Overview of events on August 2: the occupiers shelled Vinnytsia — two missiles were shot down by air defense, and Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan despite threats from China

From the very beginning of Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine, "Babel" conducts text live coverage every day and promptly informs about the main news in the Telegram channel. We also do a daily digest of the dayʼs highlights in case you werenʼt able to follow along live.

On August 1, Ukrainian defenders on the southern frontline destroyed 32 Russians, a self-propelled howitzer "Msta-S", an anti-aircraft missile system "TOR" and four units of Russian armored vehicles. In the south, the aviation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine made three strikes against the strongholds of the occupiers in the Oleksandrivka and Maksimivka districts. In Kherson oblast, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already de-occupied 53 settlements.

Russia again shelled two districts of Dnipropetrovsk oblast — Synelnykove and Kryvy Rih. The enemy hit the Synelnykove district with an anti-aircraft gun. In the Pokrovske community there is destruction of housing and damaged cars. According to the preliminary information, people were not injured. In Kryvy Rih district, Russian barrel artillery covered Shyrokove and Zelenodolsk communities with fire. People were not affected.

At night, the Russians shelled two districts of Mykolaiv with "Smerch" MLRS and S-300 missiles. The shelling damaged the dormitory of one of the universities, the guard of which was wounded. Residential buildings and a grocery store were also damaged.

The occupiers fired missiles at Vinnytsia oblast — two missiles shot down the air defense forces. Russia hit Lviv oblast with a missile — an explosion rang out in the territory of the Chervonohrad district. In addition, the Russian army targeted a kindergarten in Stepnohirsk, Zaporizhzhia oblast. There are no casualties. The kindergarten became the target of the Russians for the second time. For the first time, at the beginning of June, a projectile hit the yard.

Mandatory evacuation from Donetsk oblast has begun. The first train arrived in Kropyvnytskyi this morning — it evacuated women, children, the elderly, and many people with limited mobility.

Russia is responsible for the murder of 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Olenivka colony, reports the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). First, on August 1, two U.S. officials anonymously confirmed to Politico that no traces of High Mobility Artillery Reactive Systems (HIMARS), Ukraineʼs most accurate artillery system, were found on the territory of the Olenivka colony. Second, satellite and other images from the site show that only one building was damaged by the attack, the walls of that building were not destroyed, and there were no shell holes left in the vicinity.

Relatives of the "Azov" citizens declared the complete inaction of the UN and the Red Cross regarding the prisoners from "Azovstal". They will demand the resignation of the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross and are already preparing documents for this. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Russia recognized the "Azov" regiment as a "terrorist organization" and banned it on the territory of the Russian Federation.

The US State Department said that Russia is using Zaporizhzhia NPP as a military base. The occupiers fire at the Armed Forces from the territory of the station, knowing that they will not receive a decent response. The occupiers traditionally deny such claims.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, the current Chairman of the OSCE Zbigniew Rau started his visit to Ukraine. "Despite Russian obstructionism, Poland is determined to ensure OSCEʼs activity and assistance to Ukraine," says a tweet on the page of the Polish OSCE chairmanship.

Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has officially arrived in Taiwan. Taiwan is an island with a population of 23 million people, located almost 130 km from the coast of China. Washington and Beijing have long argued over the island. When it became known that the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi will visit Taiwan, tensions between the countries reached a new high. China considers Taiwan its territory and hints at a possible military conquest of the island. The Taiwanese army will not be able to stand up to the Chinese army on its own, so the Taiwanese authorities are hoping for the quick protection of the US army. However, the participation of the Americans is not guaranteed. During a phone call with Joe Biden on Thursday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned the United States not to interfere in the dispute.