Ukraine Daily

Saturday, August 27

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Russian occupying forces have turned the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in occupied Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, into a military base. The photo was shared by Ukraine’s state energy operator Energoatom on Aug. 6, 2022. (Energoatom/Facebook)

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Zelensky: Ukraine has shipped first million tonnes of agricultural products. Since Feb. 24, Ukraine has shipped one million tonnes of foodstuffs from its three Black Sea ports under the UN-backed grain deal, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his evening address on Aug. 26. The Black Sea Grain Initiative was signed on July 22 and the first ship left Ukraine on Aug. 1.

Energoatom: One power unit of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant reconnected to Ukraine’s grid. Ukraine’s state nuclear operator Energoatom said on Aug. 26 that the plant was back to producing electricity for Ukraine. The Zaporizhzhia plant was disconnected from the Ukrainian grid on Aug. 25 as a result of the nearby Russian shelling. The disconnection triggered emergency protection systems at the plant located in Russian-occupied Enerhodar. Russia, which has been shelling Ukrainian positions from the territory of the plant, has been accused of using it as a shield and a tool of blackmail.

EBRD to provide Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator with a 97 million euro loan. Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said that the allocated fund will ensure the stability of Ukrenergo’s work. This is “extremely important support of the country during the military aggression,” said Marchenko.

Ukraine appeals to UNESCO: ‘Russia using education as a tool of oppression.’ Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, said on Aug. 26 that Russia threatens parents in the occupied parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts with putting children into orphanages if they do not sign them up for Russian-seized schools. “We call on UNESCO to urgently react to this crime,” he said.

General Staff: Russia shells Ukrainian military with ‘all types of weapons,’ tries to resume offensive in Donetsk Oblast. In Kharkiv Oblast, the Russian army shelled 12 villages with artillery and carried out airstrikes near three more settlements. Russians also shelled eight villages in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and 18 settlements in southern Ukraine. In Donetsk Oblast, Russia tried to resume the offensive near Sloviansk but was repelled by the Ukrainian army.

The Guardian: Russia blocks final document at UN nuclear treaty conference. After a four-week review of the UN treaty on nuclear disarmament, the Russian delegation blocked an agreement that aimed to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) on Aug. 26, the Guardian reports. Russia objected to a clause regarding the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant because the UN draft text reads that “Ukraine’s competent authorities” should ensure control in such facilities. According to the Guardian, the Russian delegation was the only party to disagree, blamed Ukraine and its “protectors” for the conference’s negative outcome, and left the UN chamber. The NPT entails that countries with nuclear weapons will aim to disarm and countries without nuclear weapons won’t acquire them.

AP: Russia received hundreds of Iranian drones. It is unclear whether Russia has begun using the drones in Ukraine, the Associated Press reported citing Western intelligence officials, “but the drones appear to be operational and ready to use.”

Deputy PM: Ukraine plans to launch mandatory evacuation from parts of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv oblasts. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Aug. 26 that all evacuated people would be provided with free housing and social support. “People will have everything needed to survive the winter,” she said. Over 7,000 civilians have been evacuated from Donetsk Oblast since Ukraine began mandatory evacuation from the region on Aug. ​1.

ISW: For the first time since Aug. 18, Russian forces did not make any territorial gains. The Institute for the Study of War also reported that Russian forces in the occupied areas “remain unlikely” to conduct sham referendums on Sept. 11. According to the U.S. think tank, Russian forces in Zaporizhzhia Oblast have allegedly already completed all the preparations for the referendum, but they’re undermined by constant “frictions within occupation administration” and attacks from Ukrainian partisans. Earlier on Aug. 17, deputy head of Kherson Oblast Council Yurii Sobolevskyi also reported that the Russian forces may have already been planning to postpone the referendum later than Sept. 11.

UK intelligence: Russian offensive stalled due to poor performance, fierce Ukrainian resistance. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s claim that the offensive was deliberately stalled to prevent civilian casualties is “misinformation,” the British Defense Ministry said. Russian forces in Ukraine have repeatedly missed planned operational timelines, the ministry added.

Read our exclusives

After quickly occupying Kherson in the first days of the invasion, Russia turned its sight towards Mykolaiv, Ukraine’s shipbuilding center. We talked to Major General Dmytro Marchenko was sent to his home region and tasked with defending the city.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Governor: Russian forces shell Kamianka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, killing 5. The Russian army shelled residential buildings in the temporarily occupied village of Kamianka on Aug. 26, killing five people, including a woman and her two children who were eight and two years old, reports Zaporizhzhia Governor Oleksandr Starukh. According to locals, people are still under the rubble. Starukh also reports that the Russian army shelled the regional center and surrounding areas overnight on Aug. 27, hitting infrastructure facilities. No casualties from this latest attack have been reported at this time.

International response

Pentagon awards contract to procure NASAMS for Ukraine. U.S.-based Raytheon Missiles and Defense was awarded a $182 million contract to procure the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) for Ukraine. This mid-range air defense system is highly adaptable and provides defense against drones, cruise missiles, helicopters and aircraft.

Lithuania to purchase 37 kamikaze drones for Ukraine. Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas announced on Aug. 26 that Lithuania will use 1 million euros to buy kamikaze drones from Poland for Ukraine. The money was raised under the Legion Of Boom campaign launched by Lithuanian journalist Andrius Tapinas in the lead-up to Ukraine’s Independence Day.

Washington Post: Stoltenberg warns about Russian military build-up in Arctic. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Canada and warned about Russia’s new Arctic Command, as well as hundreds of its Arctic military sites, which include “airfields and deep-water ports,” the Washington Post reports. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “has changed the way we need to look at the Arctic,” which reflects Canada’s promise to allocate billions of dollars to modernize its military.

Left wing of Scholz’s party seeks to stop arms supplies to Ukraine, start talks with Russia. The left wing of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party also called for urging China and other countries to become intermediaries in Russian-Ukrainian negotiations, der Spiegel reported, citing an open letter signed by the politicians. Scholz himself had been previously accused of delaying and blocking arms supplies to Ukraine.

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