Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said , that Israel carried out an airstrike in Tehran, Iran that killed the leader of "Hamas" Ismail Hania. The goal was to thwart attempts to establish peace in the Middle East. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) emphasized that the assassination took place during the visit for the inauguration of the new president Masoud Pezeshkiyan. The Russian Foreign Ministry did not specifically implicate Israel, but claimed that "the organizers of this political murder" were aware of the "dangerous consequences".
This is stated in the daily analysis of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Russia's decision demonstrates a growing willingness to publicly align itself with Iran amid deepening Russian-Iranian military cooperation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has increasingly expressed anti-Israel positions since the beginning of the war between Israel and "Hamas" in October 2023. In particular, it intensified information operations designed to justify Iranian aggression against Israel, including that of April 13.
The Russian State Duma has revised some aspects of a recent bill criminalizing the use of personal devices by Russian soldiers on the battlefield following an outcry in Russia's ultra-nationalist community. The Defense Committee recommended on July 30 that preliminary approval of the bill be revoked. The Duma adopted a new version of the bill on July 31, which says Russian soldiers will not be punished with disciplinary arrest for using or carrying devices to carry out combat actions.
Russian bloggers largely expressed satisfaction that the word was being heard in an ultra-nationalist information space. However, some bloggers are still cautious.
Russian officials may be taking steps to address domestic security concerns following the March 2024 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack and the June 2024 shootings in the Republic of Dagestan. Russian Attorney General Igor Krasnov said on July 31 that the attacks showed the Russian government had made "mistakes" in its counter-terrorism policy.
Krasnov said the Russian government must respond to terrorist threats in a "fundamentally different way". Persons associated with "Islamic State" (Daesh) likely carried out the Crocus City Hall and Dagestan attacks, and Russian security personnel largely failed to respond quickly and sufficiently to both events.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) claims to have prevented a terrorist attack in the Republic of Adygea on July 11, and Russian security forces may be stepping up proactive counter-terrorism operations in response to government pressure, although ISW could not confirm the truth. .
However, the Russian government has largely chosen to maintain that it is adequately combating the threat of domestic terrorism, but it is unclear what, if any, change in Russian counterterrorism policy might come from Krasnov's proposals.
Ukrainian forces hit a weapons and equipment warehouse in the city of Kursk on the night of July 30-31. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces struck a warehouse in the city of Kursk and that Ukrainian forces were assessing damage from the battle.
Acting Governor of Kursk Oblast Alexei Smirnov said Ukrainian forces struck an unspecified facility in Kursk Oblast and caused the facility to catch fire.
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MO) and other Russian sources claim that Russian air defenses have destroyed an unspecified number of Ukrainian drones and missiles, including at least one Neptune anti-ship missile, over the Kursk region.
Ukraine's General Directorate of Military Intelligence (GUR) spokesman Andriy Yusov told Radio Svoboda on July 31 that the recent "explosions" at the Olenya airport in the Murmas region, they damaged the frames of two Tu-22M3 bombers.
Ukrainian forces reportedly carried out a successful drone strike against the airport on the night of July 26-27.
In the Donetsk region, Russian forces have made minor progress around Chasov Yar, crossing the Seversky Donets-Donbass Canal, as well as in the Toretsk region, taking control of most of Zalizne (Artyomovo). Offensive operations near Avdeevka continue.
In the Zaporozhye region, fighting is intensifying around Rabotino, Verbovo and Mala Tokmachka.
In the Luhansk region, Russian forces are advancing in the Kupyansk-Svatovo-Kremenna region, taking positions near Sinkovka and Novoegorovka.
In the Kharkiv region, attacks continue with little progress in the industrial zone of Volchansk and the village of Liptsi.
Russian border guards withdrew from Armenia's main international airport. Armenian and Russian sources reported on July 31 that Russian border guards had left Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan, Armenia.
Armenian authorities requested in March 2024 that Russia remove its border guards from the airport by August 1, as Armenia can carry out its own border control without the help of Russian border guards who have been stationed at the airport since 1992.< /p>