WAR IN UKRAINE: August 31, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 189
Fierce battles have been reported as Ukraine tries to retake the Russian-occupied southern Kherson region - but military experts have told the BBC it "won't happen quickly". On Tuesday, Ukraine's Operational Command "South" reported that "positional battles" continued. It said three key bridges across the Dnipro River had been hit again to make sure they were impassable. Similar reports and videos indicating significant Ukrainian strikes against Russian positions were visible on several credible Telegram channels on Tuesday. Regarding the purported offensive, the Ukrainian government has enacted a news blackout.
Another Ukrainian objective in any counteroffensive operation is to regain control of the Nova Kahovka Dam. One reason is that it serves as the water source for the North Crimea Canal, which provides Crimea with most of its surface water. Controlling the water source would allow Ukraine to close the canal, leaving Crimea without its major water source.
The President of Mariupol Television and volunteer, Mykola Osychenko, said that 87,000 dead people are currently documented in morgues in Mariupol, but the data is far from complete. He was quoted by DniproTV as saying: “We have terrible numbers, but that's not all. The exhumation of bodies in graves in yards is not over yet. The exhumation of bodies under the rubble of buildings has not yet ended. Many people who have nothing left. Mariupol's figures are terrible.”
As a team of IAEA investigators head to the occupied Zaporyzhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, Russia state TV pundits warned that they may covertly place mines at the site.
Naftogaz talks about the risks of the upcoming heating season. This year's heating season in Ukraine will start later than traditionally and end earlier. As the CEO of Naftogaz, Yuriy Vitrenko, predicted in an interview with The Guardian, the air temperature in apartments will be three to four degrees Celsius lower. In particular, while the standard target temperature is 21°C (70 °F), this season, the temperature will only be 17-18 °C (63 °F). According to the CEO, the prospects of the heating season in Ukraine depend on whether international partners will provide the necessary money to import four billion cubic meters of gas. Vitrenko estimates the sum required to purchase this gas at $10B. “Without financial support, Ukraine will lack sufficient gas supplies, which means that we will face significant risks to the energy system,” said Vitrenko.
A pipeline for vegetable oils will be built between Ukraine and Poland. Poland and Ukraine will work on a cross-border pipeline project to deliver Ukrainian vegetable oils to the port of Gdańsk. As reported by the office of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland has agreed to sign a corresponding memorandum with its Ukrainian counterparts. It is noted that the implementation of the memorandum will contribute to the partial unblocking of Ukrainian exports and increase food security in developing countries, which are currently threatened by hunger.
Required reading…
‘Slower burn.' Russia dodges economic collapse but the decline has started
Six months after invading Ukraine, Russia is bogged down in a war of attrition it didn't anticipate but it is having success on another front — its oil-dependent economy is in a deep recessionbut proving far more resilient than expected.
Read the full CNN analysis by Claire Sabastian here