Ukraine reports “massive shelling” killing major grain business

Created: 08/01/2022 05:12

By: Astrid Theil

After the attack on the prison camp in Olenivka, Zelenskyj calls on the UN and the Red Cross to act.

News ticker on military events in the Ukraine war.

• Missiles

  on

  the Black Sea region

  : the Ukrainians accuse Russia of shelling Odessa.

• Black Sea Fleet

  in

  Ukraine War

  : Russian headquarters under fire

• Attack

  on

  prison camps

  : Volodymyr Zelenskyj appeals to the UN and the Red Cross

• Fighting

  in

  Donbass

  : Zelenskyj calls on residents to leave Donetsk

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Update from July 31, 10:55 p.m .:

Volodymyr Zelenskyj condemns the recent Russian shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv (see update from 12:30 p.m.) and at the same time announces a reaction from his army.

"Today one of the most brutal bombing attacks on Mykolaiv and the region took place," said the Ukrainian President in his video speech on Monday night.

At the same time, he emphasized: "No Russian attack remains unanswered by our military and intelligence officers."

Update from July 31, 8:15 p.m .:

Ukraine accuses Russia of attacking the Black Sea region of Odessa with rockets.

The Odessa City Council, citing the Southern Command of the Ukrainian Army, said two Russian Iskander missiles had been shot down from the Crimean peninsula.

According to the Odessa regional administration, the projectiles fell in a quarry.

No information was given about possible victims.

There was initially no official reaction to the allegations from Moscow.

The information could not be independently verified.

Update from July 31, 2 p.m.:

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Navy Day in St. Petersburg that Russia will soon be equipped with new Zircon-type hypersonic missiles.

"Their extradition to the Russian armed forces will begin in the next few months," Putin said on Sunday (July 31).

The Russian Navy is capable of "delivering a devastating counterstrike to anyone who decides to violate our sovereignty and freedom," Putin said.

At the same time, the military material is "constantly perfected".

Zircon missiles have a maximum range of about 1,000 kilometers and belong to a new class of weapons developed by Russia.

Attack on Mykolaiv: Largest Ukrainian entrepreneur in grain trade killed

Update from July 31, 12:30 p.m .:

In the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, one of the most important Ukrainian entrepreneurs in the grain trade was killed along with his wife in a Russian rocket attack.

As the regional governor Vitaly Kim announced via Telegram, the businessman Oleksiy Vadaturskyj and his wife Rajissa died on Sunday night.

The information could not initially be independently verified.

The city's mayor, Olexander Sjenkevych, described the night-time shelling as "probably the strongest of all time" since the outbreak of war.

Three other civilians were injured.

About half of the once nearly 500,000 inhabitants are said to be staying in the city.

Update from July 31, 10:45 a.m .:

The Ukrainian authorities are again reporting attacks on the southern city of Mykolaiv.

This was on Sunday morning "probably stronger than ever" under fire.

This was announced by Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych in the online service Telegram.

A number of residential buildings were damaged in the attacks.

The mayor did not provide any information about injuries or deaths.

The southern regional capital has been attacked almost daily in recent weeks.

The Ukrainian army had recently launched a major counter-offensive in the neighboring Cherson region, which had been conquered by Russia.

Other Ukrainian cities in the south and east of the country, such as Kharkiv and Sloviansk, were also attacked again over the weekend.

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Ukraine-News: Aid organizations push for access to prison camps

Update from July 31, 10:30 a.m .:

The International Red Cross and the United Nations continue to press for access to the inmates of the attacked prison camp in Olenivka.

Deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq said the UN stands ready to send an expert team to investigate.

However, this requires the approval of Russia and Ukraine.

Although both warring parties have invited the international organizations, aid workers have not yet been able to see everyone who was in the camp at the time of the attack.

This was announced by the International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC on Twitter.

The ICRC reminded Ukraine and Russia that the detainees are protected by the Geneva Convention on Human Rights and have the right to humanitarian assistance.

The top priority is therefore to put the supply through to prevent further deaths.

Meanwhile, the Washington think tank Institute for the Study of War emphasizes that it has not yet been possible to say with certainty which war party was responsible for the attack on the prison camp.

But the "available visual evidence seems to support the Ukrainian claim more than the Russian."

Black Sea Fleet in the Ukraine War: Russian headquarters under fire

Update from July 31, 10:15 a.m .:

According to reports from Russian state media, the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol was hit by a drone attack.

Five people were injured.

This is reported by the Tass news agency, citing the governor deployed there by the Russian occupation groups.

The attack is symbolic as today marks the day of the Navy in Russia.

President Vladimir Putin will take part in a parade in St. Petersburg with, among other things, 40 warships.

A celebration was also planned in Sevastopol today, but was canceled after the attack.

Ukraine has denied allegations that it attacked the Russian Black Sea Fleet General Staff in Sevastopol.

The Russian allegations are "a deliberate provocation," said a spokesman for Ukraine's Odessa regional administration.

Attack on prison camps: Volodymyr Zelenskyj appeals to the UN and the Red Cross

First report from July 31:

Olenivka/Donetsk – After the attack on a prisoner of war in eastern Ukraine that left dozens dead, Ukraine called on the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to conduct an investigation.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to both organizations: "You must protect the lives of hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war." Russia is also said to have invited experts from the United Nations and the Red Cross to investigate the circumstances of the attack.

Russia wants an independent investigation, the Reuters news agency said, citing a report from the Russian Defense Ministry.

Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the attack on the Olenivka detention center in eastern Ukraine occupied by pro-Russian separatists.

The information could not be checked independently.

Many fighters from the Ukrainian Azov regiment, which surrendered in May, were in the prison.

According to Selenskyj, more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in the attack on Friday, Moscow spoke of 50 dead and 73 seriously injured on Saturday.

Zelenskyy called the shelling of the detention center a "premeditated mass murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war" and stressed that Russia shot at the prison to cover up the mistreatment of the prisoners.

Azov regiment interim commander Mykyta Nadtochy said in a video message on Saturday that the regiment viewed the attack as a "public execution with impunity by Russia."

Russia, on the other hand, spoke on Friday of hitting Kyiv with US-supplied missiles to deter Ukrainian soldiers from surrendering to Russia. 

Picture taken on July 29: Zelenskyy with armed forces in Odessa region © Ukrainian Presidential Press Off/ZUMA Wire/Imago

Fighting in Donbass: Zelenskyy calls on residents to leave Donetsk

In addition, in view of the massive attacks by the Russian army in the east of the country, Zelenskyy called on people to leave the Donetsk region.

"There are hundreds of thousands of people in Donbass, tens of thousands of children, many refuse to leave," he said.

He urged residents of Donbass to make this decision.

The President complained that many citizens are still not insightful.

"Go ahead, we'll help," he said. 

Previously, the Ukrainian government had ordered a mandatory evacuation on the grounds that the citizens had to get to safety in good time before the start of the heating season, as the gas pipelines had been destroyed by the war in the Donetsk region.

Zelenskyj now emphasized that everything is being organized for people to flee from the areas of the region still controlled by Ukraine.