Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticized a report by Amnesty International (AI) on alleged violations of international law by his armed forces. He accused the human rights organization of shifting responsibility from the aggressor to the victim. Anyone who makes such a connection “has to admit that they are helping terrorists,” Zelenskyy said in a video speech on Thursday evening.
In a report, Amnesty International accused the Ukrainian army of often operating out of homes, schools or hospitals, inviting Russian fire on these civilian objects. This is a violation of international humanitarian law. However, the Ukrainian violations “in no way justify the many indiscriminate strikes by the Russian military with civilian casualties” that Amnesty has documented in recent months.
In response to the report, the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow on Thursday identified alleged examples of Ukrainian troops holed up in homes or schools.
“Any attempt to question the right of Ukrainians to resist the genocide, to protect their families and homes” is a “perversion,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Olekxiy Reznikov wrote on Facebook.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has complained about the delayed payment of EU financial aid worth billions to his country. He did not want to say which country is braking this time, he said in a video speech in Kyiv. Before that, however, the deputy head of his presidential office, Ihor Zhovkwa, blamed Germany for the sluggish payment. Of nine billion euros in macro-financial aid, only one billion has been paid.
Three more ships carrying grain were expected to leave Ukrainian ports on Friday morning. Together they have around 50,000 tons of corn on board, according to Infrastructure Minister Olexander Kubrakow. Fierce fighting was reported from the Donbass, in which the Russian troops appeared to have gained ground. The eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov was shelled by artillery.
Also on Friday, the Presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, plan to meet in the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi.
There is an “artificial delay” in EU aid, which is either a crime or a mistake, said Zelensky on Thursday evening. Every day he reminds EU politicians that Ukrainian pensioners, refugees, teachers and others depend on payments from the budget. They must not be held hostage by “indecisiveness or bureaucracy” in the EU.
After Schowkwa’s statements, the Federal Ministry of Finance had already rejected the accusation that Germany was slowing down the payment. According to the EU Commission, guarantees from member states may be necessary for the outstanding amount because it is not possible to secure it via the EU budget.
Intense fighting continued near the towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. The Ukrainian General Staff announced in Kyiv that Russian attacks were repulsed on Thursday north-east and east of the neighboring towns of Soledar and Bakhmut. Fighting continued south of Bakhmut. Earlier, Brigadier General Oleksiy Hromov admitted that Ukrainian troops there had to withdraw from the village of Semyhirya.
There is also ongoing fighting near the industrial city of Avdiivka, the report said. According to Hromow, positions south-east of Avdiivka were abandoned. Ukraine has been repelling a Russian invasion since February 24. Since then, Russian troops have conquered large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.
According to the authorities, the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov was shelled by Russian artillery on Thursday evening. According to initial findings, three people were injured, said Mayor Ihor Terekhov. The Ukrainian army pushed Russian troops away from the country’s second largest city; but it is not entirely out of range of enemy artillery. A Russian tax administration was introduced in the parts of the Kharkiv Oblast occupied by Russia, as reported by the Tass agency.
The freighters “Navi Star”, “Rojen” and “Polarnet” loaded with corn were to leave the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk and Odessa between. Times between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m. CEST were mentioned.
Agricultural exports via the Ukrainian Black Sea ports had been blocked for months because of the Russian war of aggression. On July 22, wartime opponents Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement separately with Turkey, mediated by the UN, to allow grain exports from Ukraine again.
A coordination center in Istanbul is staffed by representatives of the four parties. Among other things, the inspections are intended to ensure that ships do not have any weapons loaded. On Monday, a freighter loaded with 26,000 tons of corn became the first ship to leave the Ukrainian port of Odessa since the beginning of the war. The Razoni is scheduled to arrive in Lebanon on Sunday.
When Putin and Erdogan meet in Sochi, the focus will be not only on the war in Ukraine but also on the situation in Syria. Turkey is planning a new offensive in northern Syria, but Moscow has recently clearly advised against it.
Ankara maintains close relations with both Kyiv and Moscow and sees itself as a mediator. At the same time, Turkey is the key country when Sweden and Finland join NATO. The two Nordic countries want to give up their neutrality and join the western alliance because of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Most NATO countries have already agreed. Only Turkey initially had reservations, its final approval is still pending.
The Russian army experiences a deadly inferno in Ukraine. According to two military researchers, Putin’s troops will have to deal with the aftermath for a long time. An example case illustrates what happened on the battlefield.
Russia is now taking a new measure to recruit more people for the army. According to a media report, male employees of state-owned companies are laid off if they can be dispensed with. However, they should not be used at the front.
The Russian company Gazprom apparently burns part of the gas that is actually supposed to go to Germany in a targeted manner at the Nord Stream 1 compressor station near Saint Petersburg.
The losses on the Russian side have not been officially communicated, but observers assume around 15,000 casualties. In order to advance his “special operation”, Putin needs many new soldiers. And they come primarily from remote, poor provinces.
