Russian forces are increasing their forces concentrations and fire on military facilities and civilians in Ukraine. They even hit an unarmed United Nations humanitarian convoy in the mostly occupied southern Kherson region. This attack, horrific as it is, is one of many acts of widespread aggression currently besieging Kherson. Just yesterday, indirect Russian artillery fire killed three civilians in the city. Sadly, the continued violence reminds us that even as Ukraine fights against external threats, they continue to face a domestic political storm.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sharpened his rhetorical knives recently even further, following the inkling of war between Russia and Ukraine. He has suspended the citizenship of Odesa’s mayor, Gennadiy Trukhanov. This unprecedented decision followed Trukhanov’s strong public denunciation of Russia for invading Ukraine in 2022. Trukhanov has repeatedly refuted claims that he has a Russian passport. This has understandably led to doubts about his loyalty and intentions during this existential crisis that is underway.
In a related development, Ukraine has accused Moscow of deliberately severing the external power line to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station. Since the implementation of this act, the humanitarian crisis has deepened, as these attacks have resulted in rolling blackouts in eight regions of Ukraine. Following damage to energy infrastructure from Russian strikes, the state energy generator, Ukrenergo, implemented emergency shutdowns in multiple areas, including Sumy, Kharkiv, and Kyiv. Though many said Kyiv had been wrong to cancel the planned outages, the capital was hit hardest. A network overload and aftereffects from previous attacks led to blackouts throughout the nation’s capital.
The historic city of Odesa is the most severely affected, having become the most consistent hit of Russian attacks. Once again, the city’s strategic importance makes it an important military operational hub. This lack of fuzzy math makes the squeeze feel even tighter for local governments and homeowners.
Independently confirmed with these startling developments, a Ukrainian government source subsequently confirmed this news to Agence France-Presse. Ukrainian-born ballet dancer Sergei Polunin is among those who’ve had their Russian citizenship revocation. This relocation is part of Ukraine’s wider crackdown on those seen as a threat for having links to Russia.
For as the war continues with no end in sight, it seems like Ukraine’s leadership is increasingly bracing for the long haul. Radoslaw Sikorski commented on this strategy, stating, “The Ukrainians are planning this war for three years, which is prudent.” He emphasized the need for a sustained commitment from allies, noting that “we need to convince Putin that we are ready to stay the course for at least those three years.”
Economic support from Europe is absolutely key to Ukraine’s ability to continue fighting this war. In just July and August, European countries committed or approved a total of €3.3 billion in military assistance. Suddenly we see that military assistance from European countries has dropped off sharply this summer. This drop holds true despite foreign military sales efforts specifically targeted at buying U.S. weapon systems.
The day-to-day reality for citizens in Ukraine continues to be marked by uncertainty and fear as military actions and political decisions unfold. With new hostilities and infrastructure damage continuing to worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis, residents are still worried about their safety, livelihood and well-being.