Wagner Group mercenaries move to the Polish border; attack on Zaporizhzhia: July 29 highlights

Wagner Group mercenaries are heading to the Suwalki Isthmus

More than 100 Wagner Group mercenaries have moved towards the Suwałki isthmus, said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. This isthmus connects the territory of the Baltic states with Poland and the rest of the NATO countries and separates the territory of the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast and Belarus.

Polish Prime Minister called it "a step towards a further hybrid attack on Polish territory."

Radio Liberty also reported that Poland and Lithuania are considering closing their borders with Belarus due to concerns about the presence of Wagner Group mercenaries there.

Zaporizhzhia NPP Unit No. 5 goes into cold shutdown

The power unit No. 5 at the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was put into a "cold shutdown" state. This happened on July 28, after power unit No. 4 was illegally put into a "hot shutdown" state by order of the Russian "leadership."

The International Atomic Energy Agency says that the reactor's status change was made " to carry out repair work" that is possible only during a "cold shutdown."

Steam from the unit No. 4 is now used to treat wastewater at ZNPP. The other units remain in cold shutdown mode.

New title for the Motherland monument 

The Academic Council of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II suggests renaming the Motherland monument in Kyiv to Ukraine-Mother.

The museum's director general, Yurii Savchuk, hopes that the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy will support this decision on the eve of Independence Day of Ukraine, August 24.

Attack on Zaporizhzhia

On the evening of July 29, Russian troops attacked Zaporizhzhia. The missile hit an open area, killing two people and injuring one.

In addition, the blast wave smashed windows in an apartment building, damaged an educational institution and a supermarket.

Zelensky explains the reason for vetoing the allocation of funds for the Holodomor Museum

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vetoed Law No. 9437 on the allocation of 573.9 million hryvnias (15.6 million USD) for the Holodomor Museum, as this issue is not a priority during a full-scale war.

Zelensky emphasized that he does not deny the need to complete the museum's construction. At the same time, he noted that he could not agree with how the law proposed to resolve the issue with the museum.

The construction of the museum began in 2008 near the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.

The situation at the frontline 

On July 29, Ukrainian Defense Forces continued to advance gradually on the Berdiansk and Melitopol directions (south Ukraine).

Russian troops are deploying additional forces and equipment to the Bakhmut direction (east Ukraine). Meanwhile, Ukraine's Defense Forces advanced on the southern flank around Bakhmut while fighting continues on the northern flank without changing positions. In Bakhmut itself, both the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Russian army are shelling.

Russians made unsuccessful offensive attempts in the Kupiansk, Lyman, and Avdiivka directions (east Ukraine).

The occupiers also conducted unsuccessful assaults in the Maryinka direction (east Ukraine), where they intensified the use of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.

Other important news

• Explosion in Shevchenkivskyi court: suspicions were handed to pre-trial detention center staff and military.
• Only 55% of kindergartens in Ukraine are equipped with bomb shelters – Ministry of Education and Science.
• Russian ammo depot exploded in Kozacha Bay in Crimea – Ukraine's Defence Intelligence.
• Zelenskyy arrived in Bakhmut direction to congratulate the Special Operations Forces members.
• The German Interior Ministry said that German extremists are fighting in Ukraine, most of them on the side of Russia.
• Russia forces passportization on temporarily occupied territories – General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.