July 22, 2022

1. Three countries signed a grain delivery deal backed by the UNO

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov signed a UN-brokered grain deal in Istanbul on July 22.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu signed the agreement on behalf of Russia, and his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar inked the deal on Turkey’s behalf. Turkey, Ukraine, and the UN signed their part of the agreement. On behalf of Kiev, it was signed by Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Alexander Kubrakov. On behalf of the UN, the grain export deal was signed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that two documents were aimed at solving the issue of food and grain exports to the global markets. "Today in Istanbul, two documents were signed aimed at solving the problems of supplying food and fertilizers to world markets. I want to emphasize that these documents are interconnected and represent a single package," Shoigu said at a ceremony held after the deal was signed.

The Russian Defense Minister added that the first document stipulates the United Nations to facilitate removal of restrictions on exports of Russian agricultural products.

"The second document defines the algorithm for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products from the Black Sea ports controlled by Ukraine," Shoigu said, adding that Kiev is responsible for security in Ukrainian territorial waters, including demining.

Commenting on the signed memorandum, a UN official explained that the Black Sea grain initiative is a renewable 120-day deal, but it should continue until the Russia-Ukraine conflict ends. The official added that it will take weeks to see ships transport grain in the Black Sea. "We were told earlier on in the negotiation by the Ukrainian side that they need about 10 days to prepare the ports to be ready to start moving again. So I think we're talking about, you know, a few weeks before we will see proper implementation of vessels going in and out," the official added.

Inspection teams under control of the Joint Coordination Center will make sure that vessels heading to Ukraine are not used to ship weapons to Ukraine, he said.

"There will be ships monitored across the Black Sea ... there will be an inspection of ships going in these ports ... The UN inspection team will be set up. The ships will be inspected making sure that there will be no weapons going into Ukraine," the UN official told during the briefing.

The export of Ukraine grain, foodstuff, fertilizer will be conducted across from the three ports, Odessa and two related ports," the UN official said.

2. Humanitarian situation

Russian troops continue to record numerous facts of criminal actions by Kiev regime against civilians, as well as the use of medical infrastructure for military purposes by Ukrainian armed formations:

a) in Kharkov, territorial defence units are stationed on the territory of Semyon Kuznetsov National University of Economics (Nauky Avenue) and an ammunition depot has been set up, while residents from nearby houses have not been deliberately evacuated;

b) in Dnepropetrovsk, AFU have equipped a stronghold at school No 23 (Yavornytskyi Avenue) and deployed artillery and armoured vehicles in the immediate vicinity of the school;

c) in Kramatorsk, Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), AFU have equipped firing positions and sniper points on the lower and upper floors of multi-storey residential buildings (Mashinostroiteley Boulevard), with MLRS placed in yards, while the militants keep local residents in their flats, effectively using them as human shields.

These and other similar facts of gross violations of international humanitarian law by the Kiev regime, despite repeated statements by the Russian Federation's Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response, have so far remained unnoticed by international organizations.

Furthermore, according to reliable information in Slavyansk, Donetsk People's Republic, Kiev regime has prepared another sophisticated provocation to discredit the Russian Armed Forces. In order to implement this, AFU servicemen dressed in Russian uniforms with St. George's ribbons defiantly looted private homes and physically assaulted civilians, while AFU information and psychological operations specialists filmed "acts of looting" allegedly carried out by the Russian Armed Forces. Russian MoD warned the international community in advance that Kiev authorities are planning to widely disseminate this latest fake story in the Ukrainian and Western media in the near future.

3. Situation on the battlefields

Official representative of DPR People’s Police made a statement on July 22:

The Ukrainian side continues to terrorize the civilian population of the DPR, inflicting massive artillery strikes on residential areas and civilian infrastructure, which in turn do not pose a danger to the enemy and are not military targets.

Over the past day, according to the DPR JCCC, the enemy fired six hundred and sixty shells from Grad multiple launch rocket systems, 155, 152 and 122-mm cannon artillery, as well as 120 and 82-mm mortars, and also used unguided aircraft missiles with a caliber 80 mm (without the use of aviation).

The fire was fired at the districts of sixteen settlements of the DPR. As a result of shelling, one civilian was killed and seven were injured.

Thirty-eight residential buildings and seven civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged.

The enemy continues to terrorize the civilian population of the Lugansk People’s Republic, shelling the civilian infrastructure of the settlements of the LPR, which do not have any military facilities. Over the past day, the armed formations of Ukraine used of American MLRS M142 HIMARS, firing three missiles. Information about the victims and damage is being specified.

On the other hand, Armed Forces of Ukraine are suffering considerable losses of armament delivered by Western countries.

From July 5 to 20, four launching ramps and one reloading vehicle for the U.S.-manufactured HIMARS MLRS delivered to Ukraine were eliminated by high-precision ground- and air-based armament.

Among them, 2 launching ramps were destroyed near Malotaranovka, 1 HIMARS and 1 reloading vehicle was destroyed near Krasnoarmeysk, as well as 4th launching ramp at the eastern suburb of Konstantinovka (DPR).

Attacks by high-precision ground-based armament have resulted in the elimination of a provisional base of Black Hundred nationalist group deployed in the school №23 in Kramatorsk (DPR). Up to 300 nationalists and over 40 units of special equipment have been eliminated.

Attacks launched by high-precision armament of Russian Aerospace Forces have resulted in the elimination of a missile and artillery armament depot of 59th Mechanised Infantry Brigade of the AFU deployed at an industrial area in the eastern part of Nikolayev. The enemy has lost up to 30 servicemen, 6 armoured and motor vehicles, over 2,000 projectiles for Grad MRLS, about 1,000 projectiles for Akatsiya self-propelled howitzers.

Operational-tactical and army aviation, missile troops and artillery continue launching attacks at the military facilities in Ukraine.

The list of neutralised targets includes: 6 command posts, including one of 92nd Mechanised Brigade near Rogan (Kharkov Region), 1 command and observation post of 72nd Mechanised Brigade of the AFU near Serebryanka (DPR), as well as 5 missile and artillery armament and munitions depots near Zaytsevo (DPR), Vishevoye and Uspenovka (Zaporozhye Region).

Within the counter-battery warfare, 4 Grad MLRS platoons, 24 D-20 howitzer and 13 D-30 cannon platoons have been neutralised.

Operational-tactical aviation of Russian Aerospace Forces has destroyed 1 launching ramp of Buk-M1 air defence system near Cherevkovka (DPR).

Russian air defence systems have shot down 12 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles near Malaya Kamyshevakha, Vernopolye, Oknino, Balakleya, Verbovka, Slatino, Dolgenkoye, Chervony Oskol, Peschanoye (Kharkov Region), Petrovskoye and Zlatoustovka (DPR).

In addition, 2 projectiles launched by Uragan MLRS have been intercepted near Topolskoye and Malaya Kamyshevakha (Kharkov Region).

Written by Vladimir P. Kozin