(English) Ukraine on Fire, July 31
- vvdavyd
- Jul 31, 2024
- 2 min read
Russian Army manpower losses as of July 31: 578, 120
Children killed (according to the Prosecutor General Office of Ukraine): 561
Azov soldier Oleksandr Ishchenko dies in Russian captivity
Azov Brigade soldier Oleksandr Ishchenko has died in Russian captivity, Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on July 31. The cause of his death is not yet currently known. Ishchenko was 55-years-old and a native of Mariupol. He joined the Azov Brigade as a driver shortly after the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Ukraine's Air Force downs missile and all 89 attack drones overnight
Russian forces attacked Ukraine with a Kh-59 guided missile and 89 Shahed attack UAVs on the night of 30-31 July, and all air targets were destroyed by Ukrainian air defense. It was the most large-scale attack on Kyiv since the beginning of 2024, with an air-raid warning in the capital lasting more than seven hours and air defense units destroying more than 40 drones.
Ukrainian drone downs Russian Mi-8 helicopter in first such attack
Multiple Russian pro-war Telegram channels report that a Russian Mi-8 helicopter was shot down over Russian-occupied Donetsk. Some sources claim Ukrainian forces used a drone for the first time in such an attack.
Russia forcibly holding children from Luhansk Oblast in military camp near training ground in Novosibirsk
The Russians took children from the occupied settlement of Bilovodsk in Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast to a military camp in Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia. The schoolchildren, aged 11 to 17, are being coerced into military training in the tent city, which the Russians call the Young Army Camp.
Ukraine able to produce over 3 million drones a year, ministry says
Ukraine has the production capacity to produce more than 3 million drones a year, but requires financing from foreign partners, Deputy Strategic Industries Minister Hanna Hvozdiar said on July 30. Drones have been a key tool in Ukraine's defense against Russia's war. Ukraine officially presented its Unmanned Systems Forces in June, after President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree in February ordering the creation of a separate branch of the armed forces tasked with improving drone operations.
Comments