To prepare for winter, Ukraine is receiving a new aid package from the United Nations Refugee Agency. UN High Commissioner Grandi is also taking a look at the situation for himself.
The 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 UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is thus supporting preparations for winter and will continue to stand by the government in Kiev to help displaced or otherwise war-affected Ukrainians, said Grandi at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj in Kiev. The aid agency wants to continue to mobilize funds to support the country attacked by Russia.
Zelenskyj thanked for the help, which is urgently needed in view of the destruction of the energy infrastructure caused by the Russian attacks. At the same time, according to a statement from the presidential office, he stressed that the country needs further help to rebuild destroyed houses and set up protective bunkers in schools and hospitals. This will give the Ukrainian refugees the security of being able to return home.
Grandi has visited Ukraine for the fifth time since the start of Russia’s war of aggression on February 24, 2022. He also visited the children’s hospital in Kyiv that was hit by a missile attack, he announced on the social network X. “No place should be better protected than a hospital for children. Nevertheless, it was hit by a missile on July 8,” he said.
According to UNHCR, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has left around 9.7 million displaced people, around 6 million of whom are abroad. Many people have fled particularly from the particularly contested east and south of Ukraine, where Russian troops have occupied large parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. Some cities there have been completely destroyed.
Kyiv troops abandon positions in the southeast
According to unofficial reports, Ukrainian troops had to abandon positions in the southeast of the country near Krynky in the Kherson region and Urozhayne in the Donetsk region under Russian pressure. “In both settlements, it no longer made sense to hold the positions due to the extensive destruction,” sources in the General Staff were quoted as saying in Ukrainian media. In particular, the fighting for the village of Krynky on the south bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region was criticized from the outset for being hopeless.
It was initially unclear whether there were still Ukrainian soldiers in the lower reaches of the Dnipro on the south bank. Urozhayne in the Donetsk region was recaptured during the Ukrainian counter-offensive last year and was considered a symbol of the Ukrainian advance.
In addition, according to a report by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Ukrainian units are said to have pushed the enemy back by up to two kilometers in the Kharkiv region, not far from the Russian border. Similar unverifiable advances were reported from forest areas near the village of Serebrjanka in the Donetsk region.
Almost a fifth of Ukrainian territory is under Russian control. The Kremlin is demanding further territorial cessions for possible peace negotiations in order to completely occupy the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, which have only been partially occupied so far.
Selenskyj meets military leadership and wants to punish traitors
At a meeting with the military leadership, Zelensky again urged rapid deliveries of weapons for the soldiers on the front lines. “This is an absolute priority,” he said in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev. With each passing month, it should become more noticeable that Ukraine is becoming more independent in the production of weapons. The country is receiving weapons and ammunition from its western allies in particular to defend itself against Russian attacks. At the same time, Zelensky announced new international negotiations on weapons for this week, without giving any details.
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Olexander Syrskyj reported at the meeting with Zelenskyj that Ukrainian missile builders had made successes against the Russian armed forces. “We are continuing to systematically destroy the potential of Russian air defenses and are creating favorable conditions for the successful use of fighter jets. The F-16s are coming soon,” he said, referring to the announced western deliveries of the US-type aircraft.
According to his own account, Zelensky signed two new decrees, including one to honor more than 200 soldiers in various units and one to revoke such honors in the event that honorees no longer live up to the award. It is a draft for an amendment to the Criminal Code and other legal acts of Ukraine, he said.
For example, those who supported the Russian aggressor state or committed other crimes against Ukraine should lose their state awards. “The title they deserve is that of traitor,” he said. Parliament – the Verkhovna Rada – is expected to pass the law soon.
What is important today
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is currently in New York with a delegation as chairman of the UN Security Council and is using his appearances and bilateral talks with Western politicians to once again justify Moscow’s war of aggression against Ukraine. He announced a press conference for today. Russia is holding the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council this month.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
