Prepared by Sofia Oliynyk, Maryana Zaviyska, Anna Dovha
Photo: Mykola Synelnykov
Cities under attack.
‘Good morning’ in Ukraine started today around 4am when the air raid alarms went off. At least 20 missiles were launched this morning from three different directions – Belarus, Russia, and the Black Sea. Numerous missile attacks were recorded in 5 regions this morning – in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Mykolayiv regions. In the Kyiv region, the infrastructure has been destroyed. In the Kharkiv region, the Russian occupiers launched rocket attacks on the Nemyshlyansky and Kyiv districts of Kharkiv. The Mayor of Kharkiv reported that in the morning, the Russian military shelled the Industrial District of Kharkiv. Six people are wounded. Industrial facilities and a private house were damaged, fires broke out. Preliminary there are no victims. Some more infrastructure has been destroyed in the region. Series of shelling hit the Mykolayiv region. It is known in advance that the school building in the Korabelny district of the city was destroyed as a result of the impact of three rockets. Schools and critical infrastructure were damaged and destroyed in the region. In the Donetsk region, 18 private houses, 5 high-rise buildings, premises of State Enterprise ‘Artemsil’ were damaged due to the shelling. Russian occupiers struck a hotel in Bakhmut, Donetsk region. One man was killed. The other man was hospitalized. The Russian occupiers shelled two districts of the Dnipropetrovsk region – Nikopol and Kryvorizky, the Head of Dnipropetrovsk Military Administration. A 54-year-old woman was injured. In the city of Marganets, 8 five-story buildings, a hospital and a kindergarten were damaged.
Cities under occupation.
Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov stated that Russian occupiers threaten to undermine infrastructure if they retreat from Melitopol.
The armed forces of Ukraine struck the Antonivskyi bridge in occupied Kherson. Now the bridge is closed to traffic, significant damage prevents passage. The bridge was an important logistic facility for Russian invaders in the region. According to the deputy of the Kherson Regional Council Serhii Khlan, the struck happened just when the Russians were transporting the accumulated equipment. Two villages, Andriivka and Lozove, in the Kherson region were liberated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The operational command ‘South’ reported that it was made with the help of airstrikes.
The Mariupol City Council reported that the Russian occupiers stopped providing humanitarian aid in Mariupol. Only children will be able to get the products.
Foreign policy.
The European Union published the Association Implementation Report on Ukraine covering the period since the latest report published on 1 December 2020 and until the beginning of Russia’s military aggression on 24 February 2022. According to the report, positive changes occurred in the areas of the rule of law, the fight against corruption, digital transformation, and public administration. In the areas of climate actions, Ukraine adopted important documents and cooperated with the EU that will foster Ukrainian green transformation. The report indicates that several positive developments took place in the area of justice, rule of law, and the fight against corruption. For example, the key law aiming at reforming the High Council of Justice (HCJ) and re-launching of the High Qualifications Commission of Judges (HQCJ) were adopted. However, significant outstanding challenges include urgent reform of the Constitutional Court (CCU). A new law on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) was adopted establishing a much needed clear legal framework for the office. The selection process for a new head of the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) was not concluded (in the morning on July 28 2022 the head of the SAPO is appointed according to the legal procedure – editor). The High Anti-corruption Court (HACC) continued building a solid track record, and a law on whistle-blowers protection was adopted. In regard to environmental reforms in 2021, the report indicates little progress. However, in the area of climate action, Ukraine adopted and submitted its Nationally Defined Contribution to the Paris Agreement and National Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change. An EU-Ukraine focused dialogue on the EU Green Deal and Ukraine’s green transformation
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia Tanja Fajon visited Ukraine. During her working trip, the Minister visited Irpin, Kyiv region. ‘Tanja Fajon was shocked by the devastating consequences of the Russian military aggression in Irpin,’ the Kyiv Regional Military Administration noted. In the frame of the visit Foreign Minister Fajon met with Prime Minister Shmyhal. Vice Prime Minister Tanja Fajon emphasized that Slovenia would continue to support Ukraine. According to the top official, Slovenia is preparing a new aid package for Ukraine, and is also ready to start new programs, in particular, regarding the rehabilitation of Ukrainians who suffered from the war.
The United States approved Ukrainian wounded soldiers being treated at the US military hospital in Germany. According to CNN, it will enable treatment of up to 18 wounded soldiers at a time at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the massive hospital in Germany where the military has treated US service members who suffered injuries in combat.
Boris Johnson may become the next Secretary General of NATO after the resignation of the current head of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, which is expected in September 2023. It is noted that Johnson has long been considered for the position of NATO Secretary General due to the distrust of the United States in the leaders of the European Union, who lead the Alliance. It is expected that France is likely to reject his candidacy.
Head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, who supports the war launched by Russia against Ukraine, is banned from entering Lithuania. At the suggestion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church was included in the list of undesirable persons as early as June 23, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.
The Ukrainian Nave reported that The Commander of the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksiy Neizhpapa held an online meeting with the Commander of the NATO Maritime Command Keith Blount. During the meeting, the topic of grain export from Ukrainian ports was discussed. The parties paid great attention to ensuring mine safety and creating safe routes along which vessels transporting Ukrainian grain and food products should move.
French President Emmanuel Macron called Russia’s actions against Ukraine ‘a new type of global hybrid war’. ‘It decided that information, energy and food were military instruments placed at the service of a continental imperialist war against Ukraine,’ he said.
Energy security.
The European Union will be able to double the export of Ukrainian electricity, according to European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson. ‘If commercial electricity trade will help Ukraine compensate for some of the revenue losses, then this is the way forward. We do not wait for any specific technical conditions to start trading. Trade is already underway,’ she said.
The G7 aims to have a price-capping mechanism on Russian oil shipments in place by December 5, when European Union sanctions against seaborne imports of Russian oil enter into force, says a senior G7 official.
Gas pumping through the Northern Stream pipeline decreased to 31 million cubic meters per day. This is due to the decommissioning of another gas pumping unit.
Food Security.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Mykolaiv region announced that due to overnight shelling in the Mykolaiv region 240 hectares of harvest fields were destroyed.
The operation of Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea has been resumed, according to the Ukrainian Navy. Following the signed agreement on the unblocking of Ukrainian ports for the export of grain, work has been resumed in the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi. The departure and arrival of ships to seaports will be carried out by forming a caravan that will accompany the lead ship.
Culture.
In Lithuania, a discussion began about reducing the list of works by Russian authors in the list of recommended literature for schools, and adding at least some Ukrainian ones to it. In particular, the experts of the National Academy of Sciences recommended adding to the list the works of Serhiy Zhadan, which have already been translated into Lithuanian. Read a story about Serhiy Zhadan, who belongs to a long line of poets playing a crucial role in Ukrainian culture, in the TIME article ‘The Rock Star Poet Playing Concerts to Ukrainians Sheltering Underground From Russian Bombs’.
Forced migration.
The Polish Economic Institute estimated the aid to Ukrainian refugees in the first months of the war at $9-10 billion, which is 1% of Poland’s GDP. According to the estimation, during the first three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, 70% of Poles got involved in helping refugees.
Recent polls.
84% of Ukrainians are against territorial concessions in exchange for stopping the full-scale invasion of Russia and consider such a decision unacceptable, according to the recent poll of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. In all regions of Ukraine, the absolute majority of the population is against any territorial concessions. Even among residents of the East, which is currently undergoing intense fighting, 77% are against concessions (ready for concessions – only 16%), and among residents of the South – 82% are against concessions (ready – only 10%).
The Fifteenth national survey during the war, conducted by the Sociological Group ‘Rating’ on July 23-24, 2022, showed that 73% of the respondents believe that things in Ukraine are going in the right direction. 12% of the respondents have an opposite opinion, while another 15% could not make an estimate. According to the estimates of this survey, the share of those who changed their place of residence in Ukraine stays at approximately 20%. The highest share of such respondents is among the residents of the East of Ukraine (58%). Only 10% of the respondents do not intend to return to their homes (3% did not intend in April and 8% in June). 16% said that they will return soon, while 18% will return, but they are going to wait a little longer. 50% said that they intend to return, but only if the war ends – and this number is gradually growing. The dynamics of resuming employment, which has been observed over the past three months, has slowed down. Today, 59% of those who had a job before the war are currently working: 34%, full-time, 19%, remotely or part-time, and 6% found a new job. On the other hand, the share of those who nevertheless lost their jobs increased (from 35% in June to 39% in July). The highest shares of the latter are among the residents of the East of Ukraine, women, the poorest respondents, those who work in the private sector or have their own business, as well as among the internally displaced persons (IDPs). The share of those who wish to start their own business has almost doubled: today, 45% would like to become an entrepreneur, 9% already have their own businesses, and 46% have no such desire. 62% will seek additional sources of income, and 35% will reduce their expenses. Regarding external migration, 28% would personally like to work or get a job abroad (70% would not like to). 9% would like to go abroad for permanent residence (90% would not like to). The share of those who would like to go abroad for permanent residence has critically decreased from 27% to 9% over the last two years. This is also due to the fact that a large number of Ukrainians went abroad in forced immigration. Almost 90% of respondents believe that Russia should compensate Ukraine’s economic and infrastructural losses incurred because of the war.
Reading corner.
- Freeing Ukraine’s Bountiful Food Supply | Open Society Foundations – ‘In a typical year, Ukraine provides more than half the wheat imported by some Middle Eastern and African countries. Now, with Russia bombing storage facilities and raining missiles down on open fields, farmers are racing to harvest what they can before their livelihoods burn up; wheat exports this June dropped nearly 80 percent year over year.’
- Thinking about… | Timothy Snyder | Substack – ‘The war has shown that the Ukrainian state (or really Ukrainian civil society) is far more resilient and functional than almost anyone would have thought. Ukraine is, in my view at least, in a position to win this war. But given the nature of its disadvantages, especially in economic power, Ukraine is vulnerable to shifts in how we think about the war. Russia’s shortcut to victory, and perhaps its only route to victory, is in convincing us that Ukraine cannot win (or that the war is somehow Ukraine’s fault, and that it would somehow stop if we turned away)’.
- Opinion | Putin Performs for Russia, and Ukraine Is the Stage | The New York Times (nytimes.com) – ‘Mr. Putin recently declared that there are only two types of countries: ‘Either a country is sovereign, or it is a colony,’ he said. This is the logic of internal humiliation projected onto geopolitics. For those who are chronically humiliated and humiliate others in turn, the idea that countries large and small alike could have rights is impossible: The world is split into those who dominate and those who are dominated.’
Statistics.
- General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the total estimated losses of the Russian military as of 10 a.m., July 28, 2022: personnel – around 40 230, tanks ‒ 1742, APV ‒ 3979, artillery systems – 8943, MLRS – 258, anti-aircraft warfare systems – 117, fixed-wing aircraft – 222, helicopters – 190, operational-tactical level UAV – 729, cruise missiles – 174, boats and light speed boats – 15, soft-skinned vehicles and fuel tankers – 2854, special equipment – 75.
Every action counts, no contribution is too small!
- Support TSE-MOE-MISTO, the foundation organized by the Ukrainian performer ONUKA. Volunteers of the foundation collect what is necessary for the military on the front lines and deliver humanitarian aid to communities. The foundation has already organized a charity auction, purchased a car for the needs of the military, and donated dozens of various items for defenders, including medical, tactical and military equipment and laptops.
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