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Foreign ship detained for transporting stolen Ukrainian grain, security agreements with Luxembourg and Romania, and NATO Summit in Washington: Ukraine’s weekly news digest

While Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine is in the middle of its third year, the situation is still intense, with regular updates on attacks on civilians, offensive and defensive operations, and responses from the international community.

Here is what you may have missed on the news from Ukraine from July 9 to July 16.

A foreign ship detained for illegally exporting Ukrainian agricultural products from temporarily occupied Crimea

“USKO MFU” vessel under the Cameroonian flag was detained and seized in the Reni port of the Odesa region under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. The ship was engaged in the illegal export of Ukrainian agricultural products through the closed seaports of the temporarily occupied Crimea.

Such actions are a flagrant violation of Ukrainian law: since July 15, 2014, Ukraine officially ceased the operation of all ports in Crimea.

A detained foreign “USKO MFU” vessel.
Photo: Prosecutor General`s Office of Ukraine

According to the Security Service of Ukraine, the vessel repeatedly docked at the Sevastopol seaport during 2023-2024 to load Ukrainian agricultural products stolen by Russians. The ship then transported the cargo for sale for the Russian Federation’s benefit.

The captain of the “USKO MFU” vessel, an Azerbaijani citizen, was accused of violating the rules on entering and exiting the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine (Part 2 of Article 332-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), as reported by the Prosecutor’s General Office of Ukraine. In particular, to mask the crime, the captain turned off the vessel’s GPS tracker occasionally and entered inaccurate information into the vessel’s routes and stop logs.

Security cooperation agreements with Luxembourg and Romania 

On July 10, during the NATO Summit in Washington, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of Luxembourg Luc Frieden signed the Agreement on Security Cooperation between the states.


President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of Luxembourg Luc Frieden.
Photo: Presidential Office of Ukraine

According to the concluded document, Luxembourg will continue to provide military support to Ukraine, particularly in the land, air, and cyber areas. In particular, in 2024, Luxembourg has already allocated €80 million for defense aid to Ukraine and will continue to provide support at this level throughout the ten-year term of the agreement.

Luxembourg will further provide humanitarian aid and support for internally displaced persons in Ukraine, as well as facilitate the release and return of all Ukrainians, especially children, from Russian captivity.

On July 11, Ukraine also signed a security cooperation agreement with Romania. Due to the concluded document, Romania will transfer the Patriot air defence system to Ukraine, facilitate the rapid transit of equipment through its territory to Ukraine, and continue to support the Ukrainian defense industry and the Ukrainian navy.


President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of Romania Klaus Iohannis.
Photo: Presidential Office of Ukraine

Romania will also help with the Black Sea demining, provide support through EU and NATO instruments, and advocate for a wider NATO presence in the Black Sea region. Overall, Romania will support Ukraine’s integration into the EU and NATO.

Both signed agreements provide for a 24-hour emergency response mechanism in case of repeated Russian aggression against Ukraine or significant escalation. 

In total, Ukraine has already signed 23 bilateral security agreements, including with the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Denmark, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Latvia, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Japan, the USA, the EU, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Luxembourg, and Romania.

NATO Summit in Washington: main outcomes for Ukraine

NATO’s 75th Anniversary Summit was held in Washington, USA, from July 9 to 11, with several topics concerning Ukraine on the agenda. 

The participants of the NATO Summit in Washington, which was held from July 9 to 11.
Photo: NATO official website

At the end of the Summit, the “Ukraine Compact” document was signed, serving as a supplement to the Joint G7 Declaration agreed upon a year ago at the previous NATO Summit in Vilnius. Among the key points of the document are the support of Ukraine’s immediate defense needs and further development of Ukrainian defence industrial and economic potential. Further assistance to Ukraine in the event of future Russian armed attack, including the imposition of economic and other costs on Russia, is also one of the priorities.

During the Summit, partner states of Ukraine committed to providing approximately €40 billion within the next year. The following funding covers the costs of purchasing, maintaining, and delivering military equipment to Ukraine. In addition, announced financial aid refers to future contributions to NATO Trust Funds for Ukraine, including non-lethal aid.

Furthermore, during the NATO Summit, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed that the “transfer of F-16 jets is underway, coming from Denmark, coming from the Netherlands, and those jets will be flying in the skies of Ukraine this summer”. In addition, Jonas Gahr Støre, the Prime Minister of Norway, informed that his country will transfer six F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, with delivery scheduled to start in autumn 2024.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg are giving a speech
at the NATO Summit in Washington.
Photo: NATO official website

“The work we are doing together now will ensure that when the time is right, Ukraine can join [the Alliance – ed.] without delay. It is not a question of if, but when,” stated NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during the press conference at the Summit.

Stats of the week

Russian military aggression killed at least 146 civilians and injured 672 more in Ukraine in June 2024.
Source: UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU). Date: July 8, 2024.

Due to Russian military aggression, more than 14,5 million Ukrainian citizens are currently in need of humanitarian assistance.
Source: Joyce Msuya, Acting UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator. Date: July 10, 2024.

Over 10,000 women currently perform combat tasks as part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the frontline.
Source: Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine. Date: July 11, 2024. 

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, more than 1,000 Ukrainian civilians have been injured by enemy explosive devices, and 297 more have been killed.
Source: Security Service of Ukraine. Date: July 12, 2024.

Since the beginning of 2024, Ukrainian sappers have demined approximately 157 thousand hectares of agricultural land.
Source: Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine. Date: July 14, 2024.

During almost a year of operation, 57.55 million tonnes of cargo, including 39 million tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural products, have been transshipped through the Ukrainian Corridor in the Black Sea to 46 countries worldwide.
Source: Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority. Date: July 15, 2024.