The situation in overview - UN Refugee Commissioner announces new aid in Ukraine
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, announced a new aid package of $100 million US-Dollars (around 93 million Euros) during a visit to Ukraine. The UNHCR will use this support to prepare for winter and continue assisting the Ukrainian government in Kiev to help displaced or otherwise war-affected Ukrainians, Grandi stated during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiev. The organization also plans to mobilize future funds to support the attacked country.
Zelenskyy thanked Grandi for the aid, which was necessary given the damage to the energy infrastructure caused by Russian attacks. According to a statement from the Presidential Office, the country still needs more help to rebuild destroyed houses and install bomb shelters in schools and hospitals, providing safety for displaced Ukrainians to return home.
Grandi has visited Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian armed conflict on February 24, 2022, for the fifth time. He also visited the children's hospital in Kiev that was hit by a rocket attack, as he announced on social media. "No place should be less protected than a children's hospital. Yet, it was hit on July 8 by a rocket," he said.
According to UNHCR estimates, there are approximately 9.7 million displaced people due to the Russian invasion in Ukraine, with around 6 million of them abroad. Many people have fled from the especially contested eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, where Russian troops have occupied significant parts of the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Some cities are completely destroyed.
Kiev's troops give up positions in the south
According to unofficial reports, Ukrainian troops were forced to abandon positions in the south of the country in Krynky in the Cherson region and Uroschajne in the Donezk region under Russian pressure. "In both settlements, it no longer made sense to hold the positions due to the extensive damage," sources in the Ukrainian General Staff were quoted in Ukrainian media. The battles for the settlement of Krynky on the southern bank of the Dnipro River in the Cherson region were criticized from the start due to their futility.
It was initially unclear whether Ukrainian soldiers were still holding positions in the underflow of the Dnipro River on the southern bank. Uroschajne in the Donezk region was retaken by the Ukrainian counter-offensive the previous year and was considered a symbol of the Ukrainian advance.
According to a report by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Ukrainian forces allegedly pushed the enemy back by up to two kilometers in the Charkiv region near the Russian border. Similar unverifiable advances were reported from forested areas near the settlement of Serebrjanka in the Donezk region.
Almost half of Ukrainian territory is under Russian control. The Kremlin demands further territorial concessions for possible peace negotiations to fully occupy the partially occupied territories of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.
Zelenskyy meets military leadership and plans to punish traitors
At a meeting with the military leadership, Zelenskyy urged for rapid weapon deliveries for the soldiers at the front once again. "This is of absolute priority", he said in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev. With every month, it should be noticeable that Ukraine becomes more independent in weapon production. The country primarily receives weapons and ammunition for the defense against Russian attacks from western allies. At the same time, Zelenskyy announced new international weapons negotiations for this week without giving details.
The Ukrainian commander-in-chief Olexander Syrskyi reportedly spoke of successes of Ukrainian rocket builders against Russian forces at the meeting with Zelenskyy. "We are systematically destroying the potential of Russian air defense and creating favorable conditions for the successful deployment of combat jets. The F-16 will come soon", he said, looking at the announced western deliveries of the US-made fighter jets.
Zelenskyy reportedly signed two new decrees, one for the honoring of over 200 soldiers in various units and one for the revocation of such honors in case the honorees no longer deserve them. It is a draft for a change in the Criminal Code and other Ukrainian laws, he said.
Such people, who supported the Russian aggressor state or committed other crimes against Ukraine, should lose their state awards. "They deserve the title of a traitor", he said. The parliament – the Rada – is expected to pass the law soon.
What is important today
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is currently in New York with a delegation as chairman of the UN Security Council and uses his appearances and bilateral talks also with western politicians to justify Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine once again. He announced a press conference for today. Russia holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council of the United Nations for this month.
- The new aid package from the UNHCR, worth $100 million US-Dollars, will be used by the Assistance Organization to support displaced Ukrainians during winter and aid the International efforts in Kiev.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the aid, highlighting the necessity due to the damage caused by Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
- Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, has visited Ukraine five times since the beginning of the Russian armed conflict, including a visit to a children's hospital in Kiev hit by a rocket attack.
- Around 9.7 million people are displaced due to the Russian invasion in Ukraine, with approximately 6 million of them seeking refuge abroad, according to UNHCR estimates.
- The attack on Krynky in the Cherson region and Uroschajne in the Donezk region caused Ukrainian troops to retreat under Russian pressure, as reported by Ukrainian General Staff sources.
- The Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported possible gains in the Charkiv region and forested areas near Serebrjanka in the Donezk region, although these advances remain unverified.
- Nearly half of Ukrainian territory is under Russian control, with the Kremlin demanding further territorial concessions for possible peace negotiations.
- President Zelenskyy met with military leadership and announced plans to punish traitors, considering revoking state awards and honors from individuals who support the Russian aggressor state or commit crimes against Ukraine.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is currently in New York using his appearance at the UN Security Council to justify Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, claiming that the conflict is a result of Ukraine's actions.
