Russian shelling destroys pipeline in Kharkiv, leaves thousands without gas supply

As the war between Moscow and Kyiv continues unabated, Ukraine claimed that shelling by the Russian military damaged a pipeline in Kharkiv Oblast on Monday, July 25. According to the Department of Housing and Public Utilities of Kharkiv, the damage to the pipeline has rendered at least a thousand homes without gas supply. It further stated that the work is being carried out by the Armed Forces to restore the gas supply in the settlements. "Restoration work will continue until the gas is fully turned on to all households," the department stated on Telegram. 

Meanwhile, JSC 'Kharkivgaz' - General Electric Contractors in Kharkiv - has asked its consumers to turn off the taps in front of the gas appliances on their own until repairs are carried out. Further, the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration alleged that Russian forces also launched rocket attacks on residential areas on Tuesday morning. "At about 5 o’clock in the morning, the occupiers attacked the civilian infrastructure of Kharkiv’s Slobid district. As a result of the shelling, the roof of a car dealership building was set on fire. A few more shells hit open areas," Oleg Sinegubov wrote on Telegram. 

It would be difficult for occupiers to seize control of Kharkiv: Ukrainian Army

In response to speculations that Russia might be preparing to occupy the war-torn nation's second-largest city, Kharkiv, a Ukrainian army commander claimed that it would be difficult for occupiers to seize control of the region. General Sergei Melnik, Chief of the Kharkiv Garrison, stressed that occupiers can't move even one meter forward. "They don't have enough forces to take the Kharkiv region," he told the Associated Press (AP).  According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a research organisation based in the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin may have ordered his troops to occupy Kharkiv and the surrounding areas.

Ukraine claims to have killed about 39,870 Russian soldiers so far 

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry claimed that Russia has also incurred heavy casualties since the onset of the war in late February. In its latest operational update, the ministry claimed that Russia has lost nearly 39,870 soldiers, 3,959 Armored Personnel Vehicles (APV), 1,737 tanks, 880 artillery systems and 258 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), and at least 117 anti-aircraft warfare. In addition, the invaders also lost as many as 2,835 vehicles and fuel tanks, 722 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), 222 aircraft, 189 helicopters, 174 cruise missiles, 75 special equipment and 15 boats, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry stated in a Facebook post.

Image: AP/Telegram/Kharkiv OVA