153rd day of fighting: the main thing

Ministry of Defense: a coordination center for the export of grain has been launched in Turkey More than 100 families of the missing military in Ukraine appealed to Putin dead Moldova fears involvement in the conflict British intelligence: there were no military facilities in the port in Odessa

• The Russian Defense Ministry reported that, in accordance with the agreement on the export of grain, a joint coordination center began to work in Istanbul. From Russia, a group of experts will work in it, which has already gone to Turkey. The work will take place in a quadripartite format.

An agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea ports was signed by Russia, Turkey and the UN, as well as Ukraine, Turkey and the UN on July 22. The document assumes a truce at sea: merchant ships cannot be attacked. Turkey will check them for the presence of weapons: Russia was afraid that Ukraine would transport them on ships.

However, after the attack on Nikolaev and Odessa on Saturday, Russia is not trusted that all the terms of the agreement will be observed by it, writes Reuters. The Russian side said that the agreement does not imply the termination of the "special operation", which means that it is possible to attack the military infrastructure. The White House promised to monitor the situation with grain.

• Radio Liberty * reported that more than 100 families of military men who disappeared in Ukraine turned to Vladimir Putin. Families are from different regions of Russia. They sent a letter through Putin's reception.

They demand to find their relatives, to add them to the lists of prisoners of war who are missing. Now they are not being looked for, the relatives added, since they are not in the register of the missing. Families are given conflicting information, and all the facts about them have to be found on their own.

• The LPR said they took control of the Uglegorsk thermal power plant in Svetlodarsk, Donetsk region, writes RIA Novosti . The agency refers to the representative of the LPR Vitaly Kiselyov.

in his Telegram Kiselev himself wrote that the territory of the station was taken by “assault units of the Wagner PMC this morning. Ukraine did not comment on these reports.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has been reporting ongoing fighting in the station area for several days. However, experts believe that this will not bring advantages to Russia on the battlefield.

• "Important stories"** reported the death in Ukraine of at least three prisoners recruited by PMC "Wagner" in the colonies of St. Petersburg. Two more are in the hospital. According to the source, the call signs, not the real names of the convicts, are indicated in the medical documents. The Federal Penitentiary Service called the information rumors, the Ministry of Defense reports that "only contract soldiers participate in the special operation."

“We draw your attention to the fact that only a part of the armed forces of the Russian Federation is involved in the special military operation, the number of which is quite sufficient to fulfill all the tasks set by the Supreme Commander,” the ministry said today.

Lawyer Leonid Krikun believes that this was done in order not to pay compensation to relatives. “If kinship with Ivan Ivanov can be proved, then how can one prove kinship with some Dandelion? Most likely, relatives will not see money for the death of a person, ”he explained.

According to the human rights project Gulagu.net, the recruitment of prisoners continues, not only in St. Petersburg, but also in other regions of Russia. came to some colonies personally Yevgeny Prigozhin . Today, the organization's hotline again received such a message.

“At the moment, right now, in the security department of the FKU IK-5 UFSIN in the Ryazan region (Skopinsky district, the village of Klekotki), polls are being conducted using a polygraph, employees of a related service are preparing prisoners to be sent to war. Later, I’ll unsubscribe, the polygraph examiner arrived and, in order, they call everyone “who wants” for a polygraph, and before that they flew by helicopter, like in Tula, word for word, like in Tula. Please remain anonymous,” the source said today.

• "Mediazona" *** said that Ukraine and Russia exchanged the bodies of the dead. 25 bodies of servicemen returned to Ukraine. The Russian side does not confirm the exchange.
• "Radio Liberty" * said that in Chechnya, stripes "To Kiev" appeared on the uniforms of the security forces. The video received by the editors shows members of the Akhmat Kadyrov Special Purpose Police Regiment. Another source claimed that the OMON units and other security forces had the same innovations in uniform.
• Moldova expresses concern over the threat of Russian invasion, said Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita, writes . BBC

“We are concerned, of course. This is a risk, this is still a hypothetical scenario, but if the fighting moves further into the southwestern part of Ukraine and towards Odessa, then of course we are very worried. If a country starts a war of conquest without any regard for international law, then in this sense, no one is safe, and I think this is alarming in many countries,” she said.

In April 2022, the Ministry of Defense talked about expanding the goals of the “special operation”. Russia sought to control southern Ukraine to provide a land corridor to Crimea, control ports and provide access to Transnistria. In the unrecognized Transnistria, they have repeatedly spoken about plans to hold a referendum on joining Russia.

• British intelligence analyzes the strikes on Odessa after the signing of the agreement on grain. On July 24, 2022, Russian cruise missiles hit the berth of the Odessa port. The Russian Defense Ministry said it struck a Ukrainian warship and a complex of anti-ship missiles. There is no indication that such targets were in the area where the missiles hit.

Russia almost certainly perceives anti-ship missiles as a key threat limiting the effectiveness of the Black Sea Fleet. This significantly undermined the overall plan of battles, since Russia cannot capture Odessa by amphibious assault. Russia will continue to prioritize efforts to weaken and destroy Ukraine's anti-ship capability. However, Russian targeting processes are likely to be regularly undermined by outdated intelligence, poor planning and a top-down approach to operations.

• The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) writes that Russian forces made minor territorial gains south of Bakhmut on 25 July. However, they suffer from the same fundamental limitations that previously prevented them from gaining a quick foothold in offensive operations in the Luhansk region.

Wagner PMC troops have advanced into Novoluganskoye, and Russian and Ukrainian sources note that Russian forces are taking control of the territory of the Uglegorsk station on the northern outskirts of the settlement. Analysts called the exit of Ukrainians from there controlled.

Novoluganskoye is a small town, but Russian troops have been besieging it for weeks. The capture of the Novolugansk and Uglegorsk stations will not create an advantageous position along which Russian troops will be able to move north towards Bakhmut. On the other hand, taking this territory flattens the Ukrainian line of defense, limiting the advantage of Russian forces.

Russian forces have carried out limited ground attacks north of Kharkiv, east of Seversk and east of Bakhmut, and continue to fortify positions in Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in anticipation of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Ukrainian forces continue to strike Russian strongholds on the southern axis. Russian troops are removing military equipment from a warehouse in Omsk and are experiencing problems repairing damaged combat vehicles.

The Ministry of Justice of Russia considers Radio Liberty* and Mediazona*** "foreign agents".

"Important Stories"** are recognized in Russia as "an undesirable organization".