Situation as of 8:00 a.m. on July 31, 2023 р.
- During the week, several drone attacks drone attacks targeted buildings of Russian ministries in Moscow.
- On July 26, the first meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council took place. As a result of Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and in the context of Russia’s persistent shelling of Ukrainian port infrastructure, allies are reinforcing their support to Ukraine and increasing NATO’s vigilance in the Black Sea region.
- During the Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, the Presidents of South Africa and Egypt, along with representatives of the African Union, called on Russia to restore the Black Sea Grain Initiative to allow Ukraine to resume its food exports, which were halted due to Russia’s maritime blockade.
OPERATIONAL SITUATION
The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue offensive operations in the south, where in some sectors of the front they approached the main line of fortifications of the Russian army. The Ukrainian military has had local successes in the area of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. At the same time, the Russian command has concentrated significant forces in the Svatove direction in the Luhansk region. In this sector of the front, Russian troops managed to advance. However, Ukrainian counterattacks thwarted their breakthrough attempts.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine are attacking the infrastructure of Russian troops and occupation administrations in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. In particular, the building of law enforcement agencies of the occupation administration in Donetsk and an oil depot in Shakhtarsk were hit. On July 29, the Chongar bridge on the administrative border of Crimea and Kherson region was hit as well.
During the week, several UAV attacks were recorded against government facilities in Moscow. On July 24, a building near the Russian Defense Ministry was damaged. On the night of July 30, an office building in the Moscow International Business Center (Moscow-City complex), which houses several Russian ministries, was struck. In addition, an explosion was recorded near the air base in Taganrog on July 28.
Russian troops continue their attacks against Ukrainian territory. The largest missile strike took place on July 26. Its main target was the Khmelnytskyi region, where the bases of the Ukrainian Air Force are located. According to the Ukrainian military, air defense managed to intercept 36 missiles during this day. On July 28, an apartment building was damaged in Dnipro as a result of a ballistic missile strike; 9 people were injured. Missile strikes continue on the port infrastructure of Odesa, where 1 person was killed on the night of July 27. 2 people were killed and 1 person was injured as a result of a missile strike on Zaporizhzhia on July 29. On the same day, Russian troops launched a missile strike on an educational institution in Sumy, as a result of which 2 people were killed and 20 people were injured. Also, attacks with the use of kamikaze drones do not stop. Because of them, objects in Kharkiv, Zhytomyr and Cherkasy regions were damaged.
During the week, civilian losses in the frontline regions of Ukraine as a result of Russian shelling were: in Donetsk region – 7 people killed and 32 people injured; in Kherson region – 2 people killed, 12 people injured; in Kharkiv region – 1 person killed, 12 people injured. 5 people were injured in Vinnytsia region as a result of falling rocket debris during the repulsion of a missile attack on July 26.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS
President of the United States Joe Biden instructed his administration to share evidence of Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court. It is reported that the United States possesses intelligence data on Russian military crimes in Ukraine, including information about the detention of thousands of Ukrainian children in “integration programs” in camps in Russia and occupied Crimea.
The National Bank of Ukraine decided on July 28 to lower the key interest rate from 25% to 22%. The 25% rate had been maintained since June 2022. Additionally, the NBU improved its inflation forecast for 2023, lowering it from 14.8% to 10.6%.
In 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine allocated 40 billion hryvnias (approximately $1 billion) for investment in Ukrainian drone manufacturers. Customs barriers for the import of spare parts and components were also removed, and the share of profits for drone manufacturers was raised to 25%. Furthermore, a decision was made to support mass production of ammunition for drones.
A court has remanded Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Ponomariov (elected from the now banned party “Opposition Platform – For Life”) into custody for 2 months. He had been staying in the occupied city of Berdiansk for almost a year since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Ponomariov was collaborating with the occupying forces but later decided to return to Kyiv. Two former MPs from the same party, Yevheniy Muraiev and Vadym Rabinovych, who are in hiding abroad, were also charged.
The Verkhovna Rada voted for the early termination of parliamentary powers for Yuri Aristov, a deputy from the “Servant of the People” party, following information about his vacation trip to the Maldives while he was on official duty. He is suspected of providing false information in official documents to organize the luxurious vacation. The Pechersky District Court in Kyiv chose a personal recognizance measure for Aristov as a precautionary measure.
FOREIGN POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT
On July 26, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, the first meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council took place, a format established during the latest NATO summit in Vilnius. This format involves Ukraine’s participation in political consultations on an equal footing with Alliance member states. During the meeting, a plan of action was discussed to enhance security in the Black Sea region following Russia’s suspension of participation in the “grain corridor” initiative. The Alliance members and Ukraine, in their concluding statement, strongly condemned Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the continuous shelling of Ukrainian ports.
Furthermore, at the Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, the Presidents of South Africa and Egypt, along with representatives of the African Union, called on Russia to restore the Black Sea Grain Initiative to allow Ukraine to resume food exports, which were halted due to Russia’s maritime blockade.
International partners continue to work towards providing Ukraine with effective capabilities to counter Russian aggression directly on the battlefield. The United States announced the allocation of an additional military aid package to Ukraine worth over $400 million USD, which includes missiles for Patriot, NASAMS, HIMARS systems, mortars, Stryker armored personnel carriers, TOW anti-tank systems, Hydra-70 aviation rockets, tactical navigation systems, ammunition, and other weaponry. Lithuania approved a three-year military aid plan to Ukraine amounting to approximately 200 million euros, which includes the procurement of lethal and non-lethal equipment, military training and exercises, financial contributions to aid funds, and the repair of military equipment in Lithuania. Germany delivered another batch of military aid to Ukraine, which includes tracked MPV Bandvagn 206 vehicles, Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, 155-millimeter projectiles, reconnaissance drones, and VECTOR drones. Additionally, Germany and Poland reached an agreement on the repair of Leopard 2 tanks for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, to be conducted at the repair hub in the Polish city of Gliwice.
Qatar allocated $100 million to overcome the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and $20 million to ensure global food security. Norway transferred €22 million to the European Peace Fund to supply military equipment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Ambassadors of the European Union agreed to implement new restrictive measures against Belarus due to the situation in the country and Belarus’s involvement in the Russian aggression against Ukraine. These sanctions will affect the export of dual-use goods and aviation spare parts, and 38 individuals will be added to the sanction lists.
This week, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, discussing global food security, the implementation of the Ukrainian peace formula, and the Reconstruction Plan for Ukraine. President Zelensky also had a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, regarding the strengthening of the Missile Defense System and the continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, conducted his third tour of African countries in the last year amid the exacerbation of the global food crisis following Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. For the first time in the history of diplomatic relations, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister met with the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, and the President of Liberia, George Weah, discussing bilateral relations, the implementation of the Peace Formula, and the preservation of maritime exports of Ukrainian grain to African countries.
The information in the newsletter is collected from official sources—reports of state authorities of Ukraine, Ukrainian and international news agencies. The accuracy of the data is carefully checked by the project team and corrected in case of fake news.