UKRAINE WAR BRIEF DAILY DRAFT

For: 2024-07-24

Jul 24, 2024

Slava Ukraini! In early 2022 I began a Telegram channel aggregating news from a number of sources daily on the war in Ukraine. Since June 2023 I have provided a daily draft for the Ukraine War Brief Podcast collecting news from over 60 sources daily, much of which forms the basis of the script. While the Podcast is on hiatus I will make this Draft available here both on my own Substack and The People’s Media for those who wish to keep up with events on a daily basis.

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ALONG THE CONTACT LINE

GSAFU Morning Report

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in its Operational Information update at 22:00 on July 23 stated that day 881 of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation against Ukraine was about to begin.

During the past day, 99 combat engagements took place. Over the past 24 hours, the enemy carried out 2 missile strikes, 32 air strikes, 498 drone strikes and 2,462 artillery strikes across the positions of Ukrainian forces.

At the same time, Ukrainian soldiers continue to inflict losses in manpower and equipment on the occupying troops, exhausting the enemy along the entire front line and continue to disrupt the plans of Russian occupiers to advance deep into the territory of Ukraine.

Air Force Daily Report

On the night of July 24, 2024, the Russian occupiers struck the Kharkiv region with an Iskander-M ballistic missile and a missile whose type is being determined (from the Belgorod region - Russian Federation). Also, the enemy attacked the south of the country with attack UAVs of the "Shahed" type from Primorsko-Akhtarsk - Russian Federation. and occupied Crimea.

A total of 23 enemy attack UAVs were detected and escorted by the radio engineering troops. Units of mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, anti-aircraft missile units and EW of the Air Force repelled the air attack. As a result of anti-aircraft combat, 17 enemy UAVs were shot down. Most of them are in Odesa.

During the past day and the current day, the Defense Forces of Ukraine have destroyed at least 8 reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles of the enemy in different directions: 4 - "Zala", 2 - "Supercam", 2 - "Orlan-10".

The Khortytsia operational-strategic group

(Responsible for the northeastern part of Ukraine. )

Kharkiv axis: There were 11 Russian attacks near Hlyboke and Vovchansk and Tyke

Grumpy Here - It should be noted that there are reportedly more than 2000 Russian soldiers trapped in the Vovchansk Pocket (seen below), cut off from ammunition, food and water. Ukrainian troops tighten the noose daily.

Kupyansk axis: The enemy tried to advance 3 times against Ukrainian positions near Pischane, Stelmakhivka and Andriivka. The situation is under control.

Lyman axis: Russian troops attacked Ukrainian defenders 11 times in the areas of Makiivka and Nevske

Siversk axis: Russian forces carried out 8 assaults in the vicinity of Vyimka and Pereizne

Kramatorsk axis: In the Chasiv Yar sector Russian forces attacked 7 times in the area of Chasiv Yar and Andriivka. 2 attacks are continuing.

Toretsk axis: There have been 12 Russian attacks in this sector over that last day, All the efforts of the enemy were repulsed.

The Tavria operational-strategic group

(Responsible for the central-eastern and southeastern part of Ukraine.)

Pokrovsk axis: The greatest activity over the past day was in this sector. The enemy conducted 33 attacks against Ukrainian defences in this area over the last day in the vicinity of Panteleimonivka, Novooleksandrivka, Prohes and Novoselivka Persha. 24 were repelled and 9 attacks are ongoing.

Kurakhove axis: The enemy 8 times attacked our positions near Krasnohorivka and Kostiantynivka, 6 were unsuccessful, 2 are ongoing.

Vremivka axis: The situation in this sector has not experienced any significant changes.

Orikhiv axis: The situation in this sector has not experienced any significant changes.

The Odesa operational-strategic group

(Responsible for Kherson, Qırım, (also known as Crimea) and the Black Sea.)

Prydniprovsk axis: The situation in this sector has not experienced any significant changes.

TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

Nothing to report.

THE HOME FRONT

Zelenskyy: Ukraine will soon have the ability to use its own missiles against Russian targets

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine is nearing the capability to deploy its own missiles and is working towards maximum defence independence.

In his evening address, Zelenskyy said, “Our missile program has good dynamics, and although it’s a difficult task, we are gradually approaching the ability to use our missiles, not just relying on missiles supplied by partners.”

The president emphasised the importance of this development, saying, “Ukraine should eventually achieve maximum defence independence – such states always find effective allies more easily and realise their interests.”

Zelenskyy reported on a military leadership meeting, where he heard reports from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and Chief of the General Staff Anatoliy Barhylevych regarding the front-line situation and Russian military intentions.

“Our task is to ensure constant effective damage to Russian troops, their logistics, their significant positions not only on the front line but also throughout the available depth,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Ukraine is working with partners to increase its range capabilities.

President Zelenskyy also highlighted Ukraine’s progress in drone technology, saying, “Ukrainian soldiers have already proven to be real innovators in many areas of drone application…Ukrainian leadership in this technological aspect is noticeable.”

The military leadership meeting also analysed the Armed Forces’ electronic warfare capabilities and discussed Ukraine’s missile program.

Powerful explosions rock Kharkiv, mayor reports 5 strikes and large fire

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov and Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration reported Russia attacked the city of Kharkiv five times on 24 July.

Ihor Terekhov reported that the missiles attacked an infrastructure facility. A large fire broke out at the site of the hit. Information on casualties and damage is being updated.

In the afternoon of July 24 Mayor Terekhov reported the fifth strike on the city since the beginning of the day, and it once again targeted the industrial area later it was confirmed a Russian missile attack damaged the office of Swiss (Foundation) for Mine Action, a Switzerland-based NGO focused on demining.

Also on July 24, a Russian missile attack against the town of Lozova killed one person, injured four, and damaged an infrastructure facility. Search for two more people who may be trapped underneath the rubble is ongoing, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Two men aged 41 and 18 were also reportedly injured in a Russian drone attack against the Lisne village in the morning.

RUSSIAN WORLD

UK Intel - Ukraine destroys huge ammunition dump in Russia

The UK Ministry of Defence in their July 24 Intelligence Update on Ukraine posted its analysis of the results of Ukraine's strike on a Russian ammunition depot in Sergeevka Russia's Voronezh Oblast that took place on July 7

Open source reporting highlights that on July 07 Ukrainian forces conducted a drone strike against a Russian weapons depot in Sergeevka, Voronezh Oblast. This attack resulted in the near total destruction of ammunition and equipment stored in open bermed areas as well as buildings located at the facility.
This is a significant loss at a depot that reportedly covered approximately 9 square kilometres. The depot was highly likely storing a mixture of surface-to-surface munitions as well as small arms to be used by personnel on the frontlines. This will further stretch Russia's already struggling logistics chains and force more dispersals due to the continued threat of Ukrainian strikes.
This incident further highlights Russia’s continued inability to protect key locations in an area that boasts a densely layered air defence posture, some 80km from the border. Such shortcomings will almost certainly see further losses to other well-planned Ukrainian Stikes
Russia can ill afford such losses considering the attritional warfare strategy it has adopted, which shows little regard for the lives of its soldiers. This approach requires huge amounts of ammunition. Russia is now relying on its limited foreign partners for this supply due to its own defence industry struggling to meet the frontline demand.

Grumpy here - I cannot stress the importance of this issue enough. One can legitimately look at this analysis in incredulity and wonder why Russian’s would stack 9 square kilometres of vital ammunition in one place, and the answer is quite simple. Russia has done nothing to modernise their logistics since World War II.

They are heavily dependent on rail transport and do not even employ the use of pallets. Moving and storing anything in bulk is extremely labour intensive. Everything must be unloaded from rail cars by hand, loaded onto trucks by hand. Transported to the storage facility and then once more unloaded by hand.

From there it has to be again loaded onto a truck taken to another ammunition dump, closer to the front and unloaded from the truck by hand again. Then it has to be distributed to individual units at the front, usually by loading it aboard smaller vehicles which would then be unloaded just behind the line for distribution.

Russian officer blown up in Moscow

A car belonging to a senior Russian military satellite communications officer exploded in Moscow on Wednesday, severely injuring him and a passenger.

The ASTRA news agency reports that Andrei Torgashov, deputy head of a military satellite communications centre, was in his Toyota Land Cruiser when it exploded in northern Moscow.

The incident took place near Torgashov’s residence. He is reportedly the deputy chief of military unit 33790, which open-source data identifies as the 89th Satellite Communications Center of the Russian Armed Forces.

The cause of the explosion remains unclear. Local residents suggested the vehicle may have been equipped with gas equipment, but this information has not been confirmed.

Another Russian media outlet, BAZA, claims Torgashov is an officer of the GRU (Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. i.e. - Military Intelligence). However, other sources have not corroborated this information.

NEWS WORLDWIDE

Congress says White House should disclose whether Russia sharing US weapons insight with China

A bipartisan U.S. congressional committee urged the White House on Monday to disclose details on whether Russia was sharing insight with China on how to defeat U.S. weapons used on the battlefield in Ukraine. Reuters reports.

In a letter to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan seen by Reuters, the House of Representatives select committee on China warned that Russia's battlefield adaptations that undermine certain U.S. weapon systems are "likely to proliferate" to China, including Russian electronic warfare countermeasures to U.S. precision munitions.

"We should anticipate and indeed operate under the assumption that Russia is passing information about vulnerabilities or counters to American and allied weapons systems to the PRC (People's Republic of China)," the committee's Republican chair John Moolenaar and ranking Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi wrote.

The White House National Security Council did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

The U.S. is Ukraine's biggest supporter and has provided more than $50 billion in military aid since 2022 when the Russian invasion began.

Romania scrambles F-16s during Russian attack near their border.

Romania deployed two F-16 aircraft to monitor the situation during russian drone attack on the south of Ukraine on the night of July 24, according to the Romanian Ministry of National Defense. Defense Express reports.

Romania deployed two F-16 aircraft to monitor the situation during russian drone attack on the south of Ukraine on the night of July 24, according to the Romanian Ministry of National Defense.

“On the night of July 23 to 24, russian forces conducted a new series of drone attacks on targets in Ukraine, near the Romanian border in Tulcea County. In response, the Ministry of Defense has intensified measures to monitor and observe national airspace using the Air Police Combat Service’s forces and resources,” Romanian officers stated.

According to the ministry, at 02:19 Bucharest time, two F-16 aircraft from the 86th Borcea Air Base took off to monitor the air situation. The aircraft returned to base around 04:20.

The department’s leadership has also ordered investigations in the area near Plauru to search for any objects that might have fallen on national territory, with searches set to continue throughout the day.

Hungary to block EU's Ukraine defence funds until Kyiv lifts ban on Lukoil transit

Budapest will continue blocking the disbursement of 6.5 billion euros ($7 billion) from the European Peace Facility (EPF) for Ukraine military aid until Kyiv allows the transit of Russia's Lukoil oil, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on July 23. The Kyiv Independent reports.

Both Hungary and Slovakia said that Ukrainian sanctions effectively halted the oil transit of the Russian Lukoil company to the two countries.

The Slovak leadership also threatened unspecified repercussions against Ukraine, reminding Slovakia's key role as an electricity supplier amid Ukraine's energy deficit caused by Russian strikes.

Oleksiy Chernyshov, head of Ukraine's state-owned energy company Naftogaz, said earlier this week that while the transit of the Lukoil product through Ukraine has ceased, the overall transit volumes have remained stable. He called Bratislava's and Budapest's complaints a "political issue."

"I also made it clear that as long as Ukraine fails to resolve the issue, everyone can forget about the 6.5 billion euros in compensation for arms transfers under the European Peace Facility," Szijjarto said in an interview with the ATV news channel.

Hungary, broadly seen as the most Kremlin-proximate EU member, has repeatedly obstructed aid for Ukraine on account that it "prolongs" and "escalates" the ongoing war. These views have been often echoed in Slovakia since Ukraine-skeptic Prime Minister Robert Fico took office last fall.

The blocking of funds under the EPF predates the dispute over Lukoil supplies. Hungary has been stalling tranches under the program, meant to reimburse members who provided aid to Ukraine, for over a year.

Yermak holds talks with VP Harris' national security advisor

Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak held talks with Phil Gordon, the national security advisor to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Presidential Office said on July 23. The Kyiv Independent reports.

Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president days after incumbent President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed his vice president for the nomination.

Yermak and Gordon spoke about "the situation on the frontline and the increasing number of Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and communities, especially on energy infrastructure," the Presidential Office said in a statement.

Yermak also "emphasised the importance of strengthening Ukraine's air defence with modern Western systems" and "discussed the further support for Ukraine from the U.S., the results of the first peace summit, and the implementation of the peace formula points."

MILITARY & TECH