On the 173rd day of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, Russian troops continue their attempts to capture the neighboring country’s settlements. Ukraine’s armed forces and territorial defense units resist aggression. It is impossible to verify the statements of representatives of both sides of the conflict from independent sources. According to the UN, about 14 million Ukrainians have already left their homes. DW continues to monitor developments on Monday, August 15 (Moscow time).

++16,15++

Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada passed a bill on Forced seizure of property under martial law. Local military administrations will have the right to transfer private defense companies to the property of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. This is necessary to “prevent its destruction or capture by the enemy”, as well as for “transition from industry to a state of war”, reads the explanatory note of the project. “The proposed procedure will allow decision-making in this extremely important area with speed, competence and responsibility, and will help the State to maintain and increase its defense potential”, write the authors of the project.

++16.00++

The president of the regional military administration of Kherson, Yaroslav Yanushevich, claims that about 50 Russian FSB employees live on the territory of the local reception center for children of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and interrogations of kidnapped Ukrainians are carried out in basements with the use of torture. Searches continue in the occupied areas – people are stopped on the street or taken from their homes, writes Yanushevich. “Russians can rob and take away Kherson residents in an unknown direction, even for Ukrainian symbols,” he says. In addition, occupation authorities continue to actively collect passport data from people living in the region who turn to them for any queries, Yanushevich said.

++15.50++

Schools in nine districts of the Belgorod region, located in a five-kilometer border zone, in the new academic year they will switch to a distance learning format, said the regional government press service. We are talking about the Krasnoyaruzhsky, Belgorod, Borisov, Rovensky, Veydelevsky and Volokonovsky regions that border the Sumy and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine, as well as the urban districts of Graivoronsky, Shebekinsky and Valuysky. “The possibility of taking the children to other schools located further away from the border will be considered, if necessary. On-call groups will work in kindergartens,” officials in the region said.

++15.30++

Adviser to the Chief of Staff of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak convened the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and its President Peter Maurer pay attention to the situation with the “trial” of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Mariupol. “All prisoners of war, including the defenders of Azovstal, are combatants who have legally defended their country. Therefore, the “Mariupol cages” are a Russian war crime. It’s time for the Red Cross and Peter Maurer to finally remember their mission and think about their reputation,” Podolyak wrote on Twitter.

Previously, the Mariupol city council reported that the city’s occupation authorities were setting up prison cells on the stage of the Mariupol Philharmonic Society and planned to hold a demonstrative “trial” of the Ukrainian military in September.

++15.00++

Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada supported extension of martial law in the country for another 90 days – until November 21st.

++14.50++

Latvia resumed treatment and rehabilitation program for Ukrainian military on the country’s territory, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Twelve Ukrainian servicemen will begin a three-week course of treatment at the Vaivari National Rehabilitation Center. The country’s government has earmarked 280,000 euros for these purposes. The program has been running since the start of the war in Donbass in 2014 and until 2019. During this period, 58 wounded Ukrainians were treated in Latvian medical institutions.

++14,24++

Due to rising gas prices and looking for alternative suppliers instead of Russia surcharge for all gas consumers in Germany will be 2.419 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to gas grid operator Trading Hub Europe. This means that an average family of four with a consumption of 20,000 kilowatt-hours will have to pay around 480 euros more per year, excluding VAT. The new rate will take effect from October.

++14,15++

The Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence recommends to Parliament extend martial law and general mobilization from August 23 to 90 days, that is, until November 21. Yaroslav Zheleznyak, deputy from the Holos faction, wrote about it on his Telegram channel