Russian attacks on a prison in Zaporizhzhia region and a hospital in Kamyanske kill 20. The EU warns Ukraine it will withhold funding if the independence of anti-graft agencies is not restored. Putin is unlikely to stop his war unless he is forced to do so by Ukraine’s battlefield victories, ISW says.
Russian attacks on prison in Zaporizhzhia, hospital in Kamyanske kill 20
A Russian airstrike on a prison in Zaporizhzhia region on Monday night killed at least 17 inmates and wounded 42 others. Russia launched four glide bombs on the Bilenke penitentiary. The seriously wounded were taken to hospitals. Forty other people were also injured in the attack, Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice said.
The strike completely destroyed the prison’s dining hall and ravaged its administrative section and a quarantine area. Nearby private homes also sustained damage. Around 50 guards of the State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine were sent in to secure the prison. The fence was unaffected and there were no prisoner escapes, authorities said.
Commenting on the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in a post to X: “It was a deliberate strike, intentional, not accidental. The Russians could not have been unaware that they were targeting civilians in that facility.”
A Russian missile strike on Kamyanske in the region of Dnipro on Tuesday killed three, including a 23-year-old pregnant woman. The attack damaged a hospital, including its maternity ward, schools, a kindergarten and dozens of private homes.
“At 2 a.m. this night, the Russians launched a missile strike on the city of Kamyanske, targeting the city hospital. Three people were killed in the attack, including a pregnant woman. Her name was Diana. She was only 23 years old,” Zelenskyi said on X.
EU warns Ukraine it will withhold funding if independence of anti-graft agencies is not restored
The EU has warned Ukraine it will withhold the funding if the parliament doesn’t vote to completely repeal the law that removes the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), Ukrainian news web site European Pravda said on Tuesday, citing unnamed EU officials.
The EU is preparing for a scenario when MPs will fail to pass either of the bills to bring back the agencies’ powers or will amend the bill so that the independence of NABU and SAPO is not fully restored.
According to Economichna Pravda, a sister publication, the EU warned the Ukrainian government through the diplomatic channels on July 24 that it freezes all financial aid to Ukraine until the situation is resolved.
The EU will not freeze financial assistance under the Ukraine Facility program, European Pravda said. The EU has also asked about the progress of other reforms, including the appointment of the head of the Bureau of Economic Security that would follow a competitive selection procedure, the sources added.
The parliament will consider the president’s bill aimed at restoring the independence of NABU and SAPO on Thursday, July 31.
Putin unlikely to stop his war unless forced to do so by Ukraine’s battlefield victories, ISW says
Putin is unlikely to make any concessions in his war aims unless he is forced to do so by significant Ukrainian battlefield victories, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in an update on Monday. The paragraphs below are quoted from the report.
US President Donald Trump announced a new deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine no later than August 9. Trump stated on July 28 that he is “very disappointed” with Putin and will “reduce” his previously articulated 50-day deadline by which Putin must agree to peace negotiations. Trump stated that he will make a new deadline of roughly “10 to 12 days from today [July 28] (…).”
Kremlin officials continue to frame Russia as in direct geopolitical confrontation with the West in order to generate domestic support for the war in Ukraine and future Russian aggression against NATO.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed at a Russian youth forum on July 28 that “Russia is fighting alone against the entire West… for the first time in history” and that Russia “must rely on [itself].” Lavrov claimed that Russia has “no allies on the battlefield,” unlike during the first and second World Wars.
Lavrov additionally claimed that Russia had “no alternative” to launching its war in Ukraine as Russia needed to protect Russian-language speakers in Ukraine, a routine narrative that Russian officials use to justify Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Lavrov’s statements reinforce the Kremlin’s commitment to its war goals in Ukraine to the Russian public, and specifically Russian youth. The Kremlin has devoted a significant amount of time and energy to generating domestic support for the war, and Russian state and independent polling suggest that most Russians support continuing the war in Ukraine until Russia achieves its war aims of Ukrainian “denazification,” demilitarization, and neutrality.
Russian society’s commitment to achieving Russia’s war aims, which the Kremlin has worked hard to foster, will make it much harder for Russian President Vladimir Putin to present any peace agreement that falls far short of his stated aims as a victory to his domestic audience. Putin is unlikely to make any concessions in his war aims unless he is forced to do so by significant Ukrainian battlefield victories, as any negotiated end to the war that does not achieve all of Putin’s objectives would call into question the success, and, potentially, wisdom of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
Commenting on Trump’s demand that Russia make a peace deal with Ukraine, Lavrov said earlier this month, “Earlier, there were also the deadlines of 24 hours and of 100 days.” “We’ve seen it all and really would like to understand the motivation of the U.S. president,” Lavrov said during an official trip to China.