The current situation in the Eastern regions of Ukraine remains very tense with permanent terrorist and subversive activities of separatists, their continuous armed assaults on the CTO units and Russian militaries’ direct involvement in active hostilities.

For reference: on July 19, the forces of the National Guard of Ukraine were shelled with artillery from the village of Avilo-Uspenka (Russia).

On July 19, the Ukrainian Army units were fired with multiple Launch Rocket Systems BM-21 ("Grad") from the village of Leninskyy (Rostov oblast, Russia).

On July 19, the Ukrainian Army units were shelled with artillery, mortars and 3 multiple Launch Rocket Systems BM-21 ("Grad") from the village of Novaya Nadezhda (Russia).

On July 20, the Ukrainian militaries’ positions near the village of Ilyinka were repeatedly shelled with mortars and artillery from the territory of the Russian Federation.

On July 20, 35 Russian militants were taken captive in the attempted breakthrough from Lysychansk. There are representatives of the Chechen nationality among the captive. Most of the militants are Russian citizens.

On July 21, Ukrainian militaries were shelled with mortars near the villages of Novoazovsk and Kumacheve (Donetsk oblast) from Russian territory.

Around the midnight on July 21, Ukrainian border guards in Luhansk oblast were shelled with more than 40 mortar rounds from the territory of the Russian Federation.

On July 21-22, Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated from the terrorists the cities of Rubizhne, Dzerzhynsk, Soledar, Yuvileynyy, Sievierodonetsk and Popasne. The CTO forces also took control of the key strategic town of Heorhiyika.

On July 22, Ukrainian border checkpoint Dovzhanskyy (Luhansk oblast) was fired with artillery from the territory of the Russian Federation.

On July 22, the forces of the National Guard of Ukraine were shelled near the town of Novoazovsk (Donetsk oblast) from the territory of the Russian Federation.

On July 22, Ukrainian militaries near the village of Dibrivka were shelled with artillery from Russian territory.

On July 22, at 10.10 p.m. the town of Amvrosiyivka was shelled with artillery from the Russian Federation.

On July 22, at 10.40 p.m. Ukrainian border guards saw multiple Launch Rocket System BM-21 ("Grad") firing from Russian territory at the village of Herasymivka.

On July 23, at 2.15 a.m. border checkpoint "Uspenka" was shelled with artillery from Russia.

On July 23, at 3.00 a.m. Ukrainian militaries near the town of Chervonopartyzansk was fired with multiple Launch Rocket System BM-21 ("Grad") from Russia.

During the last day the illegal armed groups fired and shelled the Ukrainian Army units 16 times.

Since the beginning of the CTO, the casualties of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are as follows: 284 military men killed, 954 military men wounded.

 

On July 21, terrorists abducted 9 students from the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the city of Luhansk. According to our information, nearly 396 persons are still held hostage by the terrorists.

 

ØThe most obvious and provocative examples of Russian militaries’ direct involvement in active hostilities are as follows:

1.      On July 14, the An-26 plane of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with 8 military men on board was shot down by the terrorists in the Luhansk oblast. 5 soldiers are rescued, 1 soldier was captured by the militants.

Given the fact that the plane was cruising at altitude of 6500 m, its damaging by MANPADS, used by terrorists, was impossible. Thus, the plane was downed by another, more powerful and sophisticated missile weapon that was supposedly used from the Russian territory.

2.      On July 15, an unidentified plane bombarded the residential areas in the town of Snizhne in the Donetsk oblast. The planes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces didn’t carry out any flights at that moment because of the rescue operation (the An-26 that was downed on July 14).

3.      On July 15, the armored vehicles column (at least 30 units) moved through the “Izvarino” border checkpoint towards the towns of Krasnodon and Luhansk.

4.      On July 16, the Ukrainian border guards discovered the signs of infiltration into the Ukrainian territory by 5 pieces of the military equipment in the Amvrosiyivka border area, most probably by the "Grad" multiple launch rocket systems.

Ukrainian border guards also saw a tractor ploughing the contiguous territory, thus destroying evidence of the illegal crossing of the Ukrainian border by the military equipment from the Russian territory.

5.      On July 16, in the evening a military aircraft of the Russian Armed Forces launched a missile strike at the Ukrainian Su-25 plane near the village of Hryhorivka (25 km from the town of Amvrosiyivka). According to the Ukrainian military intel, it was Russian MiG-29 jet fighter (NATO reporting name - “Fulcrum”) that was used against the Su-25.

6.      On July 17, at 10:00 the "Marinovka" border checkpoint was shelled with rocket artillery from the Russian territory (the village of Repihovatyy, Rostov region).

7.      Ukrainian militaries’ positions were shelled from the village of Kuybyshevo, Russia.

8.      On July 17, at 4:00 p.m. the terrorists shelled the territory of the Russian Federation from the villages of Marynivka and Dmytrivka. The Russian Armed Forces returned fire on the Ukrainian militaries’ positions.

9.      On July 17, the militaries wearing the uniform of the Russian Armed Forces without any relevant insignia among the terrorists were witnessed near the village of Izvarine.

10.  On July 18, at 2.30 a.m. 2 "Buk" SAM systems were moved from the town of Severny (Luhansk oblast) to the town of Donetsk (Rostov oblast, Russia). At 4:00 p.m. two movers: one of them carrying a “Buk” missile launcher and the other allegedly with a control unit crossed the state border.

11.  On July 18, at 8.00 a.m. the column of military equipment moved through a so-called "humanitarian corridor" in the direction from the town of Donetsk (Russia) to the village of Bilenke (Ukraine).

12.  On July 18, terrorists transported a "Buk" SAM system from the town of Snizhne towards the village of Dmytrivka.

13.  On July 22, near the village of Shevchenko 14 units of multiple Launch Rocket Systems BM-21 ("Grad") penetrated into Ukraine from the Russian Federation. The military equipment performed volley towards the border checkpoint Dovzhanskyy and after that left for Russian territory.

ØRussia still concentrates its troops and heavy weaponry near the border. The number of provocations on the border has significantly increased. We constantly record the violations of the Ukrainian airspace by Russian helicopters and drones (UAVs).

For reference: on July 16, the Russian UAVs carried out aerial reconnaissance in the northern part of the Luhansk oblast. On July 17, at 11.20 a.m. Ukrainian border guards near the village of Illinka (Luhansk oblast) saw 4 Russian helicopters (2 Mi-8 and 2 Mi-24) flying over the territory of Ukraine. On July 18, at 6.35 a.m. 3 Russian helicopters violated the Ukrainian airspace near the village of Oleksandrivka (Luhansk oblast). On July 21, at 11.05 p.m. 2 Russian helicopters violated the Ukrainian airspace in the area of the border guard division “Krasna Talivka”, Luhansk oblast.

On July 22, late in the evening Russian helicopter KA-52 at least for 2 times violated Ukrainian airspace.

ØThe Russians continue the infiltration of militants and inflow of arms and heavy weaponry. Every day there are usually several attempts by the columns of Russian heavy weaponry and militants to break into the territory of Ukraine. We have the documentary evidence of these facts.

For reference On July 20, Russian militants and the column of military equipment tried to penetrate into the Ukrainian territory from Russia through the border checkpoint "Izvaryne" (Luhansk oblast). Ukrainian militaries shelled the column with artillery, but several tanks and trucks managed to cross the border.

Ø  Ukraine calls on the international community to recognize self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics terrorist organizations.

ØThe Ukrainian Government exerts every effort to resume the regular work of all public utilities in the liberated areas as soon as possible.

For reference: so far, in the town of Sloviansk Ukrainian sappers neutralized nearly 4844 explosive devices; electricity supply has been restored for the 96% of the population, water supply – for more than 70 % of the population.

The total number of Ukrainian citizens who left the CTO area and moved to other regions is 50 000 people, including more than 15 000 children.