deadly strike near Odessa, kyiv wants to reopen its schools

► Many dead after a missile launch

On the 129th day of the Russian invasion, at least 19 people were killed in strikes on buildings in the Odessa region of southern Ukraine, kyiv said, an attack deemed « inhuman and cynical » by Berlin.

Ukraine: after the strike on the Mariupol Theatre, Amnesty International denounces a « war crime »

During the night of Thursday to Friday, two missiles were fired by a « strategic aircraft » from the Black Sea, hitting buildings, according to Ukrainian authorities. Always provisional, “the balance sheet is 19 dead and 38 injured, including six children”according to the National Emergency Service of Ukraine.

The strike has “hit a nine-story residential building, in the Bilgorod-Dniester region”, about 80 km south of Odessa, according to the spokesman for the administration of the Odessa region. In the Kremlin, spokesman Dmitry Peskov assured that “the armed forces of Russia do not operate on civilian targets”.

► EU calls on Ukraine to better fight corruption

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Friday called on Ukraine to speed up its reforms against corruption, assuring the country of the support of the Twenty-Seven on « the long road » towards EU membership.

Ursula von der Leyen praised the reforms already carried out and the institutions put in place to create “an impressive anti-corruption machine”in a videoconference speech to Ukrainian MPs. “But now these institutions need means of action and the right people in positions of responsibility”she said.

► kyiv exports electricity to the EU

On the energy front, Kyiv « started to significantly export electricity to the territory of the European Union, to Romania »said President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video address. “We are preparing to increase deliveries”he assured, pointing out that “Ukrainian electricity can replace a considerable part of the Russian gas consumed by Europeans”.

The Ukrainian electricity network had been connected to the European network in mid-March, which should help the country to preserve its functioning despite the war. Ukraine was synchronized with the Russian power grid until the invasion of its territory on February 24, and then operated autonomously.

► Kyiv schools will reopen in September

Schools in kyiv will reopen on September 1, in the presence of students, authorities in the Ukrainian capital announced on Friday. The establishments, which have worked online since the Russian invasion launched on February 24, are currently closed due to the summer school holidays.

“The most important mission at the start of the school year is to ensure the safety of students and teachers”, said the head of the education department at the town hall. The surroundings of buildings will be inspected for the presence of explosive devices, and air-raid shelters in schools will be supplied with water, medicine and other basic necessities.

► A Ukrainian soup listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The culture of Ukrainian borsch has entered the list of intangible cultural heritage in danger from Unesco, the UN organization ruled on Friday, in the context of the war in Ukraine which threatens the « viability » of the tradition surrounding this soup.

« The existence of this soup (…) is not in danger in itself, but it is the human and living heritage which is associated with borsch which is itself in immediate danger because the capacity of the populations to practice, to transmit their intangible cultural heritage is seriously disturbed because of the armed conflict « explained Pier Luigi Petrillo, the rapporteur of the evaluation committee of the Ukrainian file.

Ukraine “Will win the borscht war as well as this war”, rejoiced Ukrainian Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkatchenko. Ukraine, he assured, will share the recipe for this beetroot soup with all civilized countries, « and even with the uncivilized too, so that they have at least something light, tasty and Ukrainian ».