Prepared by Sofia Oliynyk and Maryana Zaviyska
Photo: The Village Ukraine
Recovery.
The Ukraine Recovery Conference concluded in Lugano, Switzerland with a joint declaration. The country representatives indicated their full commitment to support Ukraine throughout its path from early to long-term recovery, and linking this to Ukraine’s European perspective and EU candidate country status; encourage and welcome all commitments to provide coordinated political, financial and technical support to this end. In addition, the leaders ‘welcome innovative approaches to recovery, such as digital transformation, green energy transition, national and international innovative and sustainable financing, including harnessing possible reparations, contributions by private donors and the private sector; invite the private sector, academia and civil society as well as actors at sub-national level, such as cities, hospitals and others, to enter into partnerships with Ukrainian counterparts’. The participants of the Conference have approved the following Lugano principles for the recovery process: (1) Partnership. Ukraine will lead the recovery process and implement it in partnership with its international partners; (2) Focus on reforms; (3) Transparency, accountability and rule of law; (4) Democratic participation; (5) Multi-stakeholder engagement; (6) Gender equality and inclusion; (7) Sustainability.
Foreign policy.
The Swedish government has announced an investment of 6 million euros for the reconstruction of Ukraine during the Ukraine Recovery Conference. About 1 million euros will go to nuclear security needs, another half a million to demining, which is a prerequisite for reconstruction. Lithuania will transfer an additional 10 million Euros to the National Bank of Ukraine for emergency rebuilding. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on July 4 that Scotland and Wales together have contributed 100 million pounds ($120 million) to military support of Ukraine. Johnson also thanked the two countries for housing 9000 Ukrainian refugees.
Ukraine has applied to join the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. “We hope that the OECD Council will consider this document so that we can join as soon as possible. Ongoing support, the forthcoming work on Ukraine’s recovery and accession to the EU, the beginning of which was supported by all EU member states, will be based on the completion of structural reforms in Ukraine – an area where OECD support is fundamental,“ said the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
Cities under attack.
Sloviansk, Donetsk region was under intense shelling yesterday. Russian strikes killed two people in Avdiivka, one in Sloviansk, one in Krasnohorivka, and one in Kurakhovo. Another 21 people were injured, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Donetsk region. Russian missiles hit a community in Khmelnytskyi region. Local authorities say the Russian forces targeted a water tower that is a sole source of water supply for the community. After taking Lysychansk, Russian troops are shifting their main focus to a major offensive on Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Dnipropetrovsk region Governor Valentyn Reznichenko reported that Kryvorizkyi District was shelled during the night of July 6. In the village of Shestirnia, a few residential buildings were damaged. No casualties have been reported.
Cities under the occupation.
Russian authorities have brought teachers from Russia to the temporary occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia region and are forcing parents to send their children to kindergartens and schools that follow the Russian educational system. In case parents refuse to do so, the occupiers are threatening to take their children away from them and send them to boarding schools. In addition, fathers who do not follow the regulation might be forced to join military service in the army of the so-called ‘DPR’ and mothers to attend community service.
The Russians are preparing mobilization not only in Crimea but also in the parts of the occupied territories of the southern regions of Ukraine, says the Center of National Resistance. Russian authorities began preparations for recruitment in Berdiansk, where the heads of housing cooperatives were ordered to provide lists of house tenants of draft age. In other words, Russia will mobilize Ukrainians for the war against Ukraine. The same practice is followed in the temporarily occupied territories of the Luhansk region. This violates Geneva conventions in terms of illegal mobilization of the citizens to fight their own country.
Up to 15 000 people remained in temporarily occupied Lysychansk and 8000 in Severodonetsk – reported governor of Luhansk region.
Russian occupants have seized two foreign-flagged ships in Mariupol, saying they are now ‘state property’, Reuters reports. Panama-flagged Blue Star and Liberia registered Smarta Shipping. The Ukrainian foreign ministry official said it was aware of an announcement by ‘the Russian occupation authority in Donetsk to create a ’national’ fleet consisting of ships they had stolen in Mariupol’, adding they were checking on the vessels seized. This is the first time commercial ships have been seized. More than 80 foreign vessels are estimated to be stuck at Ukrainian ports due to Russian aggression.
Sanctions.
Ukraine has seized Russian assets worth UAH 33 billion, says Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova. The arrests turned out to be a part of various criminal proceedings. ‘Our task is to identify, see the connections, prevent the replacement of the owners, arrest, make sure that the property or funds were transferred to the control of the state of Ukraine’, said Venediktova.
Exports of Russian gold hit record lows from March onward, says Kyiv School of Economics Institute overview. Following London Stock Exchange’s decision to withdraw certifications from a number of Russian gold providers has been the driving force behind the decline, as the U.K. has been the biggest importer of Russian gold for the past decade. 346 tons of gold were produced in Russia in 2021 (excluding Gold Concentrates), making Russia the 2nd (after China) the world’s largest gold producer with a share of about 9.5%.
Japan expands sanctions against Russia, Belarus, bans import of gold from Russia. The expanded list of sanctions includes 90 individuals and legal entities, including Russian collaborators in temporarily-occupied Kherson Oblast. Japan also introduced a ban on the import of gold from Russia, as well as a ban on the export of goods to 65 Russian and 25 Belarusian manufacturing companies.
Economics.
The Australian government abolished import duties from Ukraine. This measure came into effect yesterday and follows similar actions from our international partners such as the European Union and the UK. ‘The elimination of tariffs on imports into Australia from Ukraine is a key part of the Australian Government’s ongoing efforts to further deepen our bilateral trade and investment relationship. These kinds of measures by Australia and other international partners that support Ukraine’s economy and expand trade opportunities, are vital to Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction in the short and long term’.
Human rights.
Arbitrary detention of civilians is growing in parts of Ukraine held by Russia’s military and affiliated armed groups, says U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet told the Geneva-based Human Rights Council. Currently, 270 cases were documented based on information from monitors’ field visits and interviews conducted with just over 500 victims and witnesses of human rights violations, as well as other sources of data.
Energy security.
Russia is bringing its workers from Rosenergoatom to the captured Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, to replace Ukrainian specialists who refuse to cooperate with the Russian military. According to the plan of the Russians, all dissenting plant workers should leave the city of Enerhodar. It is considered that Russian authorities plan to disconnect the station from the Ukrainian power grid by the end of September, says the National Resistance Center.
Food security.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Programme received $17 million from Japan to address grain storage problems in Ukraine and increase its exports as global food prices remain near record levels amid war in the country. While Ukraine still had 18 million tonnes of last year’s grains and oilseeds harvest stuck in storage, and the country is expecting to harvest another 60 million tonnes in the current season.
Analysts at NASA Harvest state that Russia controls about 22% of Ukraine’s agricultural land. 28% of winter crops and 18 % of summer crops are currently under Russian occupation. The report indicates that Ukraine provided 46% of world exports of oil, 9% of wheat, 17% of barley and 12% of corn on world markets, so the occupation leads to a food crisis. In addition, some of the fields are already unusable. The key to averting disruptions in the food supply will be the availability of timely data about crop prospects and about the price and distribution of key goods, says the report.
Science.
Ukrainian scientist Maryna Viazovska became one of the winners of the most prestigious mathematics award – the Fields Medal. She became the second woman in history to receive this award. The Ukrainian received the award for solving the problem of packing spheres in eight-dimensional space. It has been known since the 16th century and was pondered by Kepler and Newton. Initially, the issue was related to the need to come up with the most efficient way of stacking cannonballs on the ships of the British navy. Later on, the problem was included in the list of 23 unsolved mathematical problems, and many famous scientists discussed its solution. Read the story about Maria – Ukrainian Mathematician Maryna Viazovska Wins Fields Medal | Quanta Magazine
Reading corner.
- Keep Czars Far Away, in Moscow or Mar-a-Lago | The New York Times – ‘The exhausted faces you see in the Ukrainian women and children crossing into other parts of Europe; the agonized faces of the Ukrainians recovering from injuries sustained in indiscriminate Russian fire; the sunken faces of the Ukrainians who survived Russian captivity in filthy cellars — these are not the faces of strangers. For tens of millions of Americans with relatively recent immigrant roots, they are the faces of our parents or grandparents. That’s true irrespective of whether their roots lie in Russia, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Iran or Venezuela.’
- The sole survivor of a Russian shooting – he lived by playing dead | BBC – ‘The killings at 144 Yablunska Street and elsewhere in Bucha are the focus of a huge war crimes investigation by the International Criminal Court and Ukraine. The Ukrainian investigation is led by a police lawyer who, until recently, was best known for investigating cases of brutality within the country’s police force.’
Statistics.
- General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the total estimated losses of the Russian military as of 10 a.m., July 6, 2022: personnel – around 36 500, tanks ‒ 1600, APV ‒ 3789, artillery systems – 812, MLRS – 247, anti-aircraft warfare systems – 107, fixed-wing aircraft – 217, helicopters – 187, operational-tactical level UAV – 664, cruise missiles – 153, boats and light speed boats – 15, soft-skinned vehicles and fuel tankers – 2648, special equipment – 65.
Every action counts, no contribution is too small!
- Support Medical battalion ‘Hospitallers’. A volunteer organization of paramedics operating since 2014.
The team provides medical aid in the hot spots. Recently, their evacuation car was destroyed, thus the team is fundraising for a new mobile hospital vehicle.
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