Interior minister
Parliament has appointed Servant of the People MP Denys Monastyrskyy as interior minister. In his inception speech, he said he is "from the president's team and has been there since the first days". According to Monastyrskyy, his priorities include improving state security and citizens' safety and building public trust in law enforcement.
Security council
The National Security and Defence Council has introduced sanctions against nine Ukrainians who were designated by US sanctions, Secretary Oleksiy Danilov has said at a briefing. He noted that 134 Ukrainians are currently under US sanctions, including 130 under sanctions of the US Department of the Treasury and four under sanctions of the Department of State.
Donbas
Speaking about Donbas, Danilov noted that the top officials are aware of the escalation in Donbas. "It did not start yesterday. It has been on for a while, it started in January and, unfortunately, has not stopped," he added. According to him, Ukraine fully delivers on its ceasefire commitments.
There have been almost 2,000 truce breaches Since the start of the ceasefire on 22 July 2020. Fourty-five Ukrainian servicemen have been killed and 145 wounded, Ukraine's permanent representative in international organisations in Vienna, Yevhen Tsymbalyuk, has said.
Germany
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has "surrendered Ukraine's interests in favour of Russia," and President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Germany was fruitless, Oleksiy Arestovych, a freelance adviser to the head of the presidential office and speaker of the Ukrainian delegation to the trilateral contact group, has said on the air of Ukrayina 24 TV.
Coronavirus
Danilov quoted findings of a survey as saying that 33% of the population have immunity to Covid-19. Most Ukrainians have built it after contracting the virus, not after vaccination. Together with those vaccinated, 38%-40% of Ukrainians are considered immune to Covid-19.
Kyiv is launching preparations for the third wave of the coronavirus, which may hit the capital after the vacation period, the Kyiv city state administration has said.
Military
Zhytomyr mayor Serhiy Sukhomlyn has announced the construction of a cartridge factory in the city. "After 2014, Ukraine actually lost its only ammunition factory which was based in Luhansk. Thanks to American investors, a cartridge factory may appear in Zhytomyr," he wrote on Facebook. According to YouControl, the recently registered Zhytomyr Cartridge Plant Ltd. was founded and is owned by Dmytro Safonov. He also owns a beer company.
Ukraine will send 40 peacekeepers to the DR Congo, according to the president's decree.
Odesa airport
A new runway was inaugurated at Odesa airport. The airport can now receive medium- and long-range aircraft.
Incident
A drunk man detonated a grenade in Kamyanets-Podilskyy on the evening of 15 July. Six people, including a four-year-old child, got wounded.