Ukraine Daily

Saturday, July 9

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian artillery fire a round during a military exercise near Mariupol on Sept. 22, 2015 (SERGEY VOLSKIY/AFP)

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New York Times: US identifies 18 Russian ‘filtration camps’ for Ukrainians. The United States has identified at least 18 camps set up by Russia to deport Ukrainian civilians to Russia, reports The New York Times, citing a U.S. diplomat. According to the official, Moscow appeared to have made preparations for the filtration camps even before it invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Agriculture Ministry: First million tons of grain collected in new harvest. Ukraine’s Agriculture Ministry said on July 8 that in most regions of Ukraine, farmers have begun the early harvest of winter wheat and leguminous crops. 1.1 million tons of grain have been harvested so far.

Ex-NATO commander: Ukraine could deal devastating blow to Kremlin by attacking Kerch Strait bridge linking mainland Russia with Crimea. Former commander of NATO’s joint forces in Europe General Philip Breedlove told The Times in an interview that Ukraine could carry out the attack using newly supplied Harpoon missiles. Breedlove told The Times the “Kerch bridge is a legitimate target.”

Lithuania-purchased Bayraktar drone ‘Vanagas’ already in Ukraine. Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, announced the arrival of the combat drone and Andrii Sybiha, deputy head of the President’s Office, thanked Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of Baykar, and Lithuanian journalist Andrius Tapinas for “their strong support on our way to victory” via Twitter. In May, Tapinas launched a crowdfunding campaign to buy a Bayraktar TB2 military drone for Ukraine. The campaign secured close to 6 million euros within few days. After that, the Turkish manufacturer decided to donate a drone.

Russia shells Sumy Oblast 18 times, injures civilian. Sumy Oblast Govenor Dmytro Zhyvytsky reports that Russia shelled the region at least 18 times targeting eight different settlements. A local farmer was injured in Krasnopillia community but is being treated at a hospital.

Ukrainian paratroopers destroy Russian tanks, capture troops near Mykolaiv. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on July 8 that the soldiers of the 79th Air Assault Brigade based in Mykolaiv destroyed five Russian tanks and captured the surviving crewmembers.

Ukraine’s military says it destroyed 2 Russian command posts near Kherson. According to Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the joint southern command of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Ukraine’s military hit the command posts with rocket artillery.

Annual inflation in Ukraine reached 21.5% in June. Consumer prices in Ukraine accelerated 21.5% in June, compared to 18% a month earlier, according to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine. The increase, the highest since inflation reached 20% in March of 2016, is due to costs of fuel and food supplies constrained by Russia’s invasion. Ukraine’s central bank has hiked interest rates to 25% to combat inflation.

Russia has damaged Ukrainian cultural heritage sites 417 times, violating the Hague treaty. Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Information reports that Ukrainian cultural sites have been targeted and hit over 400 times since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Moscow municipal councillor sentenced to 7 years in prison for speaking out about war in Ukraine. A Moscow court sentenced Aleksey Gorinov, a municipal councillor of the Krasnoselsky district in Moscow, to seven years in prison for disseminating “knowingly false information” about the Russian army, according to the Telegram channel “Freedom for Aleksey Gorinov,” Meduza reports.

Der Spiegel: Lavrov leaves G20 ministers meeting early. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov left the meeting in Bali immediately after his speech, according to sources in the delegation, Der Spiegel reports. He also ignored questions from German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. Earlier, it was reported that G7 foreign ministers did not attend a dinner with their G20 colleagues or pose for a traditional photo in protest of Lavrov’s presence.

Institute for the Study of War: Russia maintains operational pause as it regains combat strength, support capabilities. The U.S. think tank said in its latest assessment that the Russian military command, which announced an operational pause on July 7, has apparently recognized the need for a pause given the state of Russian troops at this point in the campaign. The Russian soldiers who have completed the seizure of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk are “in need of regenerating combat power and building up supporting capabilities,” including supply, before launching another large-scale offensive operation. The experts believe that Russian forces will continue to conduct more-limited offensive operations in this sector and elsewhere along the front line as they recognize the danger of allowing the Ukrainians to seize the initiative and launch an offensive of their own.

In-depth

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was a wake-up call for all patriotic Ukrainians, who reacted to it by helping the army and each other. For them, Russia’s war is a reminder of what Ukraine strives to be: a developed, Western-oriented country with ingrained democratic values. But kleptocrats are using the war to achieve the opposite results. Read an opinion piece by Oleg Sukhov here.

Now that Ukraine has acquired advanced Western artillery and rocket systems, it has gradually begun a campaign to take out Russia’s key military infrastructure. Over the last four weeks, nearly 20 Russian ammunition depots in Russian-occupied Donbas and Ukraine’s south, including some of the largest, have been hit or completely destroyed. Read our story here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Prosecutors: Russian shelling kills 5 civilians, seriously injures 1 child in Donetsk Oblast on July 7-8. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Russian forces heavily shelled the strategic towns of Bakhmut and Siversk in Donetsk Oblast, the hotspot of Russia’s war. The report also said that three civilians, including a 12-year-old boy, were injured.

General Staff: Russia has lost 36,900 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff said on July 8 that Russia had also lost 1,637 tanks, 3,811 armored fighting vehicles, 828 artillery systems, 247 multiple launch rocket systems, 107 air defense systems, 187 helicopters, 217 airplanes, 669 drones, and 15 boats.

International response

Reuters: Canada will deliver turbine needed for maintenance of Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany. Despite Ukraine opposing Canada’s handing over the turbine to Russia’s state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom, a move Kyiv fears would flout sanctions on Moscow, Canada informed the German government that the turbine will be delivered, Reuters reported, citing anonymous source. The Kremlin said on July 8 that it would increase gas supplies to Europe once the turbine is restored.

US to send 4 additional HIMARS to Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden on July 8 signed a new weapons package worth up to $400 million to help Ukraine, which includes the delivery of the high mobility multiple launch rocket systems, which have allowed Ukraine’s forces to strike Russian military warehouses and other targets behind the front lines. The new shipment will bring the total number of HIMARS pledged to Ukraine to 12.

Paris City Council backs agreement on cooperation for restoration of Kyiv. Paris City Council voted unanimously on July 8 to back an agreement for the cooperation between Kyiv and Paris that was signed during the Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s visit to the capital in April. The agreement includes Paris’ help in reconstruction of Kyiv. “Paris stands alongside the Kyivans and their municipality for peace and the reconstruction of the Ukrainian capital,” Arnaud Ngatcha, deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of Europe, international relations and the Francophonie tweeted on July 8.

Media: Pope Francis might be visiting Ukraine, possibly as early as August. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher said in an interview on the Italian TV news program Tg1, that a visit to Ukraine is being considered, as it “would have positive results.” However, it will depend on the Pope Francis’ wellbeing after his return from a trip to Canada.

Belgian embassy to reopen in Kyiv, send new ambassador. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on July 7 that the country would reopen its embassy in Kyiv on July 11 and send a new ambassador, Peter Van De Velde, to represent Belgium in Ukraine, Euractiv, a Brussels-based news outlet, reported.

In other news

The Kyiv Independent signs podcast partnership with Message Heard. The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine’s biggest independent English-language media outlet, has signed an audio partnership with award-winning U.K.-based independent podcast company Message Heard to showcase crucial stories from Ukraine.

Chernihiv mayor says Zelensky associates are trying to remove him from his job. In his video address to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Chernihiv Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko said that Zelensky’s “subordinates” are trying to remove him from his job and replace him with their protege by appointing a head of the Chernihiv military administration. He said that the central authorities were banning him from visiting foreign countries to seek funds for Chernihiv’s reconstruction and pressuring him through law enforcement agencies. Atroshenko, who was supported by 80% of the voters in the latest mayoral election, asked Zelensky to “intervene in the situation“ and stop the political attack on him.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Asami Terajima, Oleg Sukhov, Lili Bivings, Olga Rudenko, Daria Shulzhenko, Alisa Sobolieva, Brad LaFoy, Olena Goncharova, and Sergiy Slipchenko.

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