Ukraine Daily

Thursday, July 28

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

A pro-Ukrainian poster handed on a building in Kherson by local partisans saying, “Ocuppiers, leave, or HIMARS will help you.” The U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, destroyed 50 Russian ammunition depots in Ukraine, according to Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. (Ukraine’s Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Directorate).

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Governor: Russia strikes infrastructure in Kyiv Oblast early on July 28. According to Kyiv Oblast Governor Oleksiy Kuleba, Russian forces struck an infrastructure object in one of the communities in Vyshhorodsky District north of the capital. There is no information on casualties at the moment. Emergency services are working on the ground.

Zelensky: Antonivsky Bridge struck by Ukraine will be reconstructed after liberation. In his evening address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine attacked the Antonivsky Bridge in Russian-occupied Kherson to complicate the logistics of Russian forces. “Whatever their plans are, we will ruin them,” he said, adding that Ukraine will reconstruct all destroyed bridges after it liberates its territories.

Poll: 84% of Ukrainians are against peace with Russia if it involves territorial concessions. According to a Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) survey published on July 27, only 10% of Ukrainians are ready for some territorial concessions. “Even among residents of the eastern oblasts, where intense fighting is ongoing, 77% of people are against concessions,” the report reads.

Russia threatens ‘harsh response**’ if West increases weapon supplies to Ukraine. “**Increasing supplies of Western weapons to Kyiv may force the Russian Federation to take tougher actions in response,“ said Konstantin Gavrilov, the head of the Russian delegation on arms control in Vienna, as quoted by the Russian state-controlled media RIA Novosti.

23 Kharkiv Oblast settlements liberated since May. Ukraine’s military has liberated 23 settlements, putting Russian forces on the defensive since May, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said in a televised address on July 27. The deoccupation in the region continues.

Russians draw additional forces to Kherson Oblast. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said on July 27 that Russia is deploying additional forces to Kherson Oblast, most of which has been occupied by Russia since early March. However, the official said that Ukraine is determined to continue the counteroffensive to liberate the south of Ukraine.

Russia’s Medvedev publishes map of divided Ukraine. Russia’s Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev published a map where Ukraine is divided into parts, with the biggest one belonging to Russia, and smaller ones to Poland and Romania. On this map, only Kyiv Oblast is labeled as Ukraine. Medvedev made an unsupported claim that this map was created by some Western analysts, but he did not name them.

Mayor: Russian strike injures 3, including a child, in Kharkiv Oblast. Derhachi City Mayor Viacheslav Zadorenko said on July 27 that a 12-year-old boy and two men were injured in a Russian strike on a Ukrainian-controlled village of Prudianka in Kharkiv Oblast. Zadorenko urged residents of Derhachi community to evacuate.

Intelligence: Car with 2 Russia collaborators blown up in occupied Kherson. According to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry Intelligence Directorate, as a result of the attack on a car with alleged collaborators, one person was killed and one was hospitalized in Russian-occupied Kherson. The explosion was prepared by the local resistance movement, the report said. It is not clear when the incident happened.

Foreign Ministry: Russia’s accusations about Kyiv’s reluctance to negotiate aimed at disrupting Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the south. Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko told the Irish Times that the accusations made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other Russian officials are aimed at creating an impression that it is Ukraine who is unwilling to negotiate. Nikolenko added that Russia is trying to buy more time to illegally annex occupied Ukrainian territories.

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Parliament appointed lawmaker Andriy Kostin, a member of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party, as prosecutor general. 299 lawmakers supported the president’s candidate on July 27. Kostin, seen as a staunch Zelensky loyalist, has been accused of sabotaging judicial reform. He also used to be the Zelensky administration’s preferred candidate for the role of chief anti-corruption prosecutor but failed to get the job. Here’s what we know about the new prosecutor.

A UAE-linked company announced a $122 million investment project to build a terminal to store liquified natural gas (LNG) in Ukraine on July 18. The message raised eyebrows within the expert community, as a multimillion-dollar project near the front line doesn’t appear possible, nor does it appear to even exist. Read our story on a multi-million dollar Black Sea gas deal that doesn’t exist.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Hero of Ukraine Oleksandr Kukurba killed in action. One of the “most effective Ukrainian pilots” and Hero of Ukraine, Oleksandr Kukurba, was killed in action during his 100th mission, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his update on July 27. “He is a true Ukrainian hero, who we will remember forever,” Zelensky wrote.

State Emergency Service: At least 2 people killed, 4 injured in Russian attack on Bakhmut. The rescue operation is currently underway, the service said. Russian forces hit a hotel and residential building in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, on July 27.

International response

Truss: Putin ‘holding rest of the world to ransom over gas prices.’ U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that if the world allows Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to succeed, “it will cause untold misery across Europe.“ “We know that he wouldn’t just stop at Ukraine, the east of Europe is under threat, and democracy is under threat,” she said. Russia’s state energy corporation Gazprom announced on July 25 that it would cut gas flows to Europe, which European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson called “a politically motivated step.”

Congresswoman Spartz once again calls out Zelensky’s chief of staff. Ukrainian-born U.S. Congresswoman Victoria Spartz wrote another letter to U.S. President Joe Biden to express concerns surrounding President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak. In a new letter, Spartz writes that the “lack of appointment of the anti-corruption prosecutor, concerns raised by our military personnel and defense contractors, as well as some NATO allies, raise national security concerns and require proper attention from (Biden’s) administration.”

Poles launch fundraiser to buy 3 evacuation helicopters for Ukraine. Launched on July 28 in Poland, the “Arming Ukraine” initiative aims to purchase three MI-2 AM-1 helicopters for evacuation of the wounded. “Thanks to helicopters, it will be possible to evacuate the wounded faster and provide the necessary medical assistance, as they are equipped with medical equipment,” reads the fundraiser’s description.

Spiegel: Germany greenlights sale of 100 howitzers worth 1.7 billion euros to Ukraine. According to German magazine Der Spiegel, the manufactorer, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, began working on the Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzer set to be shipped to Ukraine. The order will take several years to complete, according to the report. Spiegel added that it was not yet clear when the first howitzers could be delivered.

Italy expects to become independent of Russian gas in 2024. According to Italian media Ansa, Minister of Environmental Transition Roberto Cingolani said that cost-saving measures and new gas suppliers are expected to help Italy become completely independent of Russian gas in the second half of 2024.

Blinken to speak with Lavrov for the first time since Feb. 24. This week U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a “substantial proposal” regarding the release of two U.S. citizens illegally detained by Russia, Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner. The top diplomats will also speak about the UN-backed grain deal signed by both Ukraine and Russia. Blinken, however, said that the two will not discuss Ukraine without Ukraine.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Alisa Soboleva, Dariya Akhova, Thaisa Semenova, Olga Rudenko, Oleksiy Sorokin, Toma Istomina, Olena Goncharova, Brad LaFoy, and Anastasiia Malenko.

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