Victorious news of 889th day of war: Ukraine receives first F-16 fighter jets, Ukrainian forces target Russia's major arms depot near Kursk

Ukrainian forces target Russia's major arms depot near Kursk

On the night of July 31, the Ukrainian military launched an attack on a weapons and equipment storage facility used by Russian forces near Kursk.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces' General Staff reports.

It is noted that Russian air defense systems were operating near Kursk, and explosions were heard at targeting points. 

“Combat work was carried out by certain units from the forces and means of the Ukrainian Navy, in cooperation with other components of the Defense Forces,” the General Staff said.

First, the governor of Kursk region, Andrey Smirnov, wrote on Telegram around 2 a.m.: "In the Kursk region, a fire broke out at one of the facilities after the attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. I am on the spot with representatives of the security forces. I am investigating the possible consequences and reasons for the lack of an alarm."

According to him, by morning, rescuers had localized the fire at the facility. No injuries were reported.

Ukrainian intelligence launches one of largest cyberattacks on Russia's Internet infrastructure

Ukrainian Defense Intelligence's cyber specialists have conducted one of the largest DDOS attacks on Russia's Internet infrastructure in history.

This is reported by sources of Babel, Suspilne, and NV.

It is noted that the Defense Intelligence's cyber specialists attacked Russia's critical resources during the week and gained access to a large amount of confidential data.

In particular, the online services of all major Russian banks, including the Central Bank, telecommunications service providers, national payment systems, social networks and messengers, government resources and dozens of other services were affected.

The intelligence services noted that all the attacked resources were involved in one way or another in supporting or financing Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine.

The hackers also attacked Russian VTB Bank, Alfa Bank, Sberbank, Raiffeisen Bank, RSHB Bank, Ak Bars, Rosbank, Gazprombank, T-Bank, iBank, Dom. R Bank and the Bank of Russia. In addition, on the last day of the attack, the resources of the Russian Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Federal Tax Service were affected.

Ukrainian intelligence added that as of 19:00 on July 30, the Russians had not managed to restore the proper functioning of leading banking and payment systems, mobile operators, social networks and Internet providers.

"Of course, this is only a prelude to even more interesting events. We advise the Russians to start digging a grave for their digital infrastructure. This is the right time for the enemy to remember the idea of an isolated, native Russian "Cheburnet" with moats, digital choppers and firewalls around the perimeter," a source told the publication.

Ukrainian army adopts nearly 20 grenade launchers during full-scale war

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine's Defense Ministry has authorized nearly 20 samples of grenade launchers from 6 countries to be used in the Armed Forces.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's press service reports.

"Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry has codified and approved nearly 20 grenade launcher models for use in the Ukrainian Armed Forces," the statement reads.

The grenade launchers come from Ukraine, the USA, Germany, Turkey, Canada, and Sweden.

The Ministry of Defense added that the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been enhanced by under-barrel, handheld, automatic, and multi-shot semi-automatic grenade launchers of various calibers.

"Most of these weapons are 40 mm in caliber. However, there are also more powerful ones, such as the 84 mm Swedish Carl Gustaf multi-purpose reusable grenade launcher," the ministry noted.

Ukraine's air defense destroys 89 Shahed UAVs, Kh-59 missile during Russia's massive attack

On the night of July 31, the invading Russian army attacked Ukraine with 89 Shahed drones and a Kh-59 guided missile. Ukraine's air defense destroyed all enemy targets.

Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk reports.

The report noted that the Russians launched a Kh-59 guided air missile from the airspace of the temporarily occupied Kherson region, along with 89 Shahed-type UAVs from Yeysk, Seshchi, Kursk, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk regions.

The main target of the attack was the Kyiv region. It was one of the most massive attacks using strike drones.

"Out of 89 Shahed-131/136 attack UAVs detected by the radar units of the Air Force, all 89 were shot down!" Oleschuk stated.

Ukraine receives first F-16 fighter jets 

The first batch of F-16 fighters from NATO allies has arrived in Ukraine, as reported by Bloomberg, which cites anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The number of jets is small, they said.

"The deadline for the transfer of the US-made warplanes was the end of this month and it has been respected," Bloomberg stated.

However, the exact number of aircraft received is not specified. It is also unclear whether Ukrainian pilots, who have been training with Western allies, will be able to start using these fighters immediately or if further training will be required.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has not yet issued an official comment on this development.