Prepared by Sofia Oliynyk, Maryana Zaviyska, Anna Dovha
Photo: Telegram channel/@Mariupolnow
HR appointments.
Ukraine has a new Prosecutor General and the Head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. President Zelenskyi signed a decree on the appointment of Andriy Kostin to the post of the Prosecutor General and introduced him to the body’s management. Kostin is a former MP, member of the Presidential parliamentary faction ‘Public Servant’. Kostin appointed Oleksandr Klymenko as the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. The selection commission for the election of the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office could not approve the results of the competition for more than 6 months. In the end, it was accomplished on July 19. Oleksandr Klymenko, a detective of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, who has now become the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, scored the most points. This seemingly was influenced by Ukraine’s candidacy status, granted by the EU, which voiced the recommendations in several areas including fighting corruption and called for an appointment of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor.
Foreign policy.
The US Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling on the State Department to recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. The senators stated that Russia should be listed as a state sponsor of terrorism for its actions in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine, which have led to “the deaths of countless innocent men, women and children.”
The President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda arrived in Kyiv on the occasion of the Ukrainian Statehood Day. During the visit to the Verkhovna Rada, he presented Volodymyr Zelenskyi with the highest award of the Republic of Lithuania – the Order of Vytautas the Great. Along with the award, he assured that Lithuania is one of the main allies of Ukraine, which provides financial, political and military assistance. In particular, Ukraine will receive a new aid package with ammunition and ten armored vehicles. In addition, it will soon provide anti-drone systems, which are manufactured in Lithuania.
The Turkish company Baykar announced that it will give Ukraine a Bayraktar attack drone for free, refusing to take previously raised funds by the Poles. The initiator of this fundraising is Polish journalist Slawomir Sierakowski, who said 22.5 million zlotys, which were intended for the drone, will go to humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and 1.8 million zlotys, which were collected in excess of the required amount, will be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Estonia stops issuing temporary residence permits and visas to Russian students and restricts them for Russian and Belarusian workers. Foreign Minister of Estonia Urmas Reinsalu emphasized that Russia’s unjustified war against Ukraine, during which Russia grossly violates the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, also negatively affects the security of Estonia and the European Union.
Sanctions.
Montenegro began to freeze the property of Russians. Montenegro’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that authorities froze the properties of two Russian citizens in line with European Union sanctions on Russia related to its war in Ukraine. Earlier, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro, Filip Adžić, said that 44 real estate objects owned by citizens of the Russian Federation would be frozen in the country. This will be done as part of the sanctions imposed against Russia because of the war in Ukraine.
Cities under attack.
The Russians launched a missile attack on Kropyvnytskyi. Five people died, another 25 were injured, including 12 military personnel and 13 civilians. The invaders hit the hangars of the Flight Academy of the National Aviation University with missiles, where two civilian aircraft and one AN-26 were stored. The occupiers launched a massive rocket attack on Mykolaiv on July 28. As a result of the shelling, a school building was destroyed and one person was injured; a yacht club, a warehouse of an agro-industrial enterprise, and some outbuildings were damaged. The Head of Mykolaiv Military Administration Vitaliy Kim reported on an attack on the private sector, including at the humanitarian aid delivery point. Another instance of what has already become a regular shelling happened in Mykolaiv this morning. The missile damaged residential buildings and a humanitarian aid distribution center. Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region, is under attack yet again. Russian forces launched 40 rockets from the MLRS BM-21 Grad. Russian occupiers also shelled Bakhmut, Donetsk region. As a result, three people died and three people were injured. Six apartment buildings and six private houses were damaged. During the shelling of Kharkiv, a two-floor building was damaged, as well as a higher education institution.
Cities under occupation.
During the demining of a steel plant in Mariupol, eight citizens were killed. They were civilians who were ordered by the Russian military to remove the rubble before the sappers had inspected the site.
In the temporarily occupied territories of the Kharkiv region, the occupiers destroy Ukrainian children’s books. Borivsk settlement Council stated –”It is known that the school libraries of the neighboring Kupyansk district have already received an order from the occupation authorities to compile a register of all the books in their possession, published since 1991, and to dispose of them. Even fairy tales and children’s illustrated books, where there is almost no text, are subject to destruction.”
In the temporarily occupied Kherson, the resistance movement successfully conducted an action against Russian collaborators in the local police. A car of the so-called occupying police was blown up with a radio-controlled explosive device. As a result, one policeman was killed, another two are in the hospital.
Human rights.
An extraordinary OSCE conference was held in Vienna, dedicated to “filtration measures” in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. It was initiated by the missions of Ukraine, the US and the EU to the OSCE in order for the Media Initiative for Human Rights team to present a study of the phenomenon of so-called “filtering”. Thirty ambassadors of the OSCE participating countries heard the stories of victims of the filtering measures by Russian occupiers.
Energy security.
The EU will more than double electricity imports from Ukraine, said CEO of Ukrenergo. Starting from July 30, the ENTSO-E association, which represents the EU electricity transmission operators, allowed a 2.5-fold increase in the export of Ukrainian electricity, or 250 megawatts, to European countries.
Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Galushchenko visited Brussels this week. In the frame of the visit, he addressed the EU Foreign Ministers meeting. A number of high-level meetings were held and a number of important decisions for Ukraine and Europe were made in the framework of the energy sector in the conditions of Russian military aggression in Ukraine. “European politicians are aware that now on the scales, on the one hand, is the price in the payment for the utility company, and on the other – the issue of national security, which is under threat due to monopoly energy dependence on the terrorist state,” the Minister stated.
Russia created a network of secret agents in Ukraine, with the help of which it took control over the Chornobyl nuclear power plant immediately after the invasion, according to Reuters investigations. The State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine is conducting an investigation. The Head of the Chornobyl NPP security service, Valenty Viter, is suspected of voluntarily leaving his post on February 24. He is also suspected of high treason.
As of July 28, 745 settlements in Ukraine, a total of about 660 000 consumers, remain without power due to damage caused by hostilities. In particular, there are about 426 thousand consumers in Donetsk region, more than 128 000 in Luhansk region, 29 000 in Mykolaiv region, and 29 000 in Kharkiv region. More than 240 800 subscribers remain without gas supply.
Food Security.
Turkish warships (2 frigates and a submarine) have entered the Black Sea. Martin Griffiths, United Nations aid chief, expressed hope that the first grain shipment from a Ukrainian Black Sea port could take place as early as Friday. “Within this week, hopefully the first shipment will be sent out,” Deputy Infrastructure Minister of Ukraine, Yuriy Vaskov said.
A Syrian ship under US sanctions has docked in the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli carrying barley and wheat that the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut says had been stolen by Russia from Ukrainian stores, Reuters reports. The Lebanese customs authority and its agriculture ministry are reportedly following this issue, especially after the Ukrainian side voiced its concerns about the origin of grain.
Transport.
The European Commission, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport today proposed to amend its December 2021 proposal on the revision of the TEN-T Regulation, reads the statement. The proposal extends four European Transport Corridors to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. The ground for this extension had already been prepared when the Commission adopted revised maps for the TEN-T network in Ukraine earlier in the month. The proposal therefore removes Russia and Belarus from the TEN-T maps. The Commission is also proposing to downgrade the last miles of all cross-border connections between the EU and Russia/Belarus from ‘core network’ to ‘comprehensive network’. This implies a later target date for completion – 2050 instead of 2030.
Culture.
The feature film “Luxembourg, Luxembourg” directed by Ukrainian Antonio Lukich, has been selected for the Orizzonti Competition, the second most important after the main competition at the Venice Film Festival.
Creative director of Balenciaga Demna Gvasalia, became the ambassador of UNITED24, the platform initiated by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi to collect donations in support of Ukraine.
Sport.
During the Champions League qualification match between Istanbul Fenerbahce and Kyiv Dynamo, fans of the Turkish team chanted the name of Vladimir Putin. In response to this, the head coach of the Ukrainians, Mircea Lucescu, ignored the post-match press conference, which is a mandatory event. UEFA has launched a disciplinary investigation into the behavior of Turkish Fenerbahce fans. Currently, the organization has appointed an ethics and discipline inspector. In accordance with UEFA’s disciplinary regulations, the inspector will conduct an investigation into the alleged inappropriate behavior of Fenerbahce fans during the match.
Education.
The College of Europe will be created in Ukraine – a post-graduate education institution that will train specialists to work in EU institutions. At the first stage, a faculty of European integration will be established in one of the Ukrainian institutions of higher education, and later, on its basis, the College of Europe within the Presidential University.
Church.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine called on the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to dethrone the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill (Volodymyr Gundyaev) who supports the Russian aggression against Ukraine. “The denial of the freedom of entire peoples is combined in the worldview of Patriarch Kirill and his like-minded people with a racist theory in its spirit,” the letter to Ecumenical Patriarch said.
Reading corner.
- Why Russia’s War in Ukraine Is a Genocide | Foreign Affairs
- Business Retreats and Sanctions Are Crippling the Russian Economy by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Steven Tian, Franek Sokolowski, Michal Wyrebkowski, Mateusz Kasprowicz | SSRN
- Why Russia Is Trying to Stop Emigration to Israel | The Atlantic
- Why Russia is on a charm offensive in Africa. The reasons aren’t pretty (theconversation.com)
Statistics.
- General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the total estimated losses of the Russian military as of 10 a.m., July 29, 2022: personnel – around 40 500, tanks ‒ 1749, APV ‒ 3987, artillery systems – 900, MLRS – 258, anti-aircraft warfare systems – 117, fixed-wing aircraft – 222, helicopters – 190, operational-tactical level UAV – 731, cruise missiles – 174, boats and light speed boats – 15, soft-skinned vehicles and fuel tankers – 2870, special equipment – 77.
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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