The National Antarctic Scientific Center (NASC) and the Mexican Antarctic Research Agency (AMEA) signed a memorandum on scientific cooperation in Antarctica in Mexico City on Monday, August 11. signed a memorandum on scientific cooperation in Antarctica in Mexico City, which provides for joint Ukrainian-Mexican research aboard the icebreaker Noosfera and at the Akademik Vernadsky station, according to the NANC.
NASU President Yevhen Dykyi noted that it is strategically important to study the Antarctic ecosystem in the context of climate change and to involve more countries in this effort.
“Antarctica is a unique global laboratory where scientists from any country can work together across national borders on global science and study processes that affect not only Antarctica but the entire planet… It is a great honor and pleasure for us to become a bridge to Antarctica for those countries that are just beginning their journey there, and we look forward to welcoming our Mexican colleagues to the Vernadsky station and aboard the Noosfera,” he said.
AMEA President Patricia Valdespino emphasized that cooperation with Ukraine is a “happy opportunity” for Mexico.
“It is a happy occasion that the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), in particular the Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology (ICMyL), the National School of Earth Sciences, and tomorrow the Faculty of Natural Sciences, are involved in the launch of this project, its successful implementation, and the exchange of information with Mexicans. We are committed to actively participating in decisions that improve our relationship with the planet through science, technology, and sustainable development,” she said.
It is noted that, in addition to scientific interest, “Antarctic diplomacy” is of great importance for Ukraine, as it is becoming an increasingly important instrument of “soft power” and strengthening our country’s position in the Global South, in particular through the expansion of bilateral cooperation with Latin American countries.
The Council of the European Union has approved the fourth tranche of the Ukraine Facility program in the amount of more than EUR3.2bn, while its size was previously determined at around EUR3.05bn.
“The objective is to support Ukraine’s macro-financial stability as well as its recovery, reconstruction and modernization,” the EU Council said in a statement.
As reported, the size of the tranche was reduced from the planned EUR4.5bn due to delays in the implementation of 3 out of 16 indicators that Kiev had to fulfill according to the Ukraine Facility’s Ukraine Plan: the laws on the territorial organization of executive power (the so-called “decentralization reform”) and on the ARMA reform, as well as the selection of 25 judges for the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court in a competition in which only 2 candidates reached the finish line.
At the same time, the head of the Economy Ministry, Oleksiy Sobolev, noted that Ukraine will fulfill two of the three indicators (laws) before September, which will make it possible to receive EUR1.1bn tentatively in early November
As the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine reminded, in general, the state budget has already received EUR19.6bn within the framework of the Ukraine Facility program, the total amount of which is EUR50bn. In 2025 alone, about EUR12.5bn of financial support for Ukraine is envisaged, of which EUR3.5bn has already been attracted.
The European Union remains the largest donor of budget support for Ukraine – EUR53.5bn over more than three years, the Finance Ministry also noted.
Prices for construction and installation work in Ukraine in April-June 2025 increased by 5.5% compared to the same period in 2024, the State Statistics Service (Gosstat) reported. According to the State Statistics Service, in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the second quarter of 2024, prices increased in all segments of construction: in residential construction growth amounted to 6.6%, in non-residential – 5.6%, in engineering – 5%. Compared to the previous quarter, prices increased by 1.9%, 1% and 0.7% respectively.
In June-2025 to June-2024, prices of construction work increased by 5.1%, particularly in the residential sector by 5.9%, non-residential by 5.1%, and engineering by 4.7%. Compared to the previous month, prices increased by 0.4%, 0.5% and 0.3% respectively.
According to the results of six months, prices increased by 6.1%: 6.9% in residential construction, 6.3% in non-residential construction, 5.7% in engineering construction.
As reported, in 2024, prices for construction works increased by 7.9% year-on-year, and in 2023 – increased by 15.8% to 2022.
The State Statistics Committee pointed out that the figures are given without taking into account the temporarily occupied territories and part of the territories where hostilities are (were) conducted.
Passenger traffic across the Ukrainian border during the week of August 2-8 increased by 1.6% to 778,000, setting a new record for wartime: last year, the highest passenger traffic was also recorded in August, but amounted to 737,000.
According to data from the State Border Service on Facebook, the outbound flow in the tenth week of summer increased from 367,000 to 376,000, while the inbound flow increased from 399,000 to 401,000.
Last weekend, 123,000-129,000 border crossings were recorded daily, and this Saturday, 120,000.
The number of vehicles that passed through checkpoints this week increased from 141,000 to 142,000, while the flow of vehicles carrying humanitarian cargo decreased slightly from 538 to 570.
“With the start of the summer season, passenger traffic through the checkpoints in the Lviv region has increased by 40%, and on weekends the load increases even more – by an average of 16% compared to weekdays,” the Western Regional Administration of the State Border Service said in a statement.
According to the report, the busiest checkpoints are Krakivets, Shehyni, and Ustyluh, with average traffic recorded at Hrushev, Uhryniv, and Rava-Ruska, while the least busy are Smilnytsia and Nizhankovychi.
This Sunday, as of 12:00, according to the State Border Service, the longest queue of 60 cars was at the Ustyluh checkpoint on the Polish border. Thirty-five cars were waiting to cross the border at the Hrushev checkpoint, 30 at the Uhryniv checkpoint, 25 at the Krakivets checkpoint, and 10 at the Shehyni checkpoint.
On the border with Hungary, the longest queue of 30 cars was at the Luzhanka crossing, while at the Vilok and Dzvinkovo checkpoints there were 20 cars each, at Kosino there were 15, and at Tisa there were 5.
At the border with Slovakia, 35 and 25 cars were waiting for inspection at the Uzhgorod and Maly Berezny checkpoints, respectively, and at the border with Romania, there were queues of 60 cars at the Porubne checkpoint and 15 at the Dyakovo checkpoint.
The total number of people crossing the border this year is 5.7% higher than last year: during the same seven days last year, 356,000 people left Ukraine and 380,000 entered, and the flow of cars was also lower – 137,000.
As reported, from May 10, 2022, the outflow of refugees from Ukraine, which began with the start of the war, was replaced by an influx that continued until September 23, 2022, and amounted to 409,000 people. However, since the end of September, possibly influenced by news of mobilization in Russia and “pseudo-referendums” in the occupied territories, followed by massive shelling of energy infrastructure, the number of people leaving exceeded the number entering. In total, from the end of September 2022 to the first anniversary of the full-scale war, it reached 223,000 people.
During the second year of the full-scale war, the number of border crossings out of Ukraine exceeded the number of crossings into the country by 25,000, according to the State Border Service, by 187,000 in the third year, and by 128,000 since the beginning of the fourth year, of which 108,000 were seasonal since the beginning of summer.
As Deputy Minister of Economy Serhiy Sobolev noted in early March 2023, the return of every 100,000 Ukrainians home results in a 0.5% increase in GDP.
In its July inflation report, the National Bank worsened its migration forecast: while in April it expected a net inflow of 0.2 million people to Ukraine in 2026, it now forecasts a net outflow of 0.2 million, which corresponds to the estimate of the net outflow this year. “Net returns will only begin in 2027 (about 0.1 million people, compared to 0.5 million in the previous forecast),” the NBU added. In absolute terms, the National Bank estimates the number of migrants currently remaining abroad at about 5.8 million.
According to updated UNHCR data, the number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe as of July 31, 2025, was estimated at 5.115 million (5.083 million as of July 1), and 5.676 million worldwide (5.643 million).
In Ukraine itself, according to the latest UN data for April this year, there were 3.757 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), compared to 3.669 million at the end of last year.
At least 7.3 thousand criminal cases have been suspended due to the defendant’s conscription into the army since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, according to the court registry search engine Babusya. Thus, this year, more than 1,900 cases have been suspended due to the mobilization of the accused. This is almost as many as for the whole of 2023. The largest number of such cases this year is in Kyiv, Lviv, and Dnipro regions.
At least 7,312 criminal proceedings have been suspended due to the mobilization of the accused into the Armed Forces since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. This legal mechanism appeared in 2022, when the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine was amended, and since then it has been actively used by the courts.
The number of such suspensions is growing from year to year. For example, 858 cases were suspended in the first year of the full-scale program, and the number of such cases has only increased every year. The record year was 2024, when 2,406 cases were stopped where the accused joined the Armed Forces. This year, there are already 1973 suspended cases.
Most of the decisions to suspend cases due to mobilization were made in Kyiv region – 617. The second place is occupied by Lviv region (582), and the third place is occupied by Dnipropetrovs’k region (559).
It should be understood that the suspension of proceedings is not the same as automatic exemption from liability. However, in fact, the case is postponed indefinitely. This creates an opportunity for abuse – especially in high-profile corruption cases or when it comes to rear-guard positions where participation in hostilities is not required.
That is why the Verkhovna Rada has registered draft law No. 13284, which proposes to amend the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code regarding the specifics of prosecuting persons called up for military service. In particular, it provides for the possibility of continuing pre-trial investigation and trial of cases on certain categories of crimes, even despite the mobilization of the accused.
The new draft law should also reduce opportunities for abuse of mobilization: the suspension of proceedings should be clearly limited to cases of direct participation of the accused in defense measures, confirmed by a combat order (instruction) issued by the commander of a military unit or subdivision.
“Currently, there is obviously a lack of a mechanism to appeal the suspension of proceedings and resume the proceedings in cases where the court or a party abuses its right. Of course, mobilization should not become a circumstance that offsets the fundamental principles of criminal procedure, in particular, the implementation of the principle of access to justice, competition and inevitability of punishment. However, we should also think about a person who, risking his life, wants to at least whitewash his reputation, but is unable to defend himself in court while at war,” comments Tetiana Popovska, senior associate at Asters.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/mobilization-and-court
A new poll shows that some 69% of respondents in Ukraine believe their country should seek an early negotiated end to the war with Russia, data obtained by the American Institute for Public Opinion Research Gallup shows.
“In the latest Gallup poll in Ukraine, conducted in early July, 69% of respondents favored an early negotiated end to the war, while 24% support continuing the fight until victory,” the organization’s website says.
The survey also shows that Ukrainians’ hopes of joining NATO and the European Union have faded and support for the US leadership has plummeted, Ukrainians still see the EU, the UK and the US as key players in ending the war. However, most doubt this will happen anytime soon.
“Although the vast majority of Ukrainians now favor a negotiated end to the war as soon as possible, most are skeptical that active fighting will end anytime soon. One in four (25%) believe that active hostilities are likely to end within the next 12 months, although only 5% consider this “very likely.” More than two-thirds (68%) believe that active hostilities are unlikely to end within the next year,” the survey says.
It is noted that Ukrainians’ views on the US as a military ally have changed dramatically since the first months of the war.
“In 2025, 16% of Ukrainians approve of US leadership, while 73% express disapproval, a record high. All the goodwill that Washington accumulated in 2022, when 66% approved of U.S. leadership, has disappeared,” the institute reports.
Despite the sharp disapproval of US leadership, a majority of Ukrainians still believe Washington has a significant role to play in ending the war.
“70% believe that the US should play a ‘significant role’ in peace talks, which is in line with views relative to EU countries (75%) and the UK (71%).” Although some negotiations have recently taken place in Turkey, 55% of Ukrainians support its significant involvement, which is much lower than support for the EU, the UK and the US,” the pollsters inform.
But the perception of Germany has improved significantly this year. “The approval rating for Berlin’s leadership reached a record high of 63%, despite Germany’s more cautious stance in the early months of the war. Russia’s approval rating remains insignificant (1%), and China continues to receive low marks (8%), as it did at the beginning of the war,” the study said.
Ukraine has long expressed a desire to join NATO, which many see as crucial to the country’s long-term security.
“In the first two years of the war, there were high hopes for rapid NATO membership, with large majorities (64% in 2022 and 69% in 2023) expecting Ukraine to be admitted to the Alliance within the next decade. Hopes for early NATO membership fell to 51% last year and continue to decline, reaching 32% in 2025… Meanwhile, the percentage of those who believe Ukraine will never be admitted to NATO rose to 33%, the same percentage as those who expect to join within the next 10 years,” the American Institute for Public Opinion Research reported.
The survey results are based on a sample of 1,000 or more respondents aged 15 and older living in Ukraine. Some territories that are under Russian control and have a population of about 10% were excluded from surveys conducted after 2022 due to lack of access.
As reported, Russia’s conditional peace plan, which among other things includes a significant reduction of Ukraine’s army, refusal of NATO membership and the transfer of Ukrainian-controlled territories under Russian control, is categorically rejected by 76% of Ukrainians, can agree to Russia’s demands – 17%, as evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology during July 23 – August 4, 2025.
