Society

Two polls have concluded on the Diia app, in which Ukrainians voted for figures to feature in a new educational project. The winners were the pathophysiologist Oleksandr Bogomolets and the poet and activist in the Ukrainian liberation movement Olena Teliga.

Ukraine is moving away from a single-source water supply model towards redundant systems that will be able to operate even during attacks and power cuts. Twenty-nine projects are already being implemented across 14 regions, benefiting over 10 million people.

The Ministry of Culture has updated the criteria used to determine which enterprises, institutions and organisations in the cultural sector may be recognised as vital to the national economy. This relates to the procedure for exempting employees subject to military service, but the status itself does not imply automatic exemption.

The 425th Separate Assault Regiment ‘Skelya’ has commented on a report by ‘Babel’ regarding seven further conscripts who were killed during training exercises with the regiment. They say they are cooperating with law enforcement agencies and are striving to “reduce to zero” non-combat casualties.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada’s Human Rights Commissioner, has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the mobilisation of a 57-year-old lyceum headteacher from the Kherson region. The case concerns a headteacher who has led the school for 35 years and, according to staff, did not abandon his colleagues even during the temporary occupation of the region.

Russian Z-blogger Yegor Guzenko, known by the call sign ‘Thirteenth’, has been placed on a wanted list after deserting his post. Prior to this, he had for years supported the war against Ukraine, called for a general mobilisation in Russia and publicly demanded a more aggressive approach to the fighting.

An online petition has been launched in Ukraine proposing to abolish the requirement for passenger cars to display a front number plate. The author of the initiative believes that modern technology already makes it possible to identify vehicles effectively without a front number plate, and that fitting one often merely spoils the car’s appearance and may damage the bodywork.

The World Health Organisation has warned of a new wave of extreme heat in Europe and stated that even deadlier weeks may lie ahead. In the coming days, temperatures in parts of Portugal and Spain could reach +43°C, whilst France and the Benelux countries are bracing for another sharp rise in temperatures.

On 8 July, according to the new church calendar, Orthodox Christians commemorate the Great Martyr Procopius of Caesarea. In folk tradition, this day is known as Prokop’s Day or Prokop the Reaper; it was associated with the start of the harvest, weather omens and customs intended to bring a good harvest and prosperity.

A protracted war affects all aspects of people’s lives, including their health. It has a negative impact on both physical and mental well-being, which are closely interlinked.

The State Bureau of Investigations is conducting several criminal investigations into possible cases of torture within units of the Defence Forces, similar to the case involving the 425th Separate Assault Regiment ‘Skelya’.

On 7 July, law enforcement officers carried out searches at VYRIY Industries, one of Ukraine’s drone manufacturers, as well as at the home of Oleksiy Babenko, a co-owner of the company and a shareholder in the publication ‘Babel’. The publication links the current information campaign to a recently published journalistic investigation.