Prepared by Sofia Oliynyk, Maryana Zaviyska, Anna Dovha
Photo: Ukraine’s ambassador to Denmark Mykhailo Vydoinyk arrives at the Donor Conference for Ukraine at Christiansborg Palace, in Copenhagen, Denmark August 11, 2022. Ritzau Scanpix/Philip Davali via REUTERS
Energy security.
On August 11, Russian troops shelled the Zaporizhzhya NPP and the territory near the nuclear facility. According to Energoatom, the Russian occupiers damaged the domestic wastewater station, several radiation sensors and hit quite close to the first power unit. In line with Russia’s official propaganda Russia convenes a meeting of the UN Security Council on August 11 on the topic of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant shelling. According to Russia, the reason for the meeting should be the strikes of the Ukrainian army on the territory of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. The heads of the foreign affairs ministries of the G7 countries on Wednesday called on Russia to hand over the Zaporizhzhya NPP to Ukraine’s control. ‘We demand that Russia immediately return full control of the Zaporizhzhya NPP to its rightful sovereign owner, Ukraine, as well as return control of all nuclear facilities within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders to ensure their safe and reliable operation,’ the statement says.
Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Mariano Grossi stated that based on the information provided by Ukraine, IAEA experts assessed that there was no immediate threat to nuclear safety as a result of Saturday’s incident. However, according to Energoatom, as of August 10, Zaporizhzhya NPP is operating with ‘a risk of violating radiation and fire safety standards.’ The International Atomic Energy Agency reported about the restoration of a power line that can be used to supply the ZNPP with electricity from a nearby thermal power plant if needed.
The Prime Ministers of Ukraine and Norway, Denys Shmyhal and Jonas Har Stere, discussed cooperation in providing Ukraine with gas. ‘I thanked him for his comprehensive support in the fight against the aggressor and his willingness to provide gas aid,’ Denys Shmyhal stated.
Finland’s Minister of European Affairs and Property Management Tjutti Tuppurainen announced that the Finnish state company Gasum will completely stop importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia. ‘LNG imports from Russia must stop, as Finland and the rest of Europe must get rid of Russian energy. This is the desire of the state owner and it was also stated in the conclusions of the European Council,’ Tjutti Tuppurainen said.
The transit of Russian oil through the Ukrainian part of the Druzhba pipeline is being resumed after the Hungarian MOL and Slovak Slovnaft took over the payment of services instead of Russia.
‘Ukrenergo’ received the consent of the holders of Eurobonds, which they placed under state guarantees last year, to postpone interest payments and postpone the maturity date by two years.
Foreign policy.
A conference of 26 countries supporting Ukraine took place in Copenhagen on August 11. 1.5 billion euros ($1.55 billion) pledged by the participating countries in cash, equipment and training to boost Ukraine’s military capabilities in its war against Russia, will be used to supply existing weapons, missiles and ammunition, increase weapon production for Ukraine, train Ukrainian soldiers, and de-mine war-torn areas in Ukraine. Defense ministers of Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic signaled willingness to expand productions of artillery systems, munitions, and other military equipment to Ukraine.
Latvia has applied to the European Court of Human Rights with a request to be allowed to join the case ‘Ukraine vs Russia’ as a third party. This is the first time that Latvia has used this right. Great Britain has applied to take part in the case of Ukraine against the Russian Federation on allegations of genocide, which will soon be heard by the International Court of Justice of the United Nations in The Hague.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that Switzerland will represent the interests of Ukraine in Russia. “We are grateful to the Swiss government for its willingness to provide its good services,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The Sejm of Latvia recognized Russia’s targeted military attacks against the civilian population and civilian infrastructure as terrorism, and Russia as a country that supports terrorism.
Estonia has decided to ban Russian citizens who have Schengen visas issued by the country from entering its territory. Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said that the exemptions will apply only to close relatives of citizens and holders of Estonian residence permits, diplomats and their family members, as well as employees of transport companies.
Cities under attack.
On the night of August 10, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, as a result of shelling by Russian invaders, 22 people were killed, 26 were injured. Residential buildings, the National Medical Center, the Palace of Culture, a dormitory, two schools, the building of the City Council and several other administrative premises were damaged.
On the night of August 10, the Russian troops shelled Mykolayiv. Three people were injured, including a 13-year-old girl. Residential buildings were damaged as a result of shelling. There were also hits on the territory of the enterprise, warehouses and the depot.
Acting city mayor of Zaporizhia Anatoly Kurtev reported that on the morning of August 10, the Russians fired artillery at the Kushugum, Zaporizhzhia region. As a result of the attack, three houses in the village were destroyed, and almost 30 more were damaged, one woman died. Yevgeny Yevtushenko, head of the Nikopol district military administration, Zaporizhzhia region, reported that on the night of August 11, the village of Prydniprovske and the city of Nikopol were attacked. Two people died as a result of the shelling.
Police of the Kharkiv region stated that as a result of shelling by the Russian military on August 10, two civilians were killed in the Kharkiv region. The Mayor of Kharkiv Ihor Terekhov reported about the shelling in the city on the night of August 11. As a result of the sheling, the residential building was damaged.
Head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration Dmitry Zhivitsky reported that a gas pipeline was damaged as a result of shelling in the Sumy region on August 10.
Russian troops attacked the central part of Bakhmut, Donetsk region on August 10. Seven civilians died, another six suffered mine-explosive injuries and shrapnel wounds. Shops, private houses and high-rise buildings were damaged.
Cities under occupation.
First Deputy Chairman of the Kherson Regional Council Yuriy Sobolevsky reported that in the occupied Kherson region, the Russian military is introducing a system of passes for the transportation of agricultural products through the territory of the region. ‘By blocking the logistics for farmers in this way, they are forced either to cooperate or to stop their activities,’ he said. The occupying authorities of the Kherson region began to issue pseudo-passports to residents of the region, which can be used only during voting in the elections of the Russian Federation. The passport does not give Ukrainians the same legal rights that Russians have.
Russia has started a new wave of forced mobilization in the occupied territories. Head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, Serhiy Hayday reported that people are taken from the streets and strategic enterprises. ‘Mobilization’ buses with the Federal Security Service are waiting everywhere.
Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Malyar reported that in some temporarily occupied territories, the Russian military does not plan to open polling stations for the so-called ‘referendum’, but will go to the houses of local residents.
The Russian occupiers will not be able to start and hold the heating season in Mariupol, Donetsk region, this year. ‘There won’t be a heating season this year, which means it will be very cold. People understand that. And that’s why we see that the number of Ukrainians moving to our country is increasing,’ the Mayor of Mariupol Vadym Boychenko said.
The Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov reported that 10 people died at the Russian checkpoint in Vasylivka, Zaporizhia region, while waiting in line for evacuation. In addition he stated that the Russian military held the car with the family at the checkpoint for two days, as a result of which the child was hospitalized with heat stroke. According to the Mayor, more than a thousand cars are currently in the queue for evacuation.
The Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov appealed to the Red Cross to organize a humanitarian corridor for the delivery of potassium iodide to the temporary occupied territories of Ukraine. He announced the readiness to purchase potassium iodide to protect citizens from radiation at the expense of the city budget, in view of the attacks on the Zaporizhzhya NPP by the Russian occupiers.
Human rights.
The co-founder of the Swedish branch of Amnesty International, Per Vestberg, decided to leave the organization due to disagreement with the report, which accused the Armed Forces of Ukraine of creating danger for civilians. ‘I have been a member of the organization for almost sixty years. It is with a heavy heart that I am ending my long and fruitful cooperation due to Amnesty’s statements about the war in Ukraine,’ Per Vestberg said.
The Mejlis Chairman Refat Chubarov reported that on August 11, Russian security forces searched the homes of four Crimean Tatar families in the temporarily occupied Crimea. After the search, the Russian occupiers detained two people.
Iryna Vereshchuk, Minister of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories stated that as of August 11, 131 women from Azovstal are in Russian captivity. Among them are military personnel, border guards and medics.
Sanctions.
The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine appealed to the world community to recognize the actions of the Russian Federation regarding the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant as nuclear terrorism and to introduce sanctions against the Russian nuclear industry.
Security.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk regional military administration reported that a special mode of entry, exit and movement of vehicles will be in effect in the Donetsk region from August 11. A special regime is established for the period of martial law. The special regime provides for two main conditions: the unauthorized export of special equipment from Donetsk that can be used for defense purposes, as well as the entry and movement of vehicles transporting alcoholic beverages and alcohol-containing substances (except for medicines and disinfectants) for the purpose of sale in the territory of Donetsk region are prohibited.
Rebuilding.
CocaCola will rebuild a destroyed kindergarten in the village of Bohdanivka, Kyiv region. The company will invest 1.1 million US dollars in the reconstruction.
Economic security.
Danylo Hetmantsev, the Head of the Government Committee on Customs and Tax Policy stated that the State Budget of Ukraine for the second quarter of 2022 received 76 million dollars from the ‘Google tax’. He noted that 53 ‘big’ companies pay taxes. Google Play, Apple, Facebook and Instagram are among those who declared the largest amounts.
Ukraine’s request for a two-year suspension of payments on around $20 billion in international bonds has been supported by its creditors abroad. This move will allow Ukraine to avoid a debt default.
Food Security.
Granaries in the north of the Chernihiv region are overflowed with last year’s harvest. The tariff for freight transportation by railway has increased by 70%, but there are no wagons for remote border areas that make it difficult to take out grain from their warehouses.
War crimes prosecution.
The court found guilty of treason against three men from the occupied territory of Donetsk region, who, according to law enforcement officers, voluntarily fought on the side of Russia. They were sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.
Culture.
The Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories announced that the National Corpus of the Crimean Tatar language will be created in Ukraine. The Corpus is an online platform that will serve as an open library of educational and scientific materials on the Crimean Tatar language.
Cyber security.
The State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection reported that 203 cyberattacks were registered in Ukraine in July. The number of attacks on representatives of state administration and financial institutions, on which the lives of Ukrainian citizens depend, has increased.
Reading corner.
- Russia’s Crimes of Colonialism | The Wall Street Journal – The idea that Russia avoided colonial expansion has surprising resonance in the West and elsewhere. Russia never had formal colonies in Africa, Latin America or South Asia. But the idea that the Kremlin avoided colonization projects altogether – that it dodged the ‘bloody crimes’ for which Dutch, Spanish or Portuguese empires were responsible – is as risible as it is ahistorical.
- The Other Ukrainian Army | The Atlantic – ‘The life experiences of these Ukrainians have already created a wide gap between them and their Russian neighbors. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, likes to talk about how Russians and Ukrainians are the same nation, the same people. But Ukraine’s civic and military mobilization around the war is the best possible illustration of how much and how quickly nations and people can diverge […] And no wonder: Following in the steps of the Soviet leaders who preceded him, Putin has systematically destroyed whatever civic spirit emerged after the Soviet Union’s collapse, squeezing everything spontaneous and everything self-organized out of Russian society, silencing not just independent newspapers and television but also historical societies, environmentalists, Jehovah’s Witnesses.’
- Displaced by War, Ukrainians Open a New Front as Entrepreneurs | The New York Times – Read the stories of Ukrainians forced from their hometowns by Russia’s invasion who find some solace, and success, setting up shops and bakeries in a new city in the west of Ukraine.
Statistics.
- General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the total estimated losses of the Russian military as of 10 a.m., August 12, 2022: personnel – around 43 200, tanks ‒ 1849, APV ‒ 4108, artillery systems – 975, MLRS – 261, anti-aircraft warfare systems – 136, fixed-wing aircraft – 233, helicopters – 193, operational-tactical level UAV – 778, cruise missiles – 185, boats and light speed boats – 15, soft-skinned vehicles and fuel tankers – 3021, special equipment – 90.
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