Russia attacked Ukraine’s largest children's medical center, a private clinic, and residential buildings. On July 8, twenty-seven people were killed in Kyiv, including four children
What's going on?
As of July 4, approximately 1.5 million museum artifacts remain in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. Minister of Culture and Information Policy Rostyslav Karandieiev reported Ukraine has lost numerous museum artifacts, even in liberated areas. Some were stolen, others were damaged by enemy attacks.
Russia has destroyed 138 and damaged 577 Ukrainian libraries since the start of its full-scale invasion, according to the data from Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Information Policy. Recently, a massive Russian missile attack on Ukraine damaged a building of one of the departments of the Yaroslav Wise National Library of Ukraine in Kyiv.
On July 8, Russia launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine and hit the Okhmatdyt Hospital in Kyiv, the state's largest children's medical center. The two cities in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast – Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih – were also attacked with missiles. Russian attacks on that day killed at least forty-two people and injured at least 206, with children reported among the casualties.
People of Culture Taken away by the War
In July, five Ukrainian cultural figures were killed by Russian attacks on Ukraine. In November, PEN Ukraine and the Ukrainians Media launched “People of Culture Taken Away By The War,” a project about the cultural figures killed during the Russo-Ukrainian full-scale war. It is a series of portraits that emerged while studying these people’s achievements, conversations with their relatives and colleagues, and journeys across Ukraine. The project is regularly updated with new stories, which you can read here.
The death of the musician, member of the band Troyisti Muzyky, and serviceman Mykola Lenok was reported on July 15. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Lenok enlisted in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 2022, he served as a combat medic in the 136th separate battalion of the Territorial Defence of Brovary. He also joined his military unit’s music group.
On July 19, the troupe manager of Mykolaiv Academic Theater Iryna Ponomarenko was killed in Russian shelling of the city. Ponomarenko had worked in all the three theaters of Mykolaiv. She had been the vice-director of Mykolaiv academic theater for 12 years, then became the troupe manager for the following 9 years. She also took care of 18 homeless dogs.
Russia's crimes against media
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia has killed 82 Ukrainian and foreign journalists and committed 607 crimes against journalists and media in Ukraine. Russian troops continue to attack and kidnap members of the press on the territory of Ukraine.
On July 19, two Ukrainian photographers were injured by Russian artillery fire in the Toretsk district of Donetsk Oblast. Olha Kovalyova received shrapnel wounds in the axillary, supraclavicular, suprathoracic areas and the arm, and a ribcage fracture. Vladyslav Krasnoshchok received a concussion. The photographers were working with UAF artillerymen.
Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Khyliuk — kidnapped by Russian forces in March 2022 in the Kyiv Oblast — is still being held in the Vladimir Oblast of Russia. His former cellmate spoke to Reporters without Borders about the horrific conditions inflicted on the innocent reporter and his co-inmates. He estimates that Khyliuk probably weighs “no more than 45 kilos” now.
The PEN Ukraine online memorial Requiem collects stories of journalists who have died as a result of Russian aggression. The project's mission is to tell the truth about media workers who have sacrificed their lives to preserve and show the world the true face of the aggressor.
Unbreakable Libraries
Thousands of Ukrainian libraries are now under constant threat of shelling and looting by the Russian armed forces. Many libraries in the frontline regions continue working, although they have lost significant parts of their collections. To support such libraries, PEN Ukraine has been systematically collecting new books in Ukrainian and English languages for them since June 2022. The program has been supported by the publishing house Thames & Hudson (London), PEN Netherlands, PEN Ireland, the bookstore Raven Books (Dublin), and others.
This year, PEN Ukraine delivered 25,000 English-language books from leading British publishers to Ukrainian libraries affected by the war. Overall, 120 libraries received the books. In September, we expect a new donation from the United Kingdom, 25 thousand books. The initiative is supported by Book Aid International, publishing houses, Pineapple Lane, PEN International, and English PEN.
Share materials
Vitalii Tytych “Destruction of a nation not only through mass killings: the "problem" of proving genocide and how culture is involved” (Ukrainska Pravda);
“Only Love Is Worth Fighting For”: Iya Kiva on Her Home in Donetsk, Its Loss, and Poetry That Reflects the Heart of Our Country (Documenting Ukraine);
Andriy Lyubka “Opinion: Between the 'Center' and Europe” (The Kyiv Independent);
Oleksandr Mykhed: ‘We do not know how much time we have’ (Financial Times);
‘The Language of War’ searches for ways to talk meaningfully about Russian invasion (The Kyiv Independent);
"The world needs to be brought to its senses": An interview with Ukrainian poet Maryna Ponomarenko (UkraineWorld);
A ‘tribunal for Putin’ from a Nobel Prize-winning Ukrainian rights defender (Al Jazeera);
Kateryna Babkina “Be good and have no fear” (Substack);
Matryoshka of Lies. Episode 3: Infiltration feat. Rory Finnin, Vitaly Chernetsky, Natalia Antelava and Romeo Kokriatski (Ukrainska Pravda);
Vitaly Portnikov “Opinion: The realities faced by Russia's national minorities are history repeating itself” (The Kyiv Independent);
Key Things to Know about Ukrainian Avant-Garde Art of the Early 20th Century (UkraineWorld);
The Buried Book That Helped Ukraine’s Literary Revival (The New York Times);
How Russia destroys the identity of Ukrainian children in the occupied territories (Ukrainer);
Ukraine’s art evacuators: the intrepid team rescuing art from a warzone – in pictures (The Guardian).
PEN Ukraine webpage on war
Visit our webpage for the latest news and materials on Russia’s war against Ukraine. Here you will find information on the situation in Ukraine, links to important materials and information resources, petitions, addresses, a list of publications about Ukraine to read in English, and books by Ukrainian authors recommended for translation. The page is continuously updated with the latest news and links.
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