International UN High Commissioner for Refugees announces new aid for Ukraine
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has 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 the winter and will continue to stand by the government in Kiev to help Ukrainians who have been displaced or otherwise affected by the war, said Grandi at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in Kiev. The aid organization also wants to mobilize funds in the future to support the country attacked by Russia.
17.07.2024, 07:09
SDA
Selensky expressed his thanks for the aid, which was urgently needed in view of the destruction to the energy infrastructure caused by the Russian attacks. At the same time, according to a statement from the President's Office, he emphasized that the country needed further help to rebuild destroyed houses and set up shelters in schools and hospitals. This would give the Ukrainians who had fled the country the security of being able to return home.
Grandi has already visited Ukraine for the fifth time since the start of the Russian war of aggression on February 24, 2022. He also visited the children's hospital in Kiev, which was hit by a missile attack, as he announced on the social network X. "No place should be better protected than a children's hospital. Yet it was hit by a rocket on July 8," he said.
According to UNHCR figures, there are around 9.7 million people displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, around 6 million of whom are abroad. Many people have fled from the particularly embattled east and south of Ukraine, where Russian troops have occupied large parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Some towns there have been completely destroyed.
Kiev's troops give up positions in the south-east
According to unofficial reports, Ukrainian troops had to abandon positions in the south-east 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. The battles for the village of Krynky on the southern bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region in particular were criticized from the outset due to their hopelessness.
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 seen as a symbol of the Ukrainian advance.
In addition, according to a report by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Ukrainian units have pushed back the enemy in the Kharkiv region, not far from the Russian border, by up to two kilometers. Similar unverifiable progress was reported from forest areas near the village of Serebryanka in the Donetsk region.
Almost a fifth of Ukrainian territory is under Russian control. For possible peace negotiations, the Kremlin is demanding further cessions of territory in order to fully occupy the areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which have only been partially taken so far.
Zelenskyi meets military leadership and wants to punish traitors
At a meeting with the military leadership, Zelenskyi once again urged the rapid delivery of weapons for the soldiers on the front line. "This is an absolute priority," he said in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev. With each passing month, it must become clearer that Ukraine is becoming more independent in the production of weapons. The country also receives weapons and ammunition from its Western allies to defend itself against Russian attacks. At the same time, Selensky announced new international negotiations on weapons for this week, without giving details.
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Olexander Syrskyi reported on the successes of Ukrainian missile manufacturers against the Russian armed forces during the meeting with Zelenskyi. "We continue to systematically destroy the potential of Russian air defense, creating favorable conditions for the successful deployment of fighter jets. The F-16s are coming soon," he said, referring to the announced western deliveries of the US-type aircraft.
According to Selensky, he 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 those honored no longer live up to the distinction. It is a draft 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 Supreme Rada - is expected to pass the law soon.
What will be important today
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is currently in New York with a delegation as Chairman of the UN Security Council and is also using his appearances and bilateral talks with Western politicians to justify Moscow's war of aggression against Ukraine once again. He has announced a press conference for today. Russia holds the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council this month.
