220 billion rubles (about 2.2 billion euros)

80 of these oligarchs, writes the Project, are already on sanctions lists. But only 14 are restricted according to the jurisdictions of all Kyiv's allies, and 34 of the businessmen - only in ban lists of Ukraine alone.

In the journalists' investigation, the names of Alexei Mordashov ("Severstal"), Vladimir Potanin ("Nornickel"), Vagit Alekperov ("Lukoil"), Mikhail Fridman (LetterOne), Roman Abramovich (Millhouse), Gennady Timchenko ("Novatek") are mentioned ), Alisher Usmanov (USM), Yury Kovalchuk (Bank "Rossiya"), Arkady Rotenberg ("Mostotrest") and others.

Only one of these oligarchs, the investigators emphasize, opposed the Kremlin's policy after the start of the full-scale invasion. This is the founder of Tinkoff Bank, Oleg Tinkov. While living in Russia, he was a supporter of Putin, even saying that he wanted to see the Russian president as emperor. In October 2022, however, Tinkov renounced his Russian citizenship, as he did not want to be associated with "Putin's fascism". Great Britain lifted the sanctions from the businessman.

All other oligarchs, who in one way or another financed the Russian armed forces, a year and a half after the start of the war, kept grave silence.

"At the same time, the enterprises of many of the silent powerful oligarchs continue to provide the Russian military-industrial complex with a huge amount of goods and services, including those necessary for the creation of missiles, bombs and bullets that kill peaceful Ukrainian citizens," write the authors of the study.

Shells and other weapons financed by these oligarchs have shelled Ukrainian villages, and were used in Bucha, Vinnytsia and Mariupol.

Thus, the theater in Mariupol, in which, according to the Ukrainian authorities, hundreds of people died, was destroyed by FAB-500 aerial bombs.

The investigators indicate that the businesses of Oleg Deripaska (En+ Group) and Viktor Vekselberg (Renova) supplied the manufacturer of these bombs with aluminum powder. The delivery of components for the bomb is carried out by a company in which businessman Vladimir Yevtushenkov (AFK Sistema) is involved.

"The same company of Yevtushenkov supplied aluminum armor for combat vehicles from which the Russian military shot civilians in Bucha," the journalists point out.

Businessmen Mikhail Shelkov (VSMPO-Avisma), Evgeny Zubitsky (Cox Group), the Rotenberg family and Dmitry Mazepin (Uralchem) were also involved in the supply for the production of these war machines and weapons. Mazepin was involved in the supply of ammonia and ammonium nitrate for the production of explosives and ammunition.

The journalists of the Project have analyzed state contracts that enterprises partially or fully owned by these oligarchs concluded with the defense plants, the Ministry of Defense and the Russian Guard. In 2017, the Russian Ministry of Defense began massively declassifying its contracts, so most of the contracts found date from the period 2014-2018.

"The actual number of businessmen working for the war and the money they receive for it may be significantly higher than in our database," the Project clarified.

The armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been ongoing since 2014. Then Moscow annexed Crimea. On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine and started a full-scale war.

Nearly 9,000 civilians have died since the invasion began a year and a half ago, according to UN figures. The real number of victims of Russian aggression may be much higher.

Ukrainian partisans poison Russian officers

In the Russian-occupied Azov port of Mariupol, Ukrainian partisans have been poisoning Russian officers en masse, Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported.

It referred to a Telegram announcement by Pyotr Andryushchenko, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol. According to him, a Ukrainian urban resistance group carried out sabotage, poisoning the food of the occupiers.

"During the celebration of Navy Day, officers were mass poisoned in one of the military sites. 17 Russian soldiers were admitted to the hospital in serious condition, two of them had already died yesterday. The fate of the rest 15 is not fully known," Andryushchenko wrote.

According to the Russians, they suspect that the saboteurs poured cyanide and pesticides into the food.

The war has caused a collapse in the birth rate in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine has led to a drop in the birth rate in the country by 28%, according to official statistics quoted by the BBC.

In the first six months of 2023, 96,755 children were born there, compared to 135,079 in the first half of 2021.

Although the number of new-born babies has been falling over the past decade, it is the biggest drop since Ukraine's independence in 1991. Its population was more than 43 million before the war, but nearly six million have since fled, according to the United Nations.

The birth rate data, collated by the Ukrainian data analysis website Opendatabot, is consistent with the observations of demographic experts who have recorded similar declines in previous wars.

The US-based Population Reference Bureau notes that during civil conflicts, fertility rates typically drop by up to a third, but recover quickly after the fighting ends.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, up to 23,000 babies were born each month, but now around 16,000 are born.

There is no great gender imbalance. In the first half of 2023, 49,626 boys were born and 47,129 girls.

The previous major drop in the birth rate in Ukraine was when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea in 2014. The following year, the number of babies fell by 12%.

According to the UN, even before the war, the population of Ukraine was expected to decrease by 50% by 2050, writes "Guardian".

"Ukraine had one of the lowest birth rates on the planet. And then war broke out," Briena Perelli-Harris, a professor of demography at the University of Southampton who studies birth rates in Ukraine, told NPR in March of this year.

"When Ukrainians feel and see more stability; when they feel more protection, they will want to have more children," a doctor who helps run a maternity home in western Kyiv told NPR.

Captured Ukrainians were subjected to horrific war crimes in Kherson during the Russian occupation

The Mobile Justice Team – a collaboration between the human rights law firm Global Rights Compliance and the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine – found that nearly 50% of Ukrainian detainees were subjected to torture in Kherson detention centers.

According to a report cited by CNBC, Reuters and CNN, the abuse included sexual assault, electric shocks, pouring water over a towel placed over the face, suffocation, severe beatings and threats of rape.

The Mobile Justice Team, a team of international lawyers investigating alleged war crimes, analyzed 320 cases of detention in the war-torn city of Kherson in more than 35 detention centers. At least 43% of these victims reported torture.

"The pattern we are observing is consistent with a cynical and calculated plan to humiliate and terrorize millions of Ukrainian citizens into submission to the Kremlin's dictates," said Wayne Jordash, who heads the Mobile Justice Team.

The Mobile Justice Team is one component of the Violent Crime Advisory Group, which is funded by the Department of State, the European Union and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

Kherson, once home to more than 280,000 people, was the first major city captured by Russian forces during Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. After months of Russian occupation, the southeastern city was liberated in November by Ukrainian forces, reopening Kherson to international humanitarian and investigative teams.

In March, the Mobile Justice Team reported that at least 20 torture sites in Kherson were directly funded by the Kremlin and operated by various Russian security agencies, including Russia's Federal Security Services, known as the FSB, the successor to the KGB.

The Kremlin has previously denied its forces committed war crimes or deliberately targeted civilians. The Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on the leaked report.

Military, ex-military, law enforcement officials, volunteers, activists, community leaders, medical workers and teachers were among the prisoners held at the Russian-run torture centers in Kherson.

"What we are witnessing in Kherson is just the tip of the iceberg in Putin's barbaric plan to exterminate the entire population," said Anna Mykytenko, senior legal counsel for Global Rights Compliance.

"The true scale of Russia's war crimes remains unknown, but what we can say for sure is that the psychological effects of these brutal crimes on the Ukrainian people will be ingrained in their minds for years to come," Mykytenko added.

Novinite is still the only Bulgarian media that publishes a summary of events and highlights related to the conflict, every single day. Our coverage began on day one - 24.02.2022 and will not stop until the war has concluded. Despite the pressure, our independent media will continue to provide its readers with accurate and up-to-date information. Thank you for your support! #stayinformed

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Tags: Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv, odesa

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