A serviceman from 3rd Assault Brigade aka Ed hugs Nikole, sister of Vadym “Gagarin” Belov, after the … [+]
Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 568.
Odesa region. Since unilaterally withdrawing on July 17 from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a UN-sponsored arrangement that enabled Ukraine to ship its grain from Black Sea ports, Russia persistently has attacked Ukraine’s port infrastructure. Late yesterday, Russian drones acquired from Iran struck storage facilities in Izmail and Reni, wounding seven drivers and damaging grain warehouses, oil storage tanks and vehicles. According to the latest assessment, Russia’s strikes on critical facilities in southern Ukraine, particularly those of the Danube cluster, have reduced the country’s monthly food exports by almost three million tons. “Every attack on the port infrastructure of Ukraine is an attack on the food security of the whole world,” said Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukrainian minister for infrastructure.
Kherson region. Russian artillery fire on the tiny village of Novodmytrivka in the Kherson region today killed a six-year-old boy. Private houses and household properties in the target area were damaged as well.
Front line.
According to statements made today at a press conference by Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Ukrainian forces are advancing in the Bakhmut area even as Russian forces on the northern flank are attempting to recapture territories recently lost during Ukraine’s counter-offensive. Fierce fighting continues in other sectors.
For the second straight day, Ukrainian drones have struck Russia’s Black Sea ports in the Crimean city of Sevastopol and in Novorossiysk. According to Ukrainian authorities, the attacks have damaged two ships, including a submarine, beyond repair.
World.
Denmark soon will provide Ukraine its largest package of military assistance, worth some $830 million. The donation will finance the provision of tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, tank ammunition and anti-aircraft guns. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen called this aid crucial for Ukraine to continue to defend itself against Russia’s illegal invasion.
The International Criminal Court has established its field workroom in Kyiv, Karim Khan, ICC prosecutor, stated today as he was joined by Ukraine’s prosecutor general Andrii Kostin in the capital. Among the pivotal aims of the field office is increasing the ICC’s efficiency and timeliness in properly responding to Russia’s war crimes.
Jose Andres, Spanish-American chef and the founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK), is joining the list of honorable UNITED24 ambassadors. Andres’ “child” charity organization, World Central Kitchen, has operated on the Polish-Ukrainian border since the outbreak of Russia’s invasion, ensuring basic supplies to thousands of Ukrainians fleeing the country. Later in 2022, the WCK set up extra offices in Kyiv, Lviv and Kharkiv to continue its activities on Ukrainian soil. Just in 2022, the Kitchen generated more than $300 million in aid for the urgent needs of Ukrainian civilians.
