“Attempts by Hungary and Slovakia to enlist the EU in their latest dispute with Ukraine failed yesterday. The European Commission has stalled their request to urge Kyiv to drop recent sanctions on Russian oil company Lukoil, write Andy Bounds and Alice Hancock.
Context: Hungary and Slovakia were granted exemptions to an EU-wide ban on Russian oil imports following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But Kyiv’s recent decision to stop the transit of Lukoil products from Russia through the Druzhba pipeline could reduce supplies, the two countries say.
The pair wrote to the European Commission, which handles EU trade policy, asking it to open consultations under its trade deal with Ukraine.
But Valdis Dombrovskis, EU trade commissioner, told the Financial Times Brussels would need more time to gather evidence and assess the legal situation.
At a meeting of trade officials from member states yesterday, 11 countries intervened to support his view, and none took the side of Budapest and Bratislava, three diplomats told the FT.
One said the Ukraine trade agreement included a security clause that might allow the disruption of supplies.
The timing of the plea is particularly ironic, given Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has deeply irritated most of his EU partners and the commission in recent weeks by unilaterally lobbying for a Ukraine peace plan in visits to Russia and China, without the endorsement of Brussels.
Kyiv insists the same amount of oil is flowing through the pipeline as before, thanks to other Russian companies.
Russian oil makes up 35-40 per cent of inputs at Slovakia’s only refinery. Products made from that oil are also exported to Ukraine itself and the Czech Republic under another exemption granted until December 5.
If Slovakia is unable to import from Russia “the impact would be huge”, an EU diplomat said.
Slovak President Peter Pellegrini said he would be “forced to react” if Ukraine did not shift its stance on Lukoil. Pellegrini added that Slovakia was helping Ukraine with gas reserves and electricity supplies.
Spokespeople for Hungary declined to comment. Lukoil supplies which pass through Ukraine account for around 25-30 per cent of the country’s oil imports.”
It is my understanding that a lot of RUssian bigwigs invested-in/stole prime Crimean vacation property. Also a lot of elderly Russian pensioners moved to this warmer climate. I’m sure all these Russian investers/residents are begging the Russian government to protect them. Many will want to flee Crimea if things get a lot worse, and protecting access to and behavior at the Kersh Bridge will be critical in that case, especially as that last of 3 big ferries is now badly damaged.
Russia no longer is able to bring in large military objects since the rail bridge was weakened by the burning oil train set afire by the major truck bombing some time ago exploding on the auto traffic bridge. I doubt that Ukraine wants to destroy the bridge so long as it cannot be used for major military assistance. They just want all the Russians who invaded Crimea after 2014 to pack their cars and drive back to Russia. Of course if there is a major attack on Crimea there will be a mad rush for the bridge. Order will need to be maintained, so it makes sense for a lot of Russian military to be nearby. Naturally, they will also have the first chance to escape if Ukraine forces close in on them.
It might be useful to keep watch on the Russian end of the Kersh Bridge to see if Russia is preparing sites to temporarily house and process masses of Crimea refugees.
It is my understanding that a lot of RUssian bigwigs invested-in/stole prime Crimean vacation property. Also a lot of elderly Russian pensioners moved to this warmer climate. I’m sure all these Russian investers/residents are begging the Russian government to protect them. Many will want to flee Crimea if things get a lot worse, and protecting access to and behavior at the Kersh Bridge will be critical in that case, especially as that last of 3 big ferries is now badly damaged.
Russia no longer is able to bring in large military objects since the rail bridge was weakened by the burning oil train set afire by the major truck bombing some time ago exploding on the auto traffic bridge. I doubt that Ukraine wants to destroy the bridge so long as it cannot be used for major military assistance. They just want all the Russians who invaded Crimea after 2014 to pack their cars and drive back to Russia. Of course if there is a major attack on Crimea there will be a mad rush for the bridge. Order will need to be maintained, so it makes sense for a lot of Russian military to be nearby. Naturally, they will also have the first chance to escape if Ukraine forces close in on them.
It might be useful to keep watch on the Russian end of the Kersh Bridge to see if Russia is preparing sites to temporarily house and process masses of Crimea refugees.
Reporting From Ukraine:
https://www.youtube.com/@RFU/videos
Reporting From Ukraine Uncensored Combat Footage (from this and past Reports) is found on Telegram:
https://t.me/RFUEnglish or @RFUEnglish
[ You need to have the Telegram app to view. ]
The complete transcript.
—
[ Russians Kill Themselves Hearing The Sound. Ukrainian Drones Became Even Deadlier ]
—
Today [ July 31 ], there are a lot of updates from the Pokrovsk direction.
Here, Russian forces have kept up a consistent, but slow advance while Ukrainians are managing a fighting withdrawal against overwhelming odds.
The goal of the Russian forces here is twofold.
First of all, Russians are trying to cut off the Ukrainian Kostyantynivka-Pokrovsk highway, splitting Ukrainian forces in two.
The second is to take control over the city of Pokrovsk itself.
To accomplish this, Russians need to first fully secure their salient by pushing Ukrainians to the Vovcha River. This would remove the threat of Ukrainian counterattacks and secure their logistic routes against Ukrainian drone activity.
Russians have moved a considerable number of brigades to the region to give themselves an overwhelming manpower advantage. This has allowed Russians to keep up a creeping advance, as Ukrainian doctrine continues to value saving soldiers’ lives over holding on to lost positions.
As Ukrainians cannot contend with the Russian manpower advantage straight on, Ukrainian forces in the region have adopted several tactics to slow the Russian process significantly.
Firstly, Ukrainians conduct regular counterattacks and raids on Russian positions with armored vehicles and deploy assault groups where Russians are vulnerable. Geolocated footage shows one Ukrainian Bradley driving up and firing on a Russian position to undermine the Russian advance toward the river.
Another video shows how two Bradley infantry fighting vehicles fire into a Russian tree line to undermine Russian attacks on one of the settlements. The footage also shows how, after the Bradleys laid into the Russian trenches with automatic cannons, two Ukrainian assault groups deployed to clear the trenches further and cut off the Russian advancement.
Secondly, Ukrainians mine the approaches to their positions with anti-infantry and anti-tank mines, as shown by this Russian mechanized attack being cut short when the lead vehicle drives over a mine and detonates.
Thirdly, Ukrainians target Russian forces with FPV drones and heavy-duty Vampire drones, not only along the contact line, but over the entire Russian salient. Ukrainian Vampire hexacopter drones destroy buildings Russians are sheltering in with heavy explosives, or by carpet bombing them with individual mortar rounds.
Ukrainian FPV drones fly around and target Russian infantry and shelters, as well as supply trucks and vehicles deeper into the salient, heavily disrupting the Russian ability to launch attacks and sustain prolonged assault operations.
The problem of Ukrainian FPVs is so extensive for Russian forces that one Ukrainian drone captured a Russian soldier, choosing to end his own life, as soon as he heard a Ukrainian drone fly over his head, without even attempting to run or otherwise putting up a fight.
The main defensive line that Ukrainians were making a fighting withdrawal to stood firmly behind the Vovcha River, with fortified positions on the hills overlooking any Russian crossing point. The only weak spot in this Ukrainian defense line was the small settlement of Prohres.
One reason for this was the railway line running by the settlement. Defending this railway line is more difficult for Ukrainians, as Russians do not have to make a risky crossing through any open fields and can move through cover toward the Ukrainian positions.
Secondly, if we look at the topographic map, we can see that Russians would also be moving over the hill ridges, denying Ukrainians the high-ground advantage. Russians understood this and launched a massive two-pronged assault on Prohres along the railway line and from Novooleksandrivka from the north.
While initially being able to hold the Russians at bay, Ukrainian defense eventually relented under the intense pressure. Through this Russians managed to encircle a number of soldiers of the 31st Mechanized Brigade in a strong fortification meant to provide fire control over the railway line.
While senior commanders were slow to act, the junior officers of the battalions took quick action as they knew that every second counted. With the help of coordinated actions by artillery drones and adjacent forces, the encircled soldiers were able to break out of the encirclement intact, before the Russians had a chance to attack.
As a less fortunate result of this, the Ukrainian 47th Mechanized Brigade sent to counterattack Russians in progress, had to be redirected to help the encircled soldiers break out, abandoning progress in the process as Russian forces flooded the settlement with vast amounts of infantry.
Simultaneously, after 2 and a half weeks of delaying and damaging Russian forces in Novoselivka-Persha, Ukrainians withdrew and surrendered control over the settlement to the Russians. This was the best move for Ukrainians as defending the River line would be much more cost effective especially with the looming battle for Zhelanne approaching.
Overall, the Ukrainian focus on saving lives rather than holding ground has led to the temporary reality of a fighting withdrawal. Superior Ukrainian training and effective counter measures have proven highly effective, but the overwhelming Russian numbers make it difficult to hold the line continuously.
To compensate Ukrainians are actively targeting Russian manpower equipment and logistics all over the exposed salient with a vast number of FPVs and vampire drones wreaking havoc on the Russian offensive efforts.