From Strategic Stability

Report # 105. Kiev destroys huge areas of grain field crops in Donbass

July 19, 2022

1. Humanitarian situation

On one hand, Russia, and other members of the Russian Federation as well as DPR, LPR, pay specific attention to improvement of the humanitarian situation in DPR and LPR, and many areas in Ukraine. Unfortunately, on the other, Kiev disregards humanitarian issue in many respects.

Russian MoD continues to record numerous facts of criminal actions by Kiev regime against civilians, as well as the use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes by Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU):

a) in Kharkov, AFU units are stationed on the territory of school No 8 (Saltovskoye Highway) artillery and MLRS positions have been deployed, without intentionally evacuating local residents from nearby houses;

b) in Pavlograd, Dnepropetrovsk Region, a nationalist stronghold has been deployed in school No 6 (Heroes of Ukraine Street), with ammunition depots in the basement;

c) in Dobropol’e, Donetsk People’s Republic, soldiers of Ukrainian armed formations have equipped strongholds and ammunition depots on the lower and upper floors of apartment buildings (Solnechnyi Quarter Street); they have placed MLRS and armoured vehicles in yards; residents are not allowed to leave their flats; people are actually used by nationalists as human shield.

Furthermore, despite the threat of a food crisis and disregarding the well-being of their own people, the Kiev authorities are carrying out further provocations at agricultural facilities to accuse the Russian military of allegedly indiscriminate strikes against civilian targets and threatening Ukraine’s food security:

a) in Kalinovka, Bakhmut district of Donetsk People’s Republic, neo-Nazis have deployed artillery and MLRS at a grain storage facility, from which they systematically shell positions of the Russian Armed Forces, provoking them to return fire;

b) in Zaporozhye, Nikolaev, Kharkov and Kherson regions, AFU servicemen together with fighters from nationalist battalions are purposefully torching fields with crops using helicopters and artillery. According to official data collected in Donbass, Kiev artificially creating the issue of ‘Ukrainian grain blocked for export’, set fire on huge areas of grain vegetation in the areas belonging to Donbass. 200,000 tonnes of grain belonging to Donbass have been deliberately burned by AFU. Ukrainian hypocrisy and barbarism.

These and other similar provocations by the Ukrainian authorities are taking place against a backdrop of ongoing hysteria by so called civilised West and their false accusations against the Russian Federation of artificially creating a food crisis in the world. Russian MoD warned in advance that fabricated material about alleged “Russian atrocities” is soon to be spread widely through the Western and Ukrainian media.

Such actions by Kiev once again demonstrate an inhuman attitude towards the fate of the Ukrainian citizens and show a complete disregard for all norms of morality and international humanitarian law.

Despite Russian repeated statements, these and other such facts, which flagrantly violate international humanitarian law, continue to go unheeded by the international community and international organisations.

Russia once again called on the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organizations to stop turning a blind eye to the blatant crimes committed by Kiev authorities against their own people, to influence official Kiev and to take effective measures to prevent AFU from using civilian and medical infrastructure for military purposes.

2. Navigation in the Black Sea is still blocked by Kiev

Still 70 foreign vessels from 16 countries remain blocked by Kiev in six Ukrainian sea ports, namely in Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhniy in northern part of the Black Sea.

These figures have not changed since May 25^th, 2022 (see Report # 69).

The threat of shelling and high mine danger posed by official Kiev prevents vessels from entering the high seas unhindered.

As a result of the measures taken by the Russian Navy, the mine threat in the waters of the port of Mariupol has been eliminated and measures are being taken to restore the port infrastructure.

The Russian Armed Forces have created conditions for the operation of two maritime humanitarian corridors, which are safe lanes for ships:

a) in the Black Sea – to leave Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhnyi ports in a south-westerly direction from Ukraine’s territorial sea, 139 miles long and 3 miles wide;

b) in the Sea of Azov, to leave Mariupol port 115 miles long and 2 miles wide towards the Black Sea.

Detailed information in English and Russian on the modus operandi of the maritime humanitarian corridor is broadcast daily every 15 minutes on VHF radio on 14 and 16 international channels in English and Russian.

At the same time, the Kiev authorities continue to avoid engaging with representatives of states and ship-owning companies to resolve the issue of ensuring the safe passage of foreign vessels to the assembly area. The danger to navigation from Ukrainian mines activated by Kiev drifting off their anchors along the coasts of Black Sea states remains.

3. Situation on the battlefields

Kiev failed to regain control over any territory captured by the Allied Armed Forces (Russian, and DPR/LPR troops). They are constantly moving forward. One of obvious result is that Ukrainian intensity of shelling of populated areas in Donbass reduced, but has not stopped completely.

According to official data from the DPR JCCC, since the beginning of the Special Military Operation (SMO) on July 19, 1,211 civilians, including 93 children, have received injuries of various degrees on the territory within the borders before the beginning of the SMO. On the territory liberated during the operation, 1,495 civilians were injured, including 83 children.

5,628 residential buildings, 1,245 civil infrastructure facilities, 73 medical institutions, 242 educational institutions, 461 social security facilities, 32 critical infrastructure facilities, 436 electricity, water and gas supply facilities, 677 vehicles were damaged.

During the 153 days of escalation of the DPR JCCC, 6,153 facts of firing were recorded, including 5,824 with the use of heavy weapons. In total, the enemy fired 51,364 ammunition of various calibers, including 31 missiles from the Tochka-U ballistic missiles system, 14 missiles of the BM-30 Smerch MLRS, 152 MLRS missiles BM-27 “Uragan” and 9028 MLRS missiles BM-21 “Grad”.

At the same time high-precision weapons of the Russian Aerospace Forces have neutralized temporary deployment point of the Right Sector Nazi militia in Kamyshevakha, Zaporozhye Region. Up to 200 militants have been killed.

High-precision weapons have hit positions of battalion of 81st Airmobile Brigade of AFU near Dolina, Donetsk People’s Republic. More than 60 personnel have been destroyed, as well as 7 armoured vehicles and 1 ammunition depot.

In addition, a high-precision weapons strike have destroyed ammunition depots for weapons supplied by the US and European countries near Belen’koye, Odessa Region.

To replenish the significant losses in personnel and equipment incurred by 66th and 72nd mechanized, 58th motorized infantry and 10th Mountain Assault Brigades of AFU operating in the Soledar direction, the forced mobilization of residents of Artemovsk, Chasov Yar, Soledar, Dzerzhinsk and other nearby settlements is under way. Vehicles are seized from local residents to equip the formations.

Within 24 hours, 4 platoons of Grad multiple-launch rocket systems, 13 artillery platoons of D-20 howitzers and 9 artillery platoons of D-30 guns have been neutralized in Seversk, Serebryanka, Dronovka, Opytnoye, Krasnoye, Zvanovka, Ivano-Dar’evka, Paraskovievka and Ivangrad, Donetsk People’s Republic.

Operational-tactical and army aviation, missile troops and artillery have neutralized 7 command posts, including 81st Aero-mobile Brigade near Kramatorsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, 60th Infantry Brigade near Kirovo, 128th Mountain Assault Brigade near Vozdvizhevka, Zaporozhye Region, 5 ammunition depots in Vasyukovka, Velyka Novoselka, Donetsk People’s Republic, Novoaleksandrovka, Zaporozhye region, Pokrovskoye, Dnepropetrovsk Region, 2 fuel depots near Soledar and Novgorodskoye, DPR, as well as 197 areas of AFU manpower and military equipment concentration.

Russian air defence means have shot down 1 Mi-24 helicopter of Ukrainian air force near Pokrovskoye, DPR, and 4 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles near Peschanoye, Petropavlovka, Topolskoye and Izyum, Kharkov Region.

In addition, 4 Tochka-U ballistic missiles and 5 rockets of Uragan multiple-launch rocket system have been intercepted near Skadovsk and Novaya Kakhovka, Kherson Region and Chervonyi Oskol and Topolskoye, Kharkov Region.

In total since February 24th, 257 Ukrainian airplanes and 143 helicopters, 1,568 unmanned aerial vehicles, 356 anti-aircraft missile systems, 4,106 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 759 multiple launch rocket systems, 3,160 field artillery and mortars, as well as 4,392 special military vehicles were destroyed during the Special Military