WAR IN UKRAINE: July 7, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 134
Kuleba doubts deal to end grain blockade will happen soon. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said several logistical details need to be worked out in Turkish-UN-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia and breaking the blockade will be difficult, Bloomberg reports. “I don’t want to join the chorus of those who say the agreement will take place next week,” Kuleba told Bloomberg. Separately, Ukraine says it expects to harvest at least 50 million tons of grain in 2022, which is below the 85 million tons produced the previous year, but still above expectations.
UK PM Boris Johnson, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, resigns as party leader, setting the stage for a leadership race. However support for Ukraine and for supplying advanced lethal weaponry is strong on all sides of the political aisle in the UK Parliament
Ukraine says it is investigating more than 21,000 war crimes and crimes of aggression allegedly committed by Russia since the start of its invasion. Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova told the BBC she was receiving reports of between 200 to 300 war crimes a day.
Russia will create a public movement of children and youth, which will be engaged in the education and formation of the “world view” of the new generation. The corresponding law was adopted by the State Duma of the Russian Federation. Vladimir Putin is asked to head the Supervisory Board of the organization.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has blamed Greek tanker owners for undermining economic sanctions by moving Russian oil. “We see Greek companies providing almost the largest tanker fleet for the transportation of Russian oil,” said Zelenskyy. “I am sure that this does not meet the interests of Europe, Greece or Ukraine. This is just one example of the need for even greater unity so that Russia is forced to seek peaceful solutions.”
Travel restrictions for military-age males in Ukraine have been canceled after widespread public outrage. On Wednesday, the Ukrainian Parliament passed a law preventing Ukrainian men from leaving their region - after already have being barred from leaving the country. Essentially, the law established that if you live in Kyiv, you cannot leave the Kyiv region without special permission that can only be obtained at military recruiting centers. Said Business News Ukraine: “People are beginning to feel like our country is becoming a prison where you cannot make a move without permission.” After President Zelenskyy asked the parliament to repeal the law, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, said on July 6 that the General Staff had abolished the requirement for all people subject to military service, including most men aged 18 to 60, to obtain permits for travel around Ukraine. Earlier President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed Zaluzhny to cancel the requirement and "not to make similar moves without me in the future".