8 July 2023
Azovstal commanders' return
Upon returning from Turkey, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Lviv with a group of the commanders of Mariupol and Azovstal defenders. "Today, on the 500th day of the war, we have brought home to Ukraine five of our heroes, Heroes of Ukraine, commanders of the defence of Mariupol and Azovstal - Denys Prokopenko, Svyatoslav Palamar, Serhiy Volynskyy, Oleh Khomenko and Denys Shleha. They fought for Ukraine, they fought heroically, absolutely. They went through Russian captivity, then they had been to Turkey for more than 300 days, it's time for them to be home," Zelenskyy said.
He thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for help in securing the release of the commanders.
Lyman attack
At least eight people were killed by the Russian shelling of Lyman in Donetsk Region, according to the regional authorities. Five more people were wounded by this MLRS attack on a residential area.
Nuclear concerns
As of now, the last power unit at the Zaporizhzhya NPP is still in a state of hot shutdown, so it poses an increased danger, said Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Defence Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate.
Today, the Ukrainian intelligence released a map of mine barriers placed by the Russians at ZNPP.
According to intelligence, mines and explosives are currently being delivered to ZNPP. Mine barriers consisting of remote-controlled and unguided anti-personnel mines of the directed type are installed in the technical premises and in the machine rooms. Most of the mines used are Soviet-era directional mines: MON-50, MON-90, MON-100, MON-200.
War
Russian troops are preparing for possible hostilities in Crimea, according to the Military Media Centre.
"In order to repel a potential offensive, the occupying forces are fortifying the area in the northern, western and eastern parts of the peninsula. According to available information, the defence of the Crimean isthmuses is also being strengthened," it said.
Air defence
The task of protecting Kyiv's sky from Russian missiles is almost complete, Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Facebook. The military is currently working to protect Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhya and Odesa from missile attacks, he added.
On the night of 8 July, Russia attacked Ukraine with Iranian Shahed-136/131 attack drones from the southeast (Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Territory). According to the Ukrainian Air Force, air defence units destroyed five attack drones.
"We failed to intercept some of the attack UAVs. The Shaheds hit industrial and infrastructure facilities in Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad regions," the military added.
Cluster munitions
Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov presented five principles regarding cluster munitions that the country will adhere to. These principles include using cluster munitions solely for the de-occupation of internationally recognized Ukrainian territories and avoiding their use in Russian territory. Reznikov emphasized that Ukraine's goal is to inflict maximum losses on Russian occupiers to save more Ukrainian lives, while also maintaining strict accountability and reporting on the use of these weapons.
Appointment
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed combat officer Oleksiy Pivnenko as commander of the National Guard.
Environmental damage
Every day of a full-scale Russian invasion causes damage to Ukraine's environment worth 102 million euros or 4 billion hryvnyas, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources said. These estimates do not take into account the ecocide caused by Russia's explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.
Compensation
Justice Minister Denys Malyuska announced the discovery of a mechanism for compensating damages caused by Russia's aggression against Ukraine. The mechanism involves creating a register of damages, establishing a compensation commission, and securing funding from over 40 countries to support the process.
Human rights
During his visit to Turkey, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to discuss the implementation of the peace formula and the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia by the occupiers.
Zaluzhnyy's birthday
Ukrainian partisans posted birthday greetings to the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valeriy Zaluzhnyy, who turned 50 on 8 July, on the websites of more than 50 Russian companies whose owners supported the Kremlin's actions against Ukraine. Some of the websites were defaced to show Zaluzhnyy driving a tank along Moscow's Arbat while others had Zaluzhnyy on Red Square against the backdrop of F-16 aircraft.
Athlete's business
The Russian company Monblan (Mont Blanc), owned by famous Soviet-Ukrainian pole-vaulter Serhiy Bubka and his brother Vasyl, operates in the occupied territories and cooperates with terrorists, according to an investigation by Bihus.Info. In May 2023, Bubka's company signed official contracts with the occupiers for the supply of fuel worth more than 800,000 roubles.