Russia attacked port in Odesa Oblast

A Russian missile attack on Odesa Oblast killed one civilian guard overnight, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram on July 27.

Kiper reported that Russian forces fired Kalibr cruise missiles at port infrastructure facilities in the region. A guard building and two cars were destroyed, and cargo terminal equipment was damaged.

The exact location of the attack was not disclosed.

Moscow announced that it would not extend the Black Sea grain deal on July 17. Since July 18, Odesa and other ports along the coast of the Black Sea have been repeatedly attacked by Russia.

On July 19, Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi reported that Russian attacks had destroyed 60,000 tons of grain in Chornomorsk.

Russians attacked Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with artillery and drones at night

On the night of 26-27 July, the Russian army attacked the Nikopol district seven times and struck Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with a drone shot down by the defenders.

"Almost three dozen shells from heavy artillery hit Nikopol, Pokrovka and Chervonohryhorivka hromadas (administrative units designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories – ed.)."

"The aggressor also attacked the oblast with a UAV. But the defenders from the Air Command Skhid (East) shot it down. It was presumably a Shahed," - reported Serhii Lysak, Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration.

Wagner Group recruit Belarusians ready to fight against Lithuania and Poland

National Resistance Center says recruitment to the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) ranks is taking place during the Belarusian Armed Forces servicemen training.

Following the information the National Resistance Center received from the underground, the readiness to participate in hostilities on the territory of the countries neighboring Belarus, including Poland and Lithuania is one one of the contract’s conditions. The recruitment is taking place among those servicemen of the Belarusian Armed Forces trained by the Wagner PMC instructors.

Russian forces hit Avdiivka with rocket artillery and coke facility with missiles on 27 July morning

Early on 27 July, Russian invaders bombarded the city of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast with Grad multiple rocket launchers and fired missiles on the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant (ACCP). Pavlo Kyrylenko, Head of the Donetsk Oblast Military Administration reported about the attack.

He said two people were injured in the settlements of Krasnohorivka and Novomykhailivka in Marinka hromada (an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories). A civilian was also injured in the settlement of Soloviove in Ocheretyne hromada.

Parliament dismisses Culture Minister Tkachenko

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine [Ukrainian parliament – ed.] has supported the resignation of Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

A total of 321 MPs voted in favor of his resignation.

The background of the case:

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to dismiss Oleksandr Tkachenko from the Minister of Culture and Information Policy and appoint another person to the post. Tkachenko later announced that he had submitted his resignation.

• Despite public calls, Oleksandr Tkachenko said that spending more than 500 million hryvnias [approximately US$13.5 million] from the state budget during the war to complete the construction of the National Museum of the Holodomor Genocide of the Ukrainian people is "appropriate".
• On 13 July, the Verkhovna Rada supported the allocation of funding to complete the construction of the National Museum of the Holodomor Genocide (draft law No 3473).
• This outraged the public, as did the idea of replacing the USSR coat of arms with the Ukrainian coat of arms on the shield of the Motherland Monument. Many called on the authorities to invest only in victory and vital areas, the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure, healthcare and education – not in museums, monuments, pedestrian bridges and paving, which can be done without while the war is ongoing.
• The Ministry of Culture also allocated 448 million hryvnias [approximately US$12 million] for the production of television films. The ministry confused the public by claiming that the revival of series production was "a matter of state information and cultural security."

Ukrainian parliament extends martial law and mobilization

The Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian parliament] has approved a draft law extending martial law and general mobilization by another 90 days.

: Martial law and general mobilization were extended until 15 November 2023. The relevant resolutions received 347 and 334 votes in favor.

The next parliamentary elections should be held in October. However, according to the legislation, martial law makes it impossible to hold elections.