• Ukrainians advance a few kilometers South: small tactical advantages, awaiting strategic successes.
• In Mariupol, Ukrainian partisans set fire to a Russian military base.
• Another large fire broke out near Moscow.
• Kiev: “500 Ukrainian children killed since the beginning of the war”
08:24 – Kiev: ready to forcibly evacuate 388 children from Donetsk
The authorities in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, are ready to forcibly evacuate 388 children and their parents from the hottest areas of the region, if the latter oppose leaving their homes, the head of the Regional Military Administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko. “As for the remaining children, only the parents make decisions about them. But if we understand that, unfortunately, the parents will not decide (to evacuate), the Regional Commission for Technological and Ecological Safety and Emergency Situations will decide based on the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers to evacuate children with their parents by force . There are 388 such children: in parts of Bakhmut and Kramatorsk districts,” Kyrylenko said. All the children from adoptive families have already been taken to safer regions of the country, he added.
08:03 – Putin in Turkey “in the coming days”: first visit by the Russian president to a NATO member country since the beginning of the war
Ankara has stepped up its diplomatic work and hopes that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be able to visit Turkey in the coming days. The Turkish newspaper Milliyet writes it quoting an “informed source”. Turkish TV channel A Haber reported on Saturday that Turkish and Russian leaders Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin could hold talks in late August or early September, and Erdogan’s visit to Russia is not ruled out.
The date and place of the planned talks between the presidents of Turkey and Russia are still under discussion, the Turkish side is counting on August, a source from the Turkish leader’s administration later told RIA Novosti. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov earlier reported that Putin and Erdogan have agreed to determine the exact place and time of the meeting as soon as possible. Peskov had explained that the topics on the agenda will be bilateral relations, Ukraine and the question of the agreement on the export of wheat from the Black Sea, which Moscow has suspended since 17 July. According to Milliyet, Putin could visit Turkey “in the coming days”; it would be the first visit by the Russian president to a NATO member country since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
07:54 – Three wounded in the Russian raid on Odessa
The toll from the raids conducted by the Russians with drones and missiles against Odessa is three wounded. This was announced by the governor of the region, Oleh Kiper, according to which the fragments of the missiles that fell on the city have caused a series of fires. The Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed to have shot down all 15 Russian drones fired at Odessa and eight Kalibr missiles. Neighboring Mykolaiv was also affected.
07:50 – Explosions heard in Kherson in the morning
Explosions were heard this morning in Kherson: the Ukrainian state broadcaster Suspilne reports it, quoting its correspondents. The explosions follow yesterday’s Russian attacks in the region which killed seven people, including an entire family: a couple and their two 12-year-old sons and a 23-day-old baby girl.
05:57 – Kiev: repulsed three night attacks in Odessa. «Destroyed 15 drones and 8 Caliber missiles»
The Ukrainian Defense Forces repulsed three Russian attacks in Odessa overnight, shooting down 15 drones and 8 Caliber missiles. The southern defense forces themselves reported it on Telegram. Fragments of missiles shot down – they specify – damaged a supermarket and a hostel, and three people were injured. “All attacks were repulsed by the air defense forces.” Firefighters worked hard to put out the fires that broke out in the two affected buildings. In addition, numerous windows were shattered by the blast wave. Some cars parked nearby were also damaged.
04:56 am – Explosions heard in Odessa, air alert in the region
Explosions were heard in Odessa overnight, according to the Ukrainian publication Obshestvennoye. No further details were provided. Klimenko Time has reported on explosions in Odessa earlier. An air alert has also been announced in the region. The Tass also reports it. The air alert had been canceled in eight other regions after about forty minutes.
04:25 am – Zelensky: “We will not leave any crime committed by Russia unanswered”
“Every occupier destroyed, every Russian vehicle burned, the fires in their headquarters and warehouses, the very significant smoke from the Crimean Bridge and more – all of these show that we will not leave any crime committed by Russia unanswered.” This was stated in a video message by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russian artillery killed five people today in the village of Schyroka Balka, Kherson region, including a family of four with a father, mother, a 12-year-old son and a little over three-year-old boy, according to Ukrainian authorities. weeks. The region was bombed 17 times during the day, Zelenskyy said in his speech. According to authorities, a total of seven people were killed and about 15 others injured.
03:50 – Nyt: “Tactically significant progress in the Kiev counter-offensive”
After months of grueling fighting, Ukrainian forces are making significant progress along two main lines of attack. The New York Times writes it citing analysts, Ukrainian officials and Russian military bloggers. While Ukraine hasn’t advanced more than 10 or 12 miles (16-19 kilometers) on either line of attack, its gains are important as it is forcing Moscow to divert forces from other parts of the front line, they say the military analysts quoted by the US newspaper. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, called the advances “tactically significant.”
According to the NYT, the Ukrainians are advancing south along two main lines: through the eastern village of Staromaiorske towards the Russian-occupied city of Berdiansk, and further west towards the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol, a major transport hub near the it costs. Ukrainian forces advanced approximately 16–19 km along both lines from their starting points at the start of the counter-offensive in early June. Kiev’s goal is to reach the Sea of Azov and drive a wedge between Russia and Crimea. However, military analysts warn that Ukrainian forces still face a long, slow and bloody advance against Russian troops positioned behind well-designed and fortified defenses.
03:00 – 500 children killed by bombs in Ukraine: faces, names, stories
(by Lorenzo Cremonesi, sent to Kharkiv) A girl and a boy fly to the sky looking upwards. The little girl has a teddy bear hanging from her right hand which the boy just below her tries to grab. An epitaph can be read on the black marble base: «To the little angels who so quickly suffered the cruelty of men…». People stop, say a prayer in a low voice, take a picture, or just reflect. The authorities inaugurated the monument to the children who died here in Kharkiv two months ago because it is the second largest city in the country and was heavily bombed by the Russians last year. The victims were thousands, among them 77 dead children and almost 250 injured. A figure that is constantly growing for the country. Yesterday the general prosecutor of Kiev recalled that “the dead children are now over 500”. According to the UN, already in June the number of child martyrs was around 540 and 1,050 wounded throughout Ukraine.
02:42 am – Kherson, the number of victims rises: a 12-year-old brother of the deceased newborn also died
The number of dead in the Russian attack on Kherson rises to seven with an entire family exterminated in the village of Shyroka Balka: in addition to the father, mother and 23-day-old baby, the baby’s little brother also died, a 12-year-old who died in hospital after sustained serious injuries. “A whole family died,” Interior Minister Igor Klymenko reported on Telegram, posting images showing the aftermath of the attack, with one photo showing a column of black smoke rising over a house: Also in the region , in the village of Stanislav two men aged 57 and 71 were killed and a woman was injured.
02.15 am – The Ukrainians advance a few kilometers south: small tactical advantages, waiting for strategic successes
(Andrea Marinelli and Guido Olimpio) Volodymyr Zelensky has once again publicly asked the West to send more equipment for demining. Understandable that he does it given the obstacles encountered in the assault precisely because of the mines, strange however that he hasn’t thought of it before. The construction of the defenses by the Russians was evident, told, reported. Not a surprise.
Here the complete military point.
01:49 am – Mariupol, Ukrainian partisans set fire to a Russian military base
Ukrainian partisans allegedly set fire to and destroyed a Russian base in the occupied city of Mariupol. This was stated by Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the exiled mayor of Mariupol. In his Telgram post he states that the base was set on fire this afternoon, without giving any other details. An attached photo shows a column of smoke rising behind a group of trees.
01:34 am – Moscow, a huge fire broke out near the Russian capital
A huge fire has broken out at a warehouse in the city of Ramenskoye in the Moscow region, Russia’s emergency service said on Friday. This was reported by the Tass news agency. “The size of the fire is 1,800 square meters,” adds the agency. According to Ria Novosti, the fire started in a fertilizer warehouse; and videos posted online show thick black smoke and flames, visible from hundreds of meters away.
01:00 – Kiev: “500 Ukrainian children killed since the beginning of the war”
At least 500 children have been killed in Ukraine by Russian forces since the invasion began and nearly 1,100 have been injured, the country’s Attorney General’s Office said on Telegram, Ukrinform reports. More than 1,597 children in Ukraine have suffered from large-scale armed aggression by the Russian Federation. As of the morning of August 13, 2023, according to official information provided by juvenile prosecutors, 500 children have been killed and more than 1,097″ have been injured. Most of the children were affected in the Donetsk region, the statement said.