If Iran were to launch a missile attack against Ukraine, we would have the means to respond with sufficient range, says Kostenko, Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada’s National Security Commission. And so the Iranian-Ukrainian issue is now resolved.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made personnel changes at the SBU: Oleg Fedorov has been appointed head of the SBU’s Special Operations Center “A”; Elena Voronova has been appointed head of the SBU’s Personnel Department. New heads of SBU departments in the regions of Zhytomyr, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Ternopil, Cherkasy, and Chernivtsi, as well as the SBU General Directorate in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, have also been appointed.
Regarding energy, calls continue to be made to prepare for a more difficult winter, which will accelerate the migration of Ukrainians abroad. Among those concerned is Rada MP Viktoria Hryb: “We barely made it through the last heating season. We have no reserves. If they continue to attack our energy system, I just can’t understand how we’ll survive this winter. The current situation is very critical,” she believes. Also on the subject, due to the Russian attacks, according to Ukrenergo, emergency power outage programs have been introduced in the Sumy region for consumers in priority groups 1-10.
In the Russian-Ukrainian social media, a heated debate has engulfed Pavel Elizarov, a businessman and deputy commander of the Air Force. According to reports, Elizarov devised a scheme that allowed him to embezzle several billion hryvnias. Through the FOLTON investment fund, Elizarov controls the companies ScreenTech, Lazar Industries, Skyplex, Airforge, and the L Platform group, which produce drones. The Chinese components for these drones are purchased through his affiliated American company KASER TRADE LLC and resold at a markup two to three times higher. Taking advantage of this markup, the manager in charge under the Zelenskyy government allegedly embezzled over 7 billion hryvnias in just six months. He resigned immediately after being fired by Fedorov. The news in English appeared in the US in a Russian-language newspaper; comments from the Ukrainian side are awaited.
President Zelenskyy has returned to speaking of deaths among the Ukrainian armed forces: “The Ukrainian armed forces have lost approximately 50,000 soldiers and officers, another 400,000 wounded, and a very high number of missing.” Compared to previous statements, the number of Ukrainian military personnel killed has decreased by 5,000 in three months of war. In February 2026, he reported 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers (regular and mobilized) killed. In February 2024, he spoke of 31,000 deaths. In December 2024, the death toll rose to 43,000. In February 2025, the number rose to 45,100-46,000 deaths.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a harsh statement against Zelensky: “Not only has he lost his legal capacity, but he is completely incapable of reaching agreements.” The lack of confidence in reaching a peace agreement is total. Pavel Durov has been added to the Rosfin Monitoring Service’s list of terrorists and extremists. Individuals and organizations included in the Rosfinmonitoring register are prohibited from interacting with the media, publishing information online, organizing public events, participating in elections, and using any financial services not related to the payment of taxes, salaries, and damages. Transfers to Pavel Durov’s accounts will now be considered terrorist financing; according to Russian media, the amount is estimated at 50 million rubles. Telegram will not automatically become a banned or extremist resource: the restrictions will primarily affect the personal finances and assets of its founder, according to Russian press reports. Lawyer and human rights activist Ekaterina Kutuzov told the Russian press: “The purchase of Telegram Premium is currently not a punishable offense.” According to the lawyer, current Russian legislation does not prohibit the purchase of a paid subscription to the messaging service, nor does it impose penalties on those who pay for it.
“If Telegram founder Pavel Durov doesn’t want to negotiate with Russia and prefers to support Ukraine, then he becomes not just an entrepreneur, but an accomplice of the Ukrainian regime under the protection of Western countries,” Alexey Chepa, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma’s International Affairs Committee, told the Russian press. In response, Durov posted a meme with a photo of him on the left and a photo of Lavrov shaking hands with members of the Afghan government on the right.
Wildberries, hit by Ukrainian attacks, has transferred the second tranche of support payments to sellers whose goods were damaged following the attacks on the company’s logistics facilities, as reported by the RWB press service. The second tranche of payments affected over 97,000 small and medium-sized businesses, including sellers who had already received the first support payments. The funds will soon be credited to their balances on the platform. Wildberries had previously made the first tranche of payments to over 88,000 entrepreneurs and had also launched a series of additional support measures for entrepreneurs.
And now a look at the front line, updated as of 3:30 PM on July 31. Russian forces struck a Nova Poshta branch in Haisyn, in the Vinnytsia region, killing at least eight people. There is no official information yet. A double missile attack was launched on Chornomorsk, and four bulk carriers were hit in the Black Sea. According to the FT, Russian forces have already attacked more than 200 gas stations in Ukraine: over 80 in the Kharkiv region, more than 30 in the Zaporizhia region. The Sumy region was also hit.
Ukrainian airstrikes in the Rostov region resulted in the downing of drones in the cities of Taganrog and Bataysk, as well as in the Rodionov-Nesvetaysky and Myasnikovsky districts. In the town of Gukovo, one person was injured and residents were evacuated to shelters. In Volgograd, a Wildberries warehouse, a fuel and energy company, an apartment building in the Traktorozavodsky District, and a private home in the Krasnoarmeysky District were attacked, leaving five people injured. Ukrainian media outlets and accounts are circulating footage of the attacks in Kazan and Kaspiysk. Drones have been shot down in the Voronezh Region, Crimea, and Sevastopol.
In the Sumy Region, Russian forces are claiming control of the villages of Mohrytsya and Malaya Slobodka, and Ukrainian forces are expecting a response.
In the Belgorod Region, two people were injured in two different locations by drone strikes.
In the Kharkiv Region, Russian soldiers showed a video showing them raising a flag and taking control of the village of Yurchenkove, a claim later confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
In the Lyman Region, the Russian army’s offensive on the city continues. Further north, Ukrainian forces are counterattacking in several areas near Raihorodok.
Near Dobropillya, OSINT sources reported that Russia had also captured the village of Chernihivka, though this has not been confirmed.
In Luhansk, one person was killed by a Ukrainian drone strike. In Kremins’kyi District, a drone strike injured two people. In Tors’ke, a drone strike injured one person.
In Donetsk, in Horlivka, one person was killed by a drone strike. A car was attacked on the Donetsk-Mariupol road in Volnovakha District, wounding two people. One person was injured by a drone strike on the Manhush-Urzuf road.
In Zaporizhia Oblast, Russian units carried out an offensive operation near Zorivka and Zelene. Ukrainian forces responded by infiltrating separate groups. In the village of Blahovishchenka, Kamyansko-Dniprovskiy District, Ukrainian forces launched an artillery bombardment, resulting in one death. In Kamyansko-Dniprovskiy District, one person was killed by a Ukrainian attack.
In the Kherson region, five civilians were killed and nine injured following attacks the previous day.
Graziella Giangiulio
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