Ukraine Briefly

July 12, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

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• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday expanding a fast-track system for obtaining Russian citizenship for all Ukrainians in another push to enhance Moscow’s influence on war-torn Ukraine, the Associated Press wrote. Until recently, only inhabitants of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson areas, major portions of which are under Russian influence, were eligible for the streamlined procedure.

• At least 29 people were killed following a Russian strike on an apartment building in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine over the weekend, CNN reported. Ukrainian officials said the building in Chasiv Yar was attacked Saturday evening as Russia escalated its assault on cities and towns in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to seize control of the whole Donbas region.

• Europe is preparing for a prolonged shortfall of Russian gas supplies as repair work starts on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which transports gas to Germany across the Baltic Sea, according to CNBC. Nord Stream AG, the project’s operator, verified Monday morning that the construction, which is slated to last until July 21, began as planned.

• Russia’s alternative to McDonald’s will limit the sale of French fries this summer because of a shortage of potatoes, the Washington Post noted. Vkusno i Tochka, which translates as “Tasty and that’s it,” said it is out of country-style potatoes – a thicker-cut relative of the Americanized French fries – due to supply chain disruptions caused in part by the war and Western sanctions. The company replaced McDonald’s after the latter left Russia in May over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

This story originally appeared in the July 12, 2022 newsletter, An Exclave’s Tale.