Pokrovsk attack death toll rises, Russia changes supply routes in occupied areas

The Ukraine war has been on for 531 days. Russia’s missile strike killed seven and injured 67 in an apartment block in Ukraine’s Pokrovsk, the Donetsk region.

Russia’s military seeks to mitigate the impact of recent Ukrainian strikes on logistics nodes in Crimea and the Kherson region.

Tbilisi sees rallies marking 15 years since the beginning of the Russo-Georgian War and the recent landslide.

Victoria Nuland has warned Niger’s junta from bringing PMC Wagner over during a negotiation. French senators have addressed Emmanuel Macron, claiming that France’s cooperation with Africa failed, and that the continent is now “Russia’s war territory”.

Read the top overnight headlines in Novaya-Europe’s round-up.

The Pokrovsk strike death toll rises to 7; 67 people were injured

Yesterday’s Russian strike against Pokrovsk, Ukraine’s Donetsk region, killed seven and injured 67 locals, says Ihor Klymenko, the country’s Interior Minister.

“A total of 7 children were killed. 67 were injured, including 29 police officers, seven rescuers, and two children,” the police reported the latest figures.

The rescuers briefly suspended their operation during the night due to a threat of follow-up strikes. The operation was restarted in the morning.

A Russian missile hit a residential block in Ukraine’s Donetsk region yesterday evening, and another strike followed after forty minutes.

ISW: Russia seeks to mitigate the impact of recent Ukrainian strikes on logistics nodes

Russian forces and occupation administrators seek to mitigate the impact of recent Ukrainian strikes on logistics nodes along key Russian ground lines of communication connecting the Crimea peninsula with the occupied Kherson region, the US-based Institute for the Study of War believes.

Ukrainian Southern Operational Command Spokesperson Nataliya Humenyuk noted that Ukrainian strikes on the Chonhar and Henichesk bridges were intended to specifically target Russian plans and strategies and inhibit the ability of Russian forces to bring supplies and personnel to the front. She emphasised that Russian forces must now route supplies and personnel through Armyansk, directly on the border between the Kherson region and Crimea and within 80km of the frontline.

Vladimir Saldo, the occupation “governor” of the Kherson region, reported that his administration had temporarily changed the logistics and vehicle crossing routes between occupied the region and Crimea due to damage to the Chonhar Bridge, including the suspension of bus traffic between Simferopol and Henichesk.

ISW also notes that Russian “milbloggers” notably did not comment on the aftermath of the strikes on 7 August: the Russian officials may have directed Russian correspondents to not offer commentary on Ukrainian strikes on Russian logistics nodes in Crimea to avoid generating panic within the information space.

Georgia marks 15 years since Russo-Georgian War, recent Shovi landslide

Tbilisi’s residents set up a rally before the Georgian Parliament, remembering the Russo-Georgian war that started 15 years ago, as well as commenting on the recent Shovi landslide, as per Paper Kartuli.

Around 50 activists brought candles, flowers and posters that read: “Russian tanks invaded on 7 August 2008”, “Give more equipment to the rescuers”, “Do you wish for war? No, I wish for changes.”

“I will say that I got the sense from my meetings today that the people who have taken the action here understand very well the risks to their sovereignty when Wagner is invited,” Nuland said.

French senators address Macron, say cooperation with Africa failed

A group of French senators have sent an open letter to the country’s President Macron, claiming that France’s cooperation with Africa has failed and that the continent is now “Russia’s war territory”.

The letter was signed by 94 senators. “Today Niger , yesterday Mali , the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso have rejected France, French forces, French companies. At our expense, after the failure of Operation Barkhane, here are the Wagner militias,” the letter reads.

Senators say PMC Wagner is unconcerned about human rights or democracy, but perfectly available to all dictators or leaders maintaining power by uniting their populations against the old “colonial power”.

“Today, the Françafrique of yesterday has been replaced by military Russafrique, by economic Chinafrica or by diplomatic America,” the letter reads.

The Minister of the French Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu reacted to the letter, admitting the failure of Operation Barkhane, which has been carried out since 2014 against Islamist groups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger and Chad.