Prepared by Sofia Oliynyk and Maryana Zaviyska
Photo: Mykolaiv
Cities under attack.
Russia fired at least 10 missiles at two universities in Mykolaiv, said head of the Mykolaiv regional military administration Vitaly Kim. At least four people were injured due to the shelling. The Russian army launched missile strikes on the city of Dnipro. Missiles hit an industrial enterprise and a nearby street. Preliminarily, three people were killed, and 15 more were injured, says the head of the Regional Military Administration Reznichenko. Air defense forces shot down a Russian missile over the Bila Tserkva district of the Kyiv region in the evening. Three missiles were launched at Odesa yesterday and another missile attack hit the city today in the morning. The Russian military shelled the Nikopol district of the Dnipropetrovsk region with phosphorus bombs. As a result of the shelling, there was a fire. Also, the residential areas of Nikopol were shelled from Grads. As a result of the shelling, 12 five-story buildings, a school, and a vocational school building were damaged. The Russian occupiers are bringing missile complexes to the territory of the Zaporizhzhya NPP, from which they are shelling the Nikopol region.
Self-proclaimed authorities at the occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhia Oblasts signed “decrees” that provide the right for forced deportation from the regions for “extremist activities”. The “extremist activity” includes obstructing the work of the “administration”, social structures and enterprises; compromising the occupying “authorities” and the armed forces of the Russian Federation, spreading “knowingly false” information about them. In addition, responsibility is provided for “justification of terrorism, use of Nazi and extremist organizations’ attributes”, violation of social, racial, national or religious enmity, holding of public events not agreed with the occupation administration, production of “extremist” materials and their financing, as well as creating “threats to public safety” in other forms.
Human rights.
1,400 new graves were recorded in Mariupol cemetery. Satellite images show that approximately 1,400 new graves appeared at the Mariupol Starokrymske cemetery between 12 May and 29 June. The report underlines the fact that the city has seen no further fighting since Russia captured it in late May, but the bodies of the killed could have been found under the rubble of destroyed buildings. The total number of graves equals 3,100.
32 drivers, who were evacuating Mariupol residents, were released from Russian captivity. 33 volunteer drivers were held in captivity in the Donetsk region for about 100 days, of which 32 have already been released. One more person remains in captivity.
Foreign policy.
Denys Shmyhal and Josep Borrell discussed the further integration of Ukraine into the European Union. The Prime Minister emphasized that Ukraine will focus on bringing Ukrainian legislation closer to EU legislation. During the conversation, Denys Shmyhal also expressed Ukraine’s readiness to move forward to ensure integration into the EU internal market. In particular, our country counts on the conclusion of the Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptability of Industrial Goods (ACAA), joining the NCTS system, the single roaming zone and the SEPA. In addition, Ukrainian counterpart called on the EU to recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, as its army launches systematic and major terror attacks against the civilian population. Last but not least, Ukraine called for the new sanctions package to block imports of iron ore and energy resources from Russia, as well as to expand individual sanctions against Russian officials and functionaries.
Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Friday called for a joint forum involving G20 finance and agriculture ministries to come up with concrete action to tackle growing food insecurity and a looming fertilizer supply crisis. The world is facing alarming global hunger due to war, export restrictions and the lingering effect of the pandemic, therefore the risk of a fertilizer supply crisis could only exacerbate the food crisis even into 2023 and beyond, she said.
Sanctions.
The European Commission announced another series of sanctions against the Russian Federation. The sanctions package will be aimed at harmonizing and clarifying the measures of the previous packages and at the alignment of the measures among all partner countries, in particular, the G7. The new sanctions propose to ban imports of Russian gold and, at the same time, strengthen controls on exports of dual-use goods and advanced technology. POLITICO reports that though the European Commission set out plans to ban imports of Russian gold Friday — but for now it’s leaving jewelry out of the list of sanctioned goods.
Canada has expanded sanctions against Russia by amending the existing list. The new restrictions apply to ferrous metallurgy, the production of finished metal products, computers, electronics, optics, electrical equipment, and vehicles, as well as land transport and pipelines.
Food security.
Grain exports has decreased by 40% since the beginning of the 2022-2023 marketing year (July 2022 — June 2023). As of July 13, the total amount equaled to 556 million tons, against 926 million tons on the corresponding date of the previous marketing year. According to the State Customs Service, the export of basic grains has decreased – corn — by 17.4%, up to 403 thousand tons, wheat — 2.2 times, up to 113,000 tons, barley — by 4.9 times, up to 37,000 tons. In the conditions of the naval blockade of Russia, Ukraine has established two grain export channels — through Poland and Romania, and is also conducting negotiations with the Baltic states.
Sociological data.
According to recent sociological survey by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Ukrainians are deeply united in the face of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Ukrainians are committed to their country’s democratic development. 94 percent of respondents say that fully functioning democracy is important to them. Despite the full-scale invasion, respondents show unprecedented optimism about Ukraine’s future: 87 percent reported that they are optimistic about the future of the country, says the report. An overwhelming majority of Ukrainians trust the Armed Forces and the leadership of the country as ninety seven percent trust the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and 85 percent trust the President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukrainians are also united in their desire and expectation of joining the European Union and NATO. Ninety percent of respondents nationally want Ukraine to become a member state of the European Union, with the lowest numbers in the East and South at 84 percent. Willingness to join NATO is supported by the majority of respondents with 73 percent nationally.
Preparing for winter.
An estimated 15.7 million Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 7.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in both private homes and collective centres, according to a recent OCHA report. Millions of Ukrainians are living in damaged homes, or in buildings ill-suited to provide sufficient protection from harsh winter conditions. As the winter temperature is predicted to plummet as low as –20 degrees Celsius in parts of the country, severe impact will be felt by millions living in sub-standard conditions or without sufficient personal insulation or access to heating.The winterization plan focuses on two broad areas of intervention: provision of winterised core relief items, including thermal blankets, winter clothing, heating appliances, and solid fuel. Winterization repairs to collective centres, providing shelter for IDPs; insulation and repairs for damaged homes in isolated rural areas and repairs for livestock shelters to ensure livelihood survival over the winter months.
Statistics.
- General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the total estimated losses of the Russian military as of 10 a.m., July 15, 2022: personnel – around 38 140, tanks ‒ 1677, APV ‒ 3874, artillery systems – 846, MLRS – 247, anti-aircraft warfare systems – 109, fixed-wing aircraft – 220, helicopters – 188, operational-tactical level UAV – 687, cruise missiles – 162, boats and light speed boats – 15, soft-skinned vehicles and fuel tankers – 2735, special equipment – 68.
Every action counts, no contribution is too small!
- Support Mykolaiv-based ‘Rebel Volunteers’ who are working with the trauma departments and emergency rooms of the Emergency Hospital, the Children’s Hospital and some other health care facilities in Mykolaiv. The volunteer group also supports the Mykolaiv Zoo and cooperates with animal rights activists.
- Share this up-to-date information about the situation in Ukraine, either on social media, with local media or by spreading around this brief update.
- Subscribe to our daily updates on Twitter and our website.
Thank you for supporting Ukraine! Slava Ukraini! Glory to Ukraine!