Weekly exclusives
Saving Ukrainian culture and identity; Fake about donations by Ukrainian oligarchs for Trump's election campaign; A unique exhibition about war in Ukraine and more in our Weekly exclusives
Photo of the week
A man with a child near the highest mountain lake in Ukraine, Brebeneskul, near which the snow has not yet melted despite the temperature of 35°С, on the territory of the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve, Rakhivskyi district, Zakarpattia region, on July 14, 2024.
Interviews:
Serhii Dzherzh, head of the Ukraine-NATO Public League
The jubilee NATO summit, which this year was hosted by Washington, has passed. The 75th Anniversary summit deserves special attention while provoking thoughts and questions. The NATO summit gave answers to some of these questions, but others remain unanswered.
What has Ukraine got from the summit in Washington? What policy does NATO pursue in a situation where the principles on which world order is based have been infringed? What response can NATO offer to the challenges that have been undermining the long-term sustainability of the international law system for the third year now? What to expect next? Ukrinform spoke to Serhii Dzherzh, head of the Ukraine-NATO Public League, PhD (politics) to try finding answers to these and other questions.
Oleksii Prokopenko, Chief Executive Director, HUCUS, an American Foundation to Aid Ukraine
American companies, non-governmental organizations and private individuals continue to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, although aid flows have changed both quantitatively and qualitatively during russia’s full-scale war. How and why do Americans help Ukrainians? What does Ukraine most need now? How are deliveries made from overseas? We spoke on these topics with Oleksii Prokopenko, Chief Executive Director of HUCUS, an American foundation that specializes in the collection and delivery of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Estonia’s Ambassador to the United States, Kristjan Prikk
In addition to providing aid to Ukraine, which by some accounts is the highest in percentage of national GDP, the Estonian government has already announced a plan to allocate .25% of its annual Gross Domestic Product to support Ukraine’s efforts at victory. With this in mind, along with the recent appointment of the now former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the head diplomat for the EU’s Foreign Policy, Ukrinform sat down during the week of the NATO summit in Washington D.C. for an exclusive interview with the Estonian Ambassador to the United States, Kristjan Prikk.
In a free-wheeling conversation with Ukrinform that touched on a diverse array of topics, from Ukraine’s fight against Russian imperialism and genocide to the role of Estonia in NATO and what lies ahead for Europe, Ambassador Prikk defended democracy, explained Putin's threat to the world, and shed light on the Moscow regimes' flaunting of international norms.
Publications:
Saving Ukrainian culture and identity
On June 26, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) passed a resolution titled "Countering the Erasure of Cultural Identity in Times of War and Peace," authored by Ukrainian MP Yevhenia Kravchuk, which received 105 votes in favor.
This resolution introduces groundbreaking measures aimed at safeguarding Ukrainian culture and protecting Ukrainian identity. It condemns the systematic policy of Russification imposed by the Russian Federation since 2014 in its occupied areas of Ukraine. This policy aims to deny Ukrainian cultural identity, language, literature, and history. The resolution explicitly defines the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage and the erasure of Ukrainian cultural identity as war crimes and crimes against humanity. It also defines these actions as indicative of a specific genocidal intent to obliterate the Ukrainian national identity.
From February 24, 2022 through May 25, 2024, a total of 1,080 cultural heritage assets have been reportedly destroyed or damaged. Among these, 121 hold national importance, 879 local importance, and 80 have been identified recently. The majority of these assets that suffered destruction are located in the regions of Kharkiv, Odesa, Donetsk, and Kherson.
As of July 2024, almost the entire territory of Luhansk Oblast and significant parts of Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Kherson regions are still under temporary occupation, making it impossible to calculate the exact number of cultural institutions affected by the hostilities and occupation.
Fact check
Russian propaganda spreading fake about donations from Kolomoisky, Boholiubov and Zhevaho to Trump's election campaign
Russian media outlets, pro-war Telegram channels and pro-Russian accounts on X are sharing videos with the BBC logo and animation design. A news video claims that Kostiantyn Zhevaho, Ihor Kolomoisky and Hennadii Boholiubov allegedly donated more than $8 million in cryptocurrency to Donald Trump's election campaign. It also adds that Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian investigative journalist at The Insider and Bellingcat, allegedly made this information public.
Top Videos:
An exhibition of photographs about the war in Ukraine opened in Warsaw
The exhibition "There is war here" by the famous Polish photojournalist Wojciech Grzendzinski and publicist Pawel Reshka opened in Warsaw.
It presents about 100 photos about the war in Ukraine, taken during 2016-2024, a multimedia presentation and two films with a military theme.
News:
Defense
Poland has necessary conditions to service all Ukrainian F-16s - expert
Jarosław Kraszewski, former commander of missile forces and artillery of the Ground Forces of the Polish Armed Forces, and now chairman of the board of the private defense holding RBL, said this in a comment to Ukrinform, commenting on the message of the President of Ukraine about the positive decision of the Polish government, which will allow Ukraine to receive F-16 aircraft as soon as possible.
Polish MiG-29s may appear in Ukraine in six months - former defense minister
Polish MiG-29 aircraft may appear in Ukraine in about six months, depending on the timing of their replacement with new American F-35s.
Politics
How to force Russia to comply with ECHR judgment: Maliuska says there are two options
Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska said that Russia is not going to comply with the ECHR decisions, so, in his opinion, there are two options: to wait for the Russian Federation to want to return to the civilized world, or to create a new mechanism for enforcing court decisions.
Already this fall, there may be certain vision of format of Special Tribunal - Maliuska
Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska said that it is possible that the final vision of the format of the Special Tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine will be achieved this fall.
Fiala tells about employment of Ukrainian refugees in Czech Republic
More than half of the Ukrainian refugees who arrived in the Czech Republic after the start of full-scale Russian aggression have found jobs.
Expert: Ukraine can explain to US vice-presidential candidate Vance how to end war
The position of Senator J.D. Vance is not so categorical, so Ukraine can find an approach to a possible candidate for vice president of the United States.
J.D. Vance is unlikely to have influence on foreign policy in Trump's cabinet - Herbst
If the Republicans win the US presidential election, Senator J.D. Vance, Trump's choice for vice president, will likely have no influence in foreign policy, including in supporting Ukraine.
Economy
Buckwheat prices likely to rise in Ukraine
In 2022, according to the data from the State Statistics Service, the price of buckwheat was UAH 23,805 per tonne. In 2023, it was around UAH 10,000 per tonne. Such a price not only fails to cover the production costs but also causes UAH 5,000-7,000 per tonne in losses. The main reason for last year’s decline in buckwheat prices was a traditional market factor – a significant increase in the supply resulted in negative price dynamics. Meanwhile, the price of buckwheat harvested in the current year is likely to increase, but it will also be determined by the market conditions.
Energy
EU has something to learn from Ukraine in energy domain – expert’s opinion
Europe can learn a lot from Ukraine in the energy sector, namely with regard to maintaining the energy grid while under attack, and should also be interested in establishing cooperation in other areas related to energy.
Society
Minister of Justice of Ukraine: MH17 is our common tragedy
"I took part in the events marking the tenth anniversary of the tragedy. It was a very emotional ceremony to commemorate the victims. Relatives of the victims of the tragedy gathered. Most of the Dutch government, the king. It's hard to hear the relatives say the names of the victims. Seeing their pain is extremely difficult emotionally. Of course, this is our common tragedy. This is the result of the war with the Russian Federation. This was the first case that showed the world how Russia operates, how it has been deceiving for ten years,"Minister of Justice Denis Maliuska said.
See you next Friday!