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Day 147: Ukraine promotes the Kherson direction

At the beginning of July, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, gave an order to concentrate on the de-occupation of the southern regions. The publicly announced order indicated that the plan is either in development or already exists and is being prepared for implementation. Now it has become clear that the Armed Forces are actively working on its implementation.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that they struck the Antonovsky Bridge. Twice. It is located in Kherson. The bridge was not destroyed, but it was seriously damaged; at the moment, Russia has blocked movement on it. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this bridge: it is the southernmost Ukrainian bridge, the next one is several tens of kilometers away. Today, it serves as the basis for the transfer of the Russian army to Kherson and the region.

If Ukraine can destroy it, it will significantly complicate logistics for the Russian army. The only possible artery will be the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station, where traffic jams will occur due to the large accumulation of equipment – military equipment will become an easy target. It is predicted that due to the damage to the Antonovsky Bridge, the same traffic jams from Russian equipment may form there as well: as a result, the Russian army will become more vulnerable to shelling from the Ukrainian side.

This is good news for Kherson, but not the best for the region further south: the wide Dnipro river will slow down the advance of Ukrainian troops, and it is not easy to build a crossing bridge there.

The General Staff does not announce its plans for the de-occupation of the region, but in recent days there have been many scattered reports about a gradual counteroffensive and battles for villages in the Kherson region. In addition, about a dozen warehouses with ammunition have already been destroyed in this area. Intelligence reports that the Russian side is preparing for defense in an intensified mode.

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Airstrike, missile and MRL damage

Kharkiv region:

  • An S-300 missile was launched from the Russian Belgorod region on the territory of the Kharkiv region. Air defense shot it down, the debris fell in the forest.
  • According to the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Russian troops attacked the village of Korobochkyne at 3:00 a.m., after 04:00 they launched a missile strike on Kluhyno-Bashkyrivka. Private households were damaged, fires broke out. Also, as a result of shelling, 2 people were injured in the village of Mospanove, 1 more – in Tsyrkuny.
  • […]

Sumy region:

  • The territory of the community was shelled, 16 explosions were recorded.
  • 6 missiles were fired on the community, private households were damaged, 2 civilians were injured.
  • […]

Zaporizhzhya region:

  • Cluster munitions were used during the shelling of the village.
  • The territory of the village was shelled
  • Russian troops fired more than 20 shells. The buildings of the city executive committee, city council, cultural and sports complex, post office, and residential houses were damaged. A fire emerged, casualties were recorded.
  • […]

Mykolaiv region:

  • At 6:50 a.m. and in the afternoon shelling continued in Shyroke. 7 houses were destroyed and damaged.

From 12:30 p.m. shelling of the villages of Mirnoye, Zarya, Kotlyarovo of the Shevchenkove community was recorded, which resulted in the destruction of residential buildings and fires on the grain fields.

At 3:40 p.m., as a result of the Russian shelling, needle litter and plants were burning in the forest of the Halitsynove community.

From 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. there was shelling of the Lymany village of the Halitsyne community. As a result there was a fire in residential and country houses.

In the village of Bereznehuvate, 8 residential buildings were destroyed due to shelling.

Over the day, 43 people were injured in the region.

Odessa region:

  • Russian troops fired missiles, presumably X-59, from a Su-35 aircraft. One missile was shot down by air defense, the hit of the second one led to a garbage fire in an old warehouse.
  • […]

Chernihiv region:

  • Semenivka community was shelled in the morning. At 6:00 a.m. Snovsk community was shelled as well. Novhorod-Siversyi community was shelled from artillery and 3 more times from MRL.
  • […]

Donetsk region:

  • Russian troops shelled the central part of the town пpresumably with the air-based R-37 missiles. 1 civilian casualty and 5 injured people were reported (1, 2). 10 multi-storty buildings in the town center were damaged.
  • The Russian army shelled the city with 9m55f missiles, houses were destroyed. 2 civilian casualties are known, 2 people were injured.
  • Russian troops launched an air strike on the industrial area of the town.
  • […]

Dnipropetrovsk region:

  • In total, about 40 shells were fired at the city. There were destructions at 2 enterprises, fires broke out. Several private houses and power lines were damaged. During the day a recreation center was shelled.
  • […]

This was the free part of the military brief

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War in Ukraine / July 18