Prepared by Sofia Oliynyk and Maryana Zaviyska
Photo: Mstyslav Chernov
Human rights.
There are at least 18 Russian Federation’s filtration camps operating along the border with Ukraine, said Courtney Ostrien, Deputy Head of the US Mission to the OSCE. Preparations for the filtration camps have started already before the full-scale invasion. Russians already had lists of activists and political figures, and employees of Ukrainian security agencies to be detained and checked. The Russian military forcibly keep sending Ukrainians to filtration sites, where they were searched, tortured, and interrogated.
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk calls on residents of the occupied districts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions to evacuate by all possible means. Vereshchuk warns that when the de-occupation starts, armed battles will intensify, including the offensive from the Ukrainian side and the residents are asked to leave both regions in order to prevent casualties among civilians.
Cities under attack.
President Zelenskyi visited front-line positions in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The President talked to the defenders and presented them with awards. Meanwhile Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov named three possible scenarios for the end of the war with Russia, including the collapse of the Russian Federation, the victory of Ukraine on the battlefield, and another alleged ‘goodwill gesture of the Russian Federation.’
On Saturday morning, Russian troops shelled the Ingulets district of Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, with BM-21 ‘Grad’, resulting in the death of a 41-year old woman.
In the Donetsk region, the occupiers tried to establish control over the territory of the Vuhlehirska Heat Power Plant and improve the tactical positions. However, Ukrainian soldiers pushed them back to their previous positions. During the day, the rescuers of the Donetsk region have eliminated 8 fires of wheat fields which were caused by the Russian shelling on the territory of Kramatorsk, Pokrovsk, and Bakhmut districts. The fires destroyed 345.5 hectares of wheat fields overall. Russians halted water supply in the occupied Mariupol. The reason behind this is that the electricity networks stopped functioning due to overheating. Therefore, the water pumping station stopped operating as well. Advisor to the City Mayor, Petro Andriushchenko says people express discontent taking to the streets.
The Sumy Region Governor reports that during the day Russia shelled the Sumy region at least 18 times targeting eight different settlements. A local farmer was injured in the Krasnopillia community but is being treated at a hospital.
Kharkiv is continually being shelled by Russian forces. Residential areas and surgical units in Kharkiv were struck by Russian missiles.
Recovery.
Paris City Council backs agreement on cooperation for restoration of Kyiv. The Council voted unanimously on July 8 to back an agreement for the cooperation between Kyiv and Paris that was signed during the Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s visit to the Ukrainian capital in April. ‘Paris stands alongside the Kyivans and their municipality for peace and the reconstruction of the Ukrainian capital,’ Arnaud Ngatcha, deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of Europe, international relations and the Francophonie tweeted on July 8.
Foreign policy.
Kazakhstan withdraws from the 1995 Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) agreement on the Interstate Currency Committee. ‘Approve the protocol on the termination of the agreement on the establishment of the Interstate Currency Committee of May 26, 1995, concluded in Minsk on October 25, 2013’, reads the decree of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov left the G20 summit ahead of schedule due to the boycott by representatives of the G7 countries. The G7 did not want to be photographed with him as well as to participate in the joint dinner.
Canada expands sanctions against Russia. Additional sanctions include 29 state-sponsored disinformation and propaganda agents and 15 entities controlled or owned by the Russian government, the foreign ministry said. Also sanctions were imposed on the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill (Vladimir Gundyaev), Roskomnadzor, and the Regnum agency. In addition, the import of gold from the Russian Federation in any form was also banned, in particular in the form of jewelry.
The Belgian Embassy is reopening in Kyiv with a new Ambassador in town. As early as July 11, Ambassador Peter Van de Velde will start working in the capital of Ukraine. ‘This is an important sign of stability and support for Ukrainians. The return of diplomatic teams to Kyiv is also important for the reconstruction of the country, establishing closer ties with the Ukrainian authorities, especially in the context of the security situation and Ukraine’s bid for EU membership,’ Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said.
Ukraine is planning to join the Council of Europe Development Bank, as announced by Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov. Ukraine has formally requested to become a member of the CEB in early June. To become a full member of the Bank, Ukraine will have to fulfill formal conditions and financial requirements, and deposit the instrument of accession with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. Given the exceptional circumstances that Ukraine is facing, the CEB’s member states have expressed their intention to give a tangible sign of support by relieving the country from any payment requirement for accession, says the statement.
Energy security.
Greece and Bulgaria completed on Friday a long-delayed gas pipeline between the two countries which potentially could contribute to ending Europe’s dependence on Russian gas. Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen heads to Asia next week to meet with officials from Japan, South Korea and other G20 economies as she seeks to build support for a price cap on Russian oil, the Treasury Department said on Friday. Germany confirmed on Friday that the government had received a positive signal from Canada regarding the delivery of a turbine needed for the maintenance of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany, but could not say that the turbine had been delivered.
Economy.
Consumer prices in Ukraine accelerated to 21.5% in June, compared to 18% a month earlier, according to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine. The increase, the highest since inflation reached 20% in March of 2016, is due to costs of fuel and food supplies constrained by Russia’s invasion. Ukraine’s National Bank has hiked interest rates to 25% to combat inflation.
Culture.
Russia has damaged Ukrainian cultural heritage sites 417 times, violating the Hague treaty. Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Information reports that Ukrainian cultural sites have been targeted and hit over 400 times since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Reading corner.
- Russia Continues Shelling in Ukraine’s East as War Divides G20 | The New York Times (nytimes.com)
- Rebuilding Ukraine for a changing climate | The Hill – ‘As horrible as the destruction of Ukraine is, a small portion of the infrastructure that has been badly damaged or destroyed might inadvertently also reduce the costs of a possible future transition to a cleaner energy infrastructure, as many of its stranded assets have been permanently decommissioned by the war.’
- Young Ukrainians in Kyiv – a photo essay | The Guardian – Photographer Fabian Ritter spent three weeks with young people in Kyiv getting to know their outlook and documenting their new everyday lives.
- Ukraine defies Russia and launches electricity exports to EU neighbors | Atlantic Council – ‘The importance of Ukraine’s synchronization with ENTSO-E cannot be overstated. In the very short-term, the country will become a source of cheap energy for the region at a time when Russia’s deliberate curtailment of gas deliveries to Europe has sent energy costs sky high. […] In the longer term, once the current war with Russia ends and the reconstruction of Ukraine begins, the country’s electricity consumption is expected to soar, requiring imports in addition to its own domestically generated volumes. This will create new opportunities for neighboring countries to ramp up production and develop their own domestic electricity sectors to respond to rising Ukrainian demand.’
Statistics.
- 110 000 individual houses, about 15 000 apartment buildings, more than 1100 schools, 650 kindergartens and 700 health care facilities were destroyed or damaged as a result of military operations.
- In the Kyiv region, 52 buildings have been restored, the regional council announced. Among them are hospitals and schools, apartment blocks, and private houses located near Brovary, Bucha, Fastiv, and Vyshhorod.
- Almost 86% of Kyiv’s enterprises resumed work in June. According to the Kyiv City Council’s Department of Economy and Investment, the figures rose significantly from 32% in March.
- General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the total estimated losses of the Russian military as of 10 a.m., July 9, 2022: personnel – around 37 200, tanks ‒ 1638, APV ‒ 3815, artillery systems – 832, MLRS – 247, anti-aircraft warfare systems – 108, fixed-wing aircraft – 217, helicopters – 187, operational-tactical level UAV – 674, cruise missiles – 155, boats and light speed boats – 15, soft-skinned vehicles and fuel tankers – 2687, special equipment – 66.
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