2:37 p.m
Other audio attributed to Prigozhin: “New victories at the front in the near future”
Yevgeny Prigozhin promised his Wagner company “new victories at the front in the near future” in the first audio message in a week, while his whereabouts are still unknown. This can be heard in an audio posted on the Gray Zone channel near Wagner. The speaking voice actually appears to be Prigozhin’s voice.
2:29 p.m
Kiev: 16 injured in Russian attack on Sumy
The Russian attack on the city of Sumy, in which one person died, also injured 16 people. This was reported by the Sumy Regional Military Administration in an update on Telegram. “Four Shahed 136 UAVs were registered in the center of Sumy. The attack damaged an administration building and two residential buildings. As of 1:00 p.m. (local time), 16 people were injured and 1 person died. Aid was provided to the injured,” the administration said in a Telegram message. “Work on the evacuation of the population and elimination of the consequences of the fire continues,” he added.
12:17
Born: We have a plan to respond to the incident in Zaporizhia
NATO “has plans,” albeit general and “not specific to Zaporizhia,” to “react” to a nuclear accident should the Russians lead a provocation. This was stated by SHAPE’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Major General Matthew Van Wagenen. “At the beginning of the conflict we had good information about the accumulation of Russian troops and I am confident that we can see what is happening in Zaporizhia and react in time,” said NATO Military Committee Chairman l “Admiral Rob Bauer.
10:21 a.m
Medvedev: A nuclear apocalypse is very likely
“I would like to say that politicians of all stripes hate to admit that a nuclear apocalypse is not only possible, it is very likely.” Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev writes on Telegram. “There are at least two reasons. First, the world is in a much worse confrontation than during the Caribbean crisis,” and “the second reason is quite trivial: nuclear weapons have already been used, which means there are no taboos,” he added.
09:29
Russian media: Prigozhin ‘freaked out about money’
Wagner’s leader Prigozhin had “gone crazy” because of the big money he had earned in recent years: TV commentator Dmitry Kiselyov said this in his weekly TV show “Rossiya 1”, as reported by the “Moscow Times”. “He thought he could challenge the Defense Ministry, the state itself and the President personally,” he added, arguing that the Wagner Group received over 17.5 billion euros (about 17 trillion rubles) from the Russian state, divided into Government contracts (860 billion rubles) and services of Concord Holding (845 billion rubles) in the hands of Putin’s ex-chef.
07:00
Kiev: 5,000 Russian soldiers killed in a week
In a week, the Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated about 5,000 Russian soldiers and destroyed 154 artillery systems. This was written on Telegram – as reported by Ukrinform – the First Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk. “From June 26 to July 2 – he explains – the Defense Forces of Ukraine eliminated about 5,030 enemy soldiers.” In addition, according to the report cited by Pavliuk, the Russian army lost 22 tanks, 82 armored fighting vehicles, 154 artillery systems, 13 multiple missile systems, 5 air defense systems, 81 motor vehicle units and 31 special equipment units. Eventually, an enemy aircraft (a Russian Su-25 fighter on June 28), two missiles and 85 drones were shot down.
07:00
Moscow: No danger from Wagner’s withdrawal from the front
“Wagner’s withdrawal from the front lines in Ukraine does not pose a risk to our combat potential, as Russian forces have sufficient resources to replace their deployment.” Chairman of the Duma Defense Committee Andrei Kartapolov told TASS. “At the time of the mutiny,” he added, “there were no Wagner fighters at the front, as they were all in the rear.” Resistance to the Ukrainian counter-offensive came about almost without their doing. So far, there is no risk of a decline in combat potential in the medium or long term.