News and information from Ukraine

Reports from Ukraine. Day 874

Regional.

On July 14, at least four people were killed and nine injured in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.said the governor of the region, Vadym Filashkin. In the town of Myrnohrad, which was under continuous shelling for two days, the Russians shelled an administrative building and a bus station, killing two people and wounding six. The Kremlin also shelled an industrial facility in the town of Kostiyantynivka, where two people were killed and several others wounded. “The Russians are not ashamed to use all possible methods to murder as many of our civilians as possible,” concluded Filashkin.

The small village of Pryozerne in the southern Kherson Oblast was shelled by the Russian army on July 13, killing two civilians. said regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin. A rocket hit the courtyard of a residential building, killing two women aged 72 and 50. In addition, a 41-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman were taken to hospital with shrapnel injuries.

World.

The Australian Government announced its largest military aid package to date for Ukraine, worth nearly $250 million. on July 11. It will consist of anti-aircraft missiles, air-to-ground weapons (including guided missiles), anti-tank weapons, artillery, mortars, cannons and ammunition for small arms. A shipment of boots for Ukrainian servicemen and women will also be sent. This latest package, pledged by the center-left government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, brings the country’s military aid to Ukraine to over $1.1 billion since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion. Defense Secretary Richard Marles, who met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the NATO summit in Washington, expects this aid to “make a tremendous contribution to Ukraine’s efforts to end the conflict on its terms.” He added: “Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine is an affront to international law and the rules-based order.”

According to the British Ministry of Defense, Russian casualties in the war against Ukraine reached a historic high in May and June 2024. In his regular Intelligence Update On July 12, the ministry reported that Moscow lost an average of 1,262 and 1,163 soldiers per day in May and June, respectively (including dead and injured). “Overall, Russia has probably lost over 70,000 men in the last two months,” the update said. The increase in human capital losses is attributed to the Kremlin’s decision to open a new front in northern Kharkiv Oblast in early May while continuing its offensives on the rest of the Eastern Front. “Effective Ukrainian defenses and a lack of Russian training reduce Russia’s ability to exploit tactical successes, despite attempts to further extend the front line,” the UK Ministry of Defense concluded.

Lithuanian energy company Ignitis Gamyba has donated around 300 pieces of equipment from a decommissioned power plant to help rebuild Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.the company announced on July 15. The equipment from the third thermal power plant in Vilnius (Vilnius CHP 3) ““It will fit well into Ukraine’s energy infrastructure,” said CEO Asta Sungailienė, and “it also meets the requirements of the transmission system operator.” Vilnius CHP 3 was taken offline in 2015 due to high maintenance costs. The power plant, with a total heat and electricity capacity of almost a thousand megawatts (MW), operated for over 30 years and supplied heat to around half of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. “Although the power plant has been closed for nine years, we were able to preserve its equipment, which retained its full functionality. Now this equipment will contribute to the restoration of vital infrastructure in Ukraine,” added Sungailienė.

Culture.

The 15th Odessa International Film Festival opened on Friday, July 12, in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, after a two-year break due to Russia’s full-scale invasion. The ceremony took place at the Parkovyi Congress Center in Kyiv and began with a minute’s silence for the Ukrainian heroes and civilians who lost their lives in the ongoing war. In her opening speech, festival president Victoria Tihipko stressed the festival’s commitment to continue supporting and strengthening Ukrainian culture, as “this war is also a war for Ukrainian cultural identity.” The country’s premier cinema event was launched in the southern, historic city of Odessa, where it was held annually until the Russian invasion in 2022. This year’s nine-day festival will feature films ranging from international productions such as “Voices from Chernobyl” to Ukrainian grassroots films such as “Konotop Witch,” due out this summer, and “Diagnosis: Dissent” in 2023.

By Daria Dzysiuk, Karina Tahiliani