From Russia and Luhansk...

Missiles, and more missiles, biological and chemical weapons accusations, and an ex-Ukrainian city rising...

If you missed them, catch up on the war in Ukraine (and Russia) by reading my articles ‘The Impossible Battle’ and ‘The Battle for Pokrovsk’. Today is about the Russian version of events.

As expected, Russia has retaliated for Ukraine’s incursion. On Monday, there was a massive missile attack that mostly targeted energy facilities. Although smaller, this continued on Tuesday.

Consequently, as it will never make mainstream news, here’s the situation according to the Russian Ministry of Defence, press releases from yesterday and today. Additionally, there’s an interesting accusation that the USA is violating treaties regarding chemical and biological weapons (note that I’ve not confirmed this).

MONDAY

Today in the morning, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation delivered a group strike by long-range air- and sea-based precision weaponry, as well as Operational-Tactical Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, attack unmanned aerial vehicles at the critical power infrastructure of Ukrainian defence industry.

Strikes were delivered at power substations in Kiev, Vinnitsa, Zhitomir, Khmelnitsky, Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Nikolayev, Kirovograd, and Odessa regions.

Compressor stations supporting operations of the Ukrainian gas transportation system were hit in Lvov, Ivano-Frankovsk, and Kharkov regions.

Moreover, strikes were delivered at the depots of aircraft armament supplied to Kiev regime by Western countries at airfield in Kiev and Dnepropetrovsk regions.

All the assigned targets have been destroyed resulting in power outages and disruption of railway transportation of arms and ammunition to the line of contact.

The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has been analysing activities of the United States of America and Ukraine violating international treaties banning chemical and biological weapons.

We have repeatedly noted that Washington retains a strong interest in acquiring biomaterials from citizens of Russia, Ukraine, and other post-Soviet states.

Evidence of large-scale collection and transportation of biomaterials has already been revealed by the Russian Ministry of Defence. The USA and its allies had managed to export at least 16,000 biosamples out of Ukraine before the special military operation started. As part of the UP-8 Project alone, blood samples have been taken from 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers. Simultaneously, dangerous pathogens and their vectors (over 10,000 samples) were exported.

The biological material was transported directly, without the use of one-day companies or intermediary companies. Samples of human blood and tissue were routed from Center for Public Health of Ukraine to Pentagon-related Western research laboratories. Later, they were used in biological warfare research, including to select biological agents most dangerous to the population of a given region.

The USA is reportedly continuing its efforts to develop bioagents capable of selectively targeting different ethnic groups.

According to available information, the United States has started to actively involve Moldova and Romania in biomaterial logistics systems with the use of their own controlled organisations.

Such tactics can conceal the final recipient and divert suspicion away from the U.S. government agencies and the U.S. biological warfare programme.

Consider the pattern of the biomaterials' movement. It was found that dangerous goods from the Ukrainian side to Moldova are exported by BioPartners, a subsidiary of an American company of the same name.

Q2 Solution, a subsidiary of one of the Pentagon's largest suppliers, is also involved in the logistics process. We have evidence of the company's fulfiling contracts worth more than $22 million under the U.S. Department of Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) programmes.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that logistics companies Gamma Logistics and Aerotranscargo, controlled by the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, as well as by the Chisinau medical institutions and Western mediation organisations, provide escort to biological cargoes from Ukraine.

More than two thousand biomaterial samples were officially transported through Moldova between August 2022 and May 2024.

Thus, the inclusion of Moldova and Romania in the transportation programme could be seen as the beginning of a large-scale programme to change the logistics chains involved in the mass export of biological materials to the USA.

I would like to refer to those working for Ukrainian and U.S. companies directly involved in exporting biomaterials.

Among them were Andrei Gorkavchuk and Svetlana Stefanenko, directors of the Kiev office of BioPartners, which supplied the USA with cryocontainers of biological material from Ukrainian citizens.

Marianna Gredil and Lyudmila Gorodnyaya, employees of the American branch of the same company, specialise in providing legal support for the export of biomaterials in circumvention of legislation. They supervised collaboration with U.S. organisations and Big Pharma companies within clinical trials of experimental drugs.

Kakhaber Zaalishvili oversees the collection of clinical and pathoanatomical material and is involved in organisation of clinical trials in Ukraine.

Thanks to the actions of these officials, the U.S. Department of Defense was able to use Moldova as a transit point for the export of biological material from Ukrainian citizens. American pharmaceutical companies, carrying out dubious medical and clinical trials and affiliated with the Pentagon, were the end beneficiaries.

We have previously noted that the Kiev regime, aided and abetted by the West, regularly violates the Chemical Weapons Convention. More than 400 cases of toxic chemicals used by the Ukrainian side were recorded during the special military operation. These include scheduled compounds such as BZ, prussic acid, chlorine cyanide, and riot-control chemical agents, including those produced by the United States.

I would also like to remind you that our specialists have found a laboratory with chemical equipment close to Avdeyevka. The premises contained a semi-industrial rotary evaporator, a filtrating exhaust system, chemical reactors, carbon dioxide bottles, and scaffolding storing laboratory dishes and reagents. Wipe-samples from laboratory equipment and the exhaust system were selected in accordance with CWC requirements and sent to a laboratory accredited by the Russian Ministry of Defence for detailed testing.

Analytical tests revealed the presence of sodium cyanide, sulphuric acid, and trace amounts of cyanide anion in the samples. This clearly indicates that the laboratory found was producing toxic substances with a capacity of up to 3 kg per day (equivalent to more than 40,000 lethal inhalation doses for humans).

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the evidence of Ukraine's violating the Convention has been submitted by the Russian Federation to the OPCW Technical Secretariat. So far, there has been no clear response from the organisation.

This is because the decision-making process within the OPCW is completely controlled by the United States of America. In order to settle scores with undesirable states, Washington has created a mechanism within the Organisation to investigate the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

At the same time, we would like to ask the OPCW whether Ukraine is providing information to the Organisation on the procurement of hundreds of tonnes of toxic chemical precursors scheduled by the Convention.

This is approximately 500 tonnes of triethanolamine, a compound that can be used in the production of a nitrogen mustard agent.

In July 2024 alone, Reagent, a Ukrainian company, imported more than 160 tonnes of triethanolamine. At the same time, there is no publicly available evidence that the goods have not been used for illegal purposes. In addition, the only tender in which Reagent participated for the supply of triethanolamine to Ukrainian companies, in particular PJSC Sumykhimprom, is dated 5 July 2023.

It is recalled that Syria's acquisition of such chemicals provoked high indignation in the Western countries, culminating in the OPCW adopting recommendations in December 2023 for a complete ban on the export of dual-use chemical products to the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic.

Another risk factor is the import of dangerous chemical waste and spent nuclear fuel into Ukraine, which can be used to make a dirty bomb and stage false-flag chemical provocations. In a recent briefing, we noted that the shipments were organised through Poland and Romania and were supervised by Andrei Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration.

In this regard, we once again call on the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to conduct a genuine and impartial investigation into the use of toxic chemicals by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, taking into account the evidence provided by Russia, and to inform the States Parties to the Convention of the results as soon as possible.

The available information on Ukraine importing chemical agents and protective equipment does not exclude that Kiev is preparing further provocations with toxic chemicals in the special military operation zone.

For example, on 13 July 2024, information was received on the AFU 3rd Airmobile Battalion receiving chemical irritant ammunition.

In the course of operational activities in August 2024, ready-to-use agents, containing a mixture based on thallium nitrate, were found in one of the AFU's caches. Let me remind you that, thallium compounds are potent toxicants. They affect the central and peripheral nervous systems and the gastrointestinal tract. Their use for sabotage and criminal purposes is well-documented.

Tactical mixtures of irritant agents listed in Schedule 3 of the CWC were also found on the site.

Given the many provocations with toxic chemicals and the attempted attacks on officials of Russia's new regions, we cannot rule out similar incidents with these samples.

Operational data confirm that AFU troops are being trained to use chemical ammunition with Western artillery systems. Consider the captured documents that were found in the abandoned Ukrainian positions: a manual for handling chemical artillery ammunition.

We believe that the international community should pay close attention to these issues and that the relevant organisation, the OPCW, should take urgent steps to verify Ukraine's compliance with the provisions of the Convention and to prevent the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons.

TUESDAY

Last night, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a group strike with long-range airborne precision weapons, including Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, and attack UAVs against critical airfield infrastructure of Ukraine. All the assigned targets been engaged.

The units of the Sever Group of Forces in Liptsy and Sumy directions have engaged the 22nd Mechanised Infantry Brigade, 101st and 118th territorial defence brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Chervonoye, Vorozhba, Baranovka, Pustogorod (Sumy region), and Liptsy (Kharkov region).

Three counter-attacks launched by AFU assault detachments have been repelled.

The AFU losses were up to 115 troops, three motor vehicles, and one Anklav-N electronic warfare station.

The units of the Zapad Group of Forces have improved the tactical situation and delivered strikes at manpower and hardware of the 4th Tank Brigade of the AFU, the 12th Special Operations Brigade, 104th, 110th, and 114th territorial defence brigades near Kolesnikovka, Boguslavka, Tabayevka (Kharkov region), and Serebryansky forestry.

Four counter-attacks launched by assault detachments of AFU 43rd and 63rd mechanised brigades have been repelled.

The AFU losses were up to 490 troops, two U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carriers, two armoured fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, two UK-made 155-mm FH-70 howitzers, one U.S.-made AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery warfare radar as well as Anklav-N and Kvertus electronic warfare stations.

The units of the Yug Group of Forces have taken more advantageous lines and positions, defeated manpower and hardware of 54th, 93rd mechanised, 110rd assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the 119th Territorial Defence Brigade near Kuzminovka, Verkhnekamenskoye, and Katerinovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

One counter-attack launched by the AFU 5th Assault Brigade has been repelled.

The AFU losses were up to 780 troops, one German-made Leopard tank, one armoured fighting vehicle, four motor vehicles, one U.S.-made 155-mm M198 howitzer, one 152-mm Msta-B howitzer, two 122-mm D-30 howitzer, and one Anklav-N electronic warfare station.

Three AFU field ammunition depots have been destroyed.

The units of the Tsentr Group of Forces have liberated Orlovka (Donetsk People's Republic), defeated units of 53rd, 110th mechanised, 25th air assault brigades of the AFU, and the 109th Territorial Defence Brigade near Vozdvizhenka, Rozovka, Novgorodskoye, and Sergeyevka (Donetsk People's Republic).

Seven counter-attacks launched by AFU 150th and 151st mechanised brigades have been repelled.

The AFU losses were up to 530 troops, one tank, four armoured fighting vehicles, six motor vehicles, one 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, and two 122-mm D-30 howitzers.

The units of the Vostok Group of Forces have improved the situation along the front line and hit manpower and hardware clusters of the AFU 72nd Mechanised Brigade close to Vodyanoye (Donetsk People's Republic).

 Russian troops have repelled one counter-attack launched by assault detachments of the 128th Territorial Defence Brigade.

The AFU losses were up to 145 troops, one armoured fighting vehicle, seven motor vehicles, one 152-mm D-20 howitzer, and one electronic warfare station.

The units of the Dnepr Group of Forces have defeated units of the AFU 35th Marine Brigade and the 124th Territorial Defence Brigade close to Ivanovka and Tokarevka (Kherson region).

The AFU losses were more than 85 troops, four motor vehicles, one U.S.-made 155-mm M777 gun, one 155-mm Paladin self-propelled artillery system, one U.S.-made 105-mm M119 howitzer as well as one Anklav-N electronic warfare station.

Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged AFU manpower and hardware in 142 areas during the day.

Air defence facilities have shot down four Tochka-U tactical missiles, three French-made Hammer aerial guided bombs, and 31 unmanned aerial vehicles.

In total, 640 airplanes and 283 helicopters, 30,564 unmanned aerial vehicles, 575 air defence missile systems, 17,586 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,425 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 13,690 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 25,262 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.

LUHANSK

Videos from Mariupol visits Luhansk, the capital of the Luhansk Oblast which borders Donetsk and Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast.

ANALYSIS