Victorious news of 888th day of war: Ukraine strikes at Russian oil depot in Kursk region, UK confiscates almost $1 million from Russian oligarch Aven

Russia suspends assault operations in Pokrovsk direction after equipment loss 

Serhiy Tsehotskyi, officer with Ukraine’s 59th Separate Infantry Brigade, noted that Russia is looking for weaknesses to concentrate forces.

He shared the information on Espreso TV.

“The Pokrovsk and Kurakhove directions are probably the hottest, but we should not lose sight of other directions. Because the enemy is insidious and always looking for weaknesses to concentrate its forces. Last Saturday and Sunday, after prolonged infantry assaults, there were powerful attacks with the use of equipment in the Pokrovsk direction. Over these two days, about 39 pieces of equipment were destroyed and damaged, and 206 occupiers were eliminated. We can see the result - the enemy has not made any major advances,” noted Tsehotskyi.

According to the officer, there were no Russian assaults in the Pokrovsk direction over the last day.

“Thanks to our unmanned aerial vehicle pilots, we managed to destroy T-72 tanks and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles. Despite the fact that the enemy did not conduct any offensive actions today, we continue to operate successfully. Over the past day, the Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed many Russian control points and equipment in the enemy's rear. Our soldiers' skills and morale are always at a high level, especially when we have the necessary means to fight the enemy,” emphasized Tsehotskyi.

Defense Forces of Ukraine strike at Russian oil depot in Kursk region

On the night of Tuesday, July 30, the Ukrainian forces launched a successful strike on a strategic Russian facility in the Kursk region.

This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Ukrainian defenders effectively hit the enemy's Logistics Center #43 oil depot, which is located in the village of Vozy, Kursk region of the Russian Federation. 

According to intelligence, the attack caused a fire at the facility.

The General Staff noted that the attack was carried out by the forces and weapons of the Security Service of Ukraine in cooperation with other units of the Defense Forces.

More detailed information on the consequences of the damage to the oil depot is currently being clarified.

“The Defense Forces will continue to take all possible measures to undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian invaders in order to force them to stop their armed aggression against Ukraine,” the military added.

Czech Ministry of Defense proposes creating defense units for Ukraine

The Minister of Defense of the Czech Republic, Jana Černochová, reported that the country is considering forming a Ukrainian Legion from refugees living in the Czech Republic.

She mentioned this on ČT24, as quoted by Radio Prague.

"We want to continue training Ukrainian soldiers, so why not include Czech citizens who identify as Ukrainian and form a unit?" Černochová said.

According to the minister, the Czech Republic is contemplating allowing Ukrainian refugees to "voluntarily, without any coercion," join the legion to help their homeland.

"The Ukrainian community in the Czech Republic is large, even without counting the war-related influx. So, it makes sense," Černochová emphasized.

She added that Ukrainians with Czech citizenship could also join the legion.

The spokesman for the Czech Ministry of Defense told Novinky that his department is currently evaluating the Polish project to create the Ukrainian Legion "from a practical and legal standpoint."

"The Ministry of Defense is gathering more information from the Polish side about the establishment of the so-called Ukrainian Legion. Once we have this information, we will consider the possibility of our involvement," he told iDnes.cz.

The outlet notes that these statements do not imply that the Czech Republic has decided to establish a unit of Ukrainians. Instead, Czech instructors might simply participate in the training of the Ukrainian Legion in Poland.

Ukrainian forces repel massive Russian armored assault

Russian forces continue to storm Ukrainian positions with dozens of armored vehicles.

Ukraine's 79th Separate Air Assault Brigade has released a video showing their servicemen repelling one of the largest assaults by Russian forces, as reported by Defense Express.

The video demonstrates the coordinated efforts of artillerymen, attack drone operators, anti-tank sappers, and infantrymen in destroying Russian equipment and personnel.

The brigade reports that Russia used a total of 57 armored vehicles in an attempt to break through the defense in the Kurakhove direction in the Donetsk region. Despite the large number of vehicles, the Russian army failed.

The 79th Separate Air Assault Brigade stated that their soldiers successfully destroyed:

• 12 armored personnel carriers

• 8 tanks

• 9 motorbikes

• 1 buggy

• 36 Russian soldiers (with 32 more wounded)

UK confiscates almost $1 million from Russian oligarch Aven

For the first time, the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) has secured the confiscation of funds that are subject to sanctions under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Bloomberg reported the information.

The asset manager of Russian oligarch Petr Aven has agreed to hand over £750,000 ($963,000) to the British authorities to end a nearly two-year investigation by the British police into sanctions evasion.

Thousands of pounds in cash confiscated from Aven's mansion outside London were also handed over under the “proceeds of crime” legislation.

The funds belonging to Aven, although not registered in his name, have been frozen since 2022, when the oligarch was placed under UK sanctions. The agency believes that attempts to move this money, as well as transactions after March 15, 2022, violated the sanctions.

According to the court's decision, the funds kept in British banks were confiscated after Aven's wife and his estate management team admitted that they could have been intended “for use for illegal purposes.”