Sunday, July 23

The documentary, authored by journalist Olesia Bida and directed by Vitalii Havura, uncovers the inner workings of the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia and the occupied territories of Ukraine.

The film tells the story of a group of children known as “Group 31” who were taken to Russia from now-occupied Mariupol in May of last year and have not yet been able to return. Among them is Pylyp Holovnya, who was taken into the family of Maria Lvova-Belova, the presidential commissioner for children’s rights in Russia.

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Russian missile attack destroys Odesa’s Transfiguration Cathedral. Russian missile strikes on Odesa the night of July 22-23 caused significant damage to the city’s historic Transfiguration Cathedral, the Odesa city administration reported via Telegram.

Ukraine’s military: Oil depot, Russian military warehouses destroyed in occupied Crimea. The Armed Forces of Ukraine’s Strategic Command confirmed on July 22 that an oil depot and Russian military warehouses were successfully destroyed in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Zelensky asks Stoltenberg to convene NATO-Ukraine Council over grain deal crisis. President Volodymyr Zelensky said he asked NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during a phone call on June 22 to convene the NATO-Ukraine Council to discuss the terminated Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Lukashenko arrives in St. Petersburg to meet with Putin. Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has arrived in St. Petersburg to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, according to Lukashenko’s press service.

Warsaw summons Russian ambassador after Putin threatens Poland. Warsaw has summoned the Russian Ambassador to Poland after President Vladimir Putin threatened Poland and claimed it was eyeing territory in Ukraine and Belarus.

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Number of Wagner fighters in Belarus reaches 5,000. About 5,000 Wagner mercenaries arrived in Belarus, according to Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service spokesman Andrii Demchenko. Their presence there does not present an immediate threat to Ukraine, he said.

Ukraine has developed its own air defense systems, official says. Ukraine has developed and is now testing its own medium-range air defense systems, Verkhovna Rada official Yehor Cherniev said during a televised broadcast on July 22.

Zelensky: Former Odesa military enlistment office head suspected of illicit enrichment. The former head of Odesa’s military enlistment office, Yevhen Borysov, is suspected of illicit enrichment and the violation of the order of military service, President Volodymyr Zelensky said via Telegram on July 22. Zelensky said Borysov has been notified.

DW: Camera operator injured by Russian cluster munitions 23 kilometers from front line. The Russian-language service of Deutsche Welle reported on July 22 that their camera operator Yevgeny Shilko was injured by Russian cluster munitions in the city of Druzhkivka in Donetsk Oblast, located about 23 kilometers from the front line.

Air Force destroys five Shaheds, nine recon drones. Ukrainian forces destroyed all five Shahed drones launched at night by Russia from the southwest, the Air Force reported on July 22.

Read our exclusives

How Russian soldiers shared evidence of their own war crime

After Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka dam on the night of June 6, volunteers from all over the country and the world rushed to the flooded Kherson Oblast to save whoever and whatever they could.

Photo: Gert Jochems

Human cost of war

Missile strike on Odesa kills 1, injures 18. A Russian missile attack the night of July 23 killed one civilian and injured 18 others, including four children, Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.

Russian forces attack Sumy Oblast, killing 1, injuring 6. Russian forces shelled seven communities in Sumy Oblast on July 22, killing one person and injuring six others, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported via Telegram.

Russian forces shell Kharkiv Oblast, killing 1, injuring 1. Russian forces shelled Kharkiv Oblast on July 22, killing a 57-year-old man in Kupiansk, the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported.

Officials: Russian shelling kills 1, injures 1 in Kharkiv Oblast. Russian shelling of the village of Dvorichna in Kharkiv Oblast killed a man, 45, and injured a civilian, 60, on July 22, the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported.

Prosecutor General’s Office: 496 Ukrainian children killed by Russia’s all-out war. The Prosecutor General’s Office reported on July 22 that 496 Ukrainian children have been officially reported killed since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion last year.

General Staff: Russia has lost 241,330 troops in Ukraine. In total, Russia lost 4,410 tanks, 8,097 armored vehicles, 4,629 artillery systems, 693 MLRS, 448 air defense systems, 315 planes and 310 helicopters.

International response

UNESCO condemns Russian attack on Odesa’s historic center. UNESCO issued a statement on July 21 condemning the recent Russian missile attacks that damaged Odesa’s historic city center, a designated world heritage site.

Swedish government pledges 522.6 million euros for Ukraine’s recovery. The Swedish government has pledged 522.6 euros ($581 million) for Ukraine’s recovery, the Economy Ministry of Ukraine announced on July 22.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by **Francis Farrell, Oleksiy Surokin, Igor Kossov, Kate Tsurkan, Toma Istomina, Alexander Query, Teah Pelechaty, Olena Goncharova, and Abbey Fenbert. **

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