WAR IN UKRAINE: July 27, 2022
Passengers arriving Tuesday morning in Odesa on the overnight train from Lviv
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 154
The Biden administration is working furiously behind the scenes to keep European allies united against Russia as Moscow further cuts its energy supplies to the European Union, prompting panic on both sides of the Atlantic over potentially severe gas shortages heading into winter, US officials say. On Monday, Russia's state-owned gas company Gazprom said it would cut flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany in half, to just 20% of its capacity - CNN
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says the European Union won't give in to Moscow's "blackmailing,” reports RFE/RL. “We want to get independent 100 percent -- independence from fossil energy from Russia as fast as we can,” she said, adding that Europe intends to stay on this path.
Russia will pull out of the International Space Station after 2024 and focus on building its own orbiting outpost, the country's new space chief said Tuesday amid high tensions between Moscow and the West over the fighting in Ukraine - CBC
One of the most cosmopolitan and vibrant cities in Ukraine, Odesa, they say has two main industries: the port and hedonism. The port is now at a standstill, a ghost town. And pre-war, Odesa used to welcome up to 3-million tourists each summer. Now, almost none and the economy is in free fall. One restaurant owner with a prime location in the historic city center told me she’s not sure how much longer her family-owned establishment can stay in business. For ordinary residents, not being able to visit the city’s legendary beaches due to security restrictions is a painful penalty to pay.
Watch this space for more posts and reports from Odesa - a city at the epicenter of a global food crisis - and just a short drive from the frontline. Another observation from my first day in Odesa is that patriotism towards Ukraine since the invasion by Russia more than 150 days ago has skyrocketed: symbols of Ukrainian nationalism can be seen on almost every second building.
In the south, Kyiv said Russian warplanes launched 13 missiles on the Odesa region, destroying a number of residential buildings in the popular Black Sea resort of Zatoka. There were also strikes in the nearby Mykolaiv region, including on the main port, and Russian shelling continued in the east - in what Moscow says is the main focus of its "special military operation" - BBC
Britain has announced new sanctions aimed at Russia's senior leadership in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy replaced a top military commander, Hryhoriy Halahan, in eastern Ukraine after major territorial losses to Russia - RFE/RL
Russian forces currently control about 20 percent of southeastern Ukraine, a place once populated by over eight million people. Most locals have fled, and those who remain are the target of the Kremlin's new plan to annex the occupied territories. A Ukrainian analyst cited by the Wilson Center warns that annexation would ensure Moscow’s control over the local population and extend its “nuclear umbrella” onto the newly conquered land.
Addition reading…
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, dozens of children all over the country have been raising money to support Ukraine's Armed Forces. Some of them play music on the streets, or sell their paintings, crafts or flowers that they grow themselves. Other children donate their own savings to support soldiers. Read the Kyiv Independent’s story on how children raise money to support Ukraine’s fight here.