Ukraine Daily

Friday, July 1

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

A Ukrainian T-64 tank rides along a dirt road in the war zone of Donbas on June 21, 2022 (Anatoliy Stepanov)

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Official says Russia striking Ukraine with imprecise Soviet-era missiles. Brigadier General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksii Hromov said at a press conference on June 30 that Russia has used inaccurate missiles from old Soviet stocks for more than 50 percent of its attacks in Ukraine He also noted that the rate of the attacks has more than doubled in the last two weeks and stands at 202 missiles. “[Russia’s] targets remain military facilities, critical infrastructure and industry, transport networks. At the same time, the civilian population is suffering significant losses due to [poorly targeted] strikes,” Hromov said.

Intelligence: Сampaign conducted in Transnistria to recruit men for Russian Armed Forces. According to Ukrainian intelligence, a campaign is ongoing in the Russian-controlled Transnistria region of Moldova with a goal of convincing men to sign a contract with the Russian military. Also, the Tiraspol Military Enrollment Office has initiated conscripting university graduates enlisted as reserve commissioned officers.

UN: Nearly half of internally displaced Ukrainians return home. The International Organization for Migration reported that over 5.5 million people have returned to their homes in Ukraine, although 6.2 million remain internally displaced. According to the IOM, 15% of returnees report that their homes have been damaged by the war.

Ukraine’s military says Russian forces have left Snake Island. Ukraine’s Operational Command “South” reported on June 30 that Russian troops “hastily evacuated the remnants of its garrison” and “likely left the island” after they were attacked by Ukrainian forces overnight. Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, later confirmed the report. Russian government-controlled RIA Novosti news site also said Russian troops withdrew their garrison from Snake Island.

Satellite images show Snake Island free of Russian troops. Images published by Maxar Technologies show several vehicles and buildings destroyed in the northern part of Snake Island, located on the Black Sea 35 kilometers south of mainland Ukraine. The Russian military fled the island shortly after Ukraine fired on them, allegedly using the Ukrainian-made Bohdana self-propelled howitzer.

Ukraine cuts diplomatic ties with Syria. The Foreign Ministry announced that Ukraine cut diplomatic ties with Syria after Damascus recognized the Russian-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine as independent states. “The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine strongly condemns the decision of the Syrian Arab Republic to recognize the so-called ‘independence’ of temporarily occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts,” said the Foreign Ministry.

Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz to triple car fuel imports in July. According to its chairman Yuriy Vitrenko, Naftogaz will import up to 15,600 tons in July, and may become the leading seller of fuel in Ukraine in a few months.

Ukraine starts to export electricity to EU on June 30. Ukrainian electricity will be exported through Romania, but later the routes will be expanded by adding Slovakia and Hungary. The total capacity for export is currently 100 megawatts per day, but is expected to grow to 800 megawatts by the end of the year. “It will provide an additional source of electricity for the EU,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “And much-needed revenues to Ukraine.”

General Staff: Russian troops have ‘partial success’ near Lysychansk. According to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Russian troops have stormed the Lysychansk oil refinery and took control of the northern part of the plant. The city is constantly shelled.

Moscow Orthodox Church banned in Lviv. Lviv City Council banned the Ukrainian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in the city. The church is a local branch of the Russian Orthodox Church. It still functions in Ukraine, despite being affiliated with the Kremlin via the mother church.

3 law enforcement officers accused of helping Russians identify Ukrainian veterans in occupied Berdiansk. According to the State Bureau of Investigation, the three officers are collaborating with the Russian troops and have previously handed over service vehicles and weapons to the occupiers. They are also suspected of giving out addresses of Ukrainian war veterans living in the city to the Russian military.

First Russian ship transporting grain leaves port in Berdiansk. According to Russian state-controlled media, the Russian forces occupying Berdiansk shipped out 7,000 tons of grain, stolen from Ukrainian territories. This is the fist ship to leave the port in Berdiansk since the beginning of full-scale invasion.

Governor: 129 settlements in Donetsk Oblast remain without electricity. Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko also said the water supply hasn’t been restored in Kostiantynivka, Druzhkivka, and partially in Sloviansk.

Ukrainian forces liberate Potiomkino village in Kherson Oblast. Ukrainian soldiers of the 60th separate infantry brigade reported on June 30 that they have carried out a “successful offensive” having destroyed several Russian tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, regaining control over Potiomkino, a village in northern Kherson Oblast.

Media: Russia launches 5 submarines from Sevastopol into Black Sea. As reported by the Krym Realii media outlet, Russia has launched five out of its seven Black Sea Fleet submarines from Sevastopol, a city in the occupied Crimea peninsula, into the Black Sea. Four submarines are in the state of “combat readiness,” Krym Realii reported.

UK intelligence: Ukrainian forces hold positions in Lysychansk after Sievierodonetsk withdrawal. According to the latest intelligence update by the U.K. Defense Ministry, current ground combat in the area is likely focused around the Lysychansk oil refinery, located 10 kilometers southwest of the city center. The update also said that Russian forces continue to make limited progress at the operational level as they attempt to encircle Ukrainian defenders in northern Donetsk Oblast with advances from Izium. Ukraine’s “ability to continue fighting delaying battles, and then withdraw troops in good order before they are encircled, will continue to be a key factor in the outcome of the campaign,” the update said.

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories

Did the War End? Ep. 5: Inside Occupied Crimea - Resistance in the Face of Oppression. Listen to our podcast here.

In Donbas, Ukraine’s military has made a painful yet long-anticipated decision — withdrawing from the last patches of the city of Sievierodonetsk. Read our story here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Update: Russian missile strike on Odesa Oblast kills at least 17, injures 31. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported early on July 1 that Russia’s missile assault on a high-rise in a town in Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky District in Odesa Oblast killed 14 people and injured 30, including three children. Another Russian missile targeted a leisure complex in the same area, leaving three people killed, including a child, and one person injured.

Death toll rises to 7 in Russia’s strike on residential building in Mykolaiv. According to the State Emergency Service, seven people were killed and six injured after a Russian missile hit an apartment building in the southern Ukrainian city Mykolaiv on the morning of June 29.

Russia’s war kills 2 civilians in Donetsk Oblast on June 29. According to Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, the two civilians were killed in Krasnohorivka and Sydorove. Two more people were injured in Donetsk Oblast on June 29, Kyrylenko reported.

International response

Macron: France to ‘swiftly deliver’ 6 Caesar howitzers to Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron said that the NATO allies meeting in Madrid unanimously decided to step up their economic, humanitarian and military support for Ukraine. France will deliver “6 more Caesar howitzers and a significant number of armored vehicles” to Ukraine, Macron said.

Canada to provide Ukraine with dozens of armored combat vehicles. At the end of the NATO summit in Madrid, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the country was finalizing an agreement on 39 armored combat support vehicles for the Ukrainian military, initially ordered for the Canadian armed forces. “We’re just glad to help and we’re going to continue to look and respond to things that they need,” Trudeau said.

Sweden to send anti-tank weapons, machine guns to Ukraine. Sweden’s fifth aid package for Ukraine includes anti-tank weapons, demining equipment, and support weapons such as machine guns, worth around 47 million euros, the Swedish VK media outlet reports. According to the outlet, Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said the weapons have been “specifically requested by Ukraine.” The Swedish government is set to approve the aid package on June 30.

In other news

Official: Ukrainian borscht can be included in UNESCO cultural heritage list. Ukrainian beetroot soup borscht can be included in the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage that needs urgent protection. UNESCO will rule on the matter on July 1, according to the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Emine Dzheppar.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Daria Shulzhenko, Olga Rudenko, Lili Bivings, Alisa Soboleva, Natalia Datskevych, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olena Goncharova, Teah Pelechaty, Sergiy Slipchenko, and Brad LaFoy.

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