Russian forces advanced up to 3 kilometers north of Alekseevka and 2.5 kilometers west of Green Valley, taking up new positions in the Kurakhovo and Krasnoye Liman areas respectively, according to reports from July 28th. In the Kurakhovo direction, positional hostilities occurred with Russian forces advancing between Bogdanovka and Alekseevka. Meanwhile, in the Krasnoye Liman area, Russian forces expanded their control zone between Karpovka and Green Valley. Separately, Ukrainian forces have liberated Razino on the Donetsk front, in the direction of Myrnohrad, following successful counterattacks. Ukrainian forces appear to have committed reserves to active defense operations along the Pokrovsk–Myrnohrad line. Russia's government has decided to close 20 checkpoints on the border with Ukraine, effective August 1st. In related military activity, a fire was reported at a military storage/training ground in the Rostov region, identified by NASA FIRMS, with preliminary information suggesting a Ukrainian drone strike on a large ammunition depot at the Borodinovsky training ground, military unit No. 45767, which houses the 11th Separate Engineering Brigade. Experts suggest Russia has over 1,150 "Shahmed" drones available for potential use, following the deployment of 324 drones on the morning of July 28th. Separately, a Russian or Belarusian unmanned aerial vehicle entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus early on July 28th, observed over Pašilaičiai, a suburb of Vilnius. In international diplomacy, U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly stated he is "not so interested in talking anymore" with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A report from CSIS suggests Russia's "theory of victory" in Ukraine relies on outlasting U.S. interest, and that sustained U.S. aid increases and sanctions are needed to pressure Putin. In logistical and cyber warfare developments, Aeroflot's operations have been significantly disrupted by a large-scale cyberattack that occurred overnight on July 28th, crippling most of the airline's IT systems. Hacker groups Silent Crow and the Belarusian Cyber Partisans have claimed responsibility for the attack, which reportedly destroyed approximately 7,000 servers and stole 20 terabytes of data. The Prosecutor General's Office of Russia confirmed the disruption was caused by a cyberattack. In a separate development, the U.S. has transferred nuclear weapons to the United Kingdom for the first time since 2008, deploying B61-12 bombs to RAF Lakenheath. These precision-guided weapons can be used with F-35A jets. Additionally, the Kakhovka main canal near Yakymivka in the Melitopol district shows a catastrophically dropped water level due to the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, with the area now covered in sand and grass.
