As of August 5, the European Union has changed the conditions for granting temporary protection to certain Ukrainian citizens subject to military service. New applicants will be required to confirm that they have complied with the requirements of Ukrainian law, have been exempted from military service, or have legally left the territory of Ukraine.
The relevant provisions are contained in EU Council Implementing Decision No. 2026/1912, adopted on July 30 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on August 4, 2026. The decision entered into force the day after its publication.
The new restriction applies only to individuals who apply for temporary protection after the decision enters into force. Ukrainians who have already been granted this status in an EU country retain their rights, and the new rules do not apply to them.
To obtain temporary protection, a new applicant must confirm compliance with their military obligations in Ukraine. Evidence may include a passport with a stamp confirming lawful departure from the country, or a paper or electronic document confirming exemption from service or the fulfillment of relevant obligations. The decision will depend on the availability of documents confirming the legality of departure and the applicant’s status under Ukrainian law.
At the same time, the Council of the EU has extended temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens for another year—until March 4, 2028. Previously, the program was set to expire on March 4, 2027.
The Council of the EU explained that the new condition was introduced to simultaneously ensure protection for displaced persons and address Ukraine’s defense needs. EU member states agreed that, going forward, temporary protection should be granted only to new applicants who are fulfilling their military obligations in Ukraine.
Temporary protection grants Ukrainians the right to reside in EU countries, as well as access to the labor market, medical care, social security, housing, and education for their children.
According to the Council of the EU, as of the end of May 2026, approximately 4.38 million people who had left Ukraine after the start of the full-scale war were benefiting from temporary protection in the European Union.
The Second Ukrainian Film Festival in Thailand, organized by the Embassy of Ukraine to mark the 35th anniversary of the country’s independence, will take place in Bangkok on August 5–6.
The screenings will take place at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. The program includes four Ukrainian films of various genres—a biographical drama, a documentary, a family adventure film, and an anthology of short stories.
The festival will open on August 5 at 4:00 p.m. with a screening of the 2025 film “Malevich,” dedicated to the life and work of Ukrainian avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich.
At 6:00 p.m., audiences will be treated to the 2026 documentary “The Underground Garden.” The film tells the story of a children’s art studio operating in a Kharkiv bomb shelter as it prepares for its first international exhibition.
On the second day, August 6, at 3:00 p.m., there will be a screening of the family adventure film “The Guard Post,” based on the legends and imagery of the Kievan Rus’ era.
The festival will conclude at 6:00 p.m. with the 2025 anthology of short films *War Through the Eyes of Animals*. It features stories based on real events about animals during a full-scale war. Oscar-winning American actor and director Sean Penn participated in the creation of the project.
The embassy noted that the festival program aims to introduce Thai audiences to the culture and history of Ukraine, the resilience of Ukrainian society, and the lives of people living under wartime conditions.
Admission to all screenings is free, but advance registration is required—https://forms.gle/CkNvc5TjmUdvDmV6A.
Ukraine’s national team is participating for the first time in the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI), whose third final is being held in Astana from August 2 to 8, 2026. More than 500 school students from 108 countries have arrived for the competition.
Ukraine did not participate in the first two IOAI competitions, held in 2024 in Burgas, Bulgaria, and in 2025 in Beijing.
The Ukrainian team includes four participants from Kyiv and Irpin. One of the finalists represents the A+ Architectural and Engineering Collegium.
More than 2,200 school students from across Ukraine took part in the selection process for the national team. The program included testing basic digital skills and media literacy, assessing knowledge of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data processing, a technical English-language examination and a practical round.
After the main stages, the 50 best participants underwent three weeks of training with artificial intelligence instructors. The final composition of the national team was determined based on the results of the training, tests, practical assignments and interviews.
The official national coordinator of the IOAI in Ukraine is the A+ educational holding company, which received accreditation from the international olympiad in November 2025. Oleksandr Shapovalov is the project’s national coordinator, Oleksandra Hryshko is the international coordinator, Vitalii Sandul is the academic director, and Vasyl Orishchuk is the head of the scientific committee.
Developer KAN Development became the general partner of the Ukrainian national team, while the ITVDN educational IT platform became the olympiad’s partner in Ukraine.
The olympiad includes individual and team competitions. Participants work on practical tasks involving artificial intelligence and machine learning, analyze data, create models and evaluate their quality. Each country may send up to two teams, each consisting of no more than four school students and a team leader.
The first team round took place on August 3 following the official opening ceremony. The final stage of the team competition and the awards ceremony will take place on August 7.
During the individual rounds, participants work for six hours. Based on the results of the first stage of the team competition, the organizers select the ten best national teams, which earn the right to continue competing in the final.
A total of 103 countries and territories and more than 120 teams initially registered to participate in IOAI 2026. Following the opening, the organizers reported delegations from 108 countries and territories. The difference is related to the final composition of the participants who arrived in Astana.
The International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence was established in 2024. The first tournament in Bulgaria brought together 41 teams from 32 countries, while the second in China attracted about 300 school students from more than 50 countries. The fourth IOAI is scheduled to take place in Singapore in 2027.
Ukraine’s debut at the IOAI comes amid the development of a national system of artificial intelligence competitions. The Ukrainian selection process was open to school and college students between the ages of 14 and 20, and participation in all its stages was free of charge.
AI olympiad competitions differ from traditional computer science contests. Writing a program is not enough: participants must prepare and analyze data, select a machine-learning method, train a model, verify its accuracy and justify the result obtained.
Participation in the IOAI enables Ukraine to compare the level of preparation of its school students with teams from leading technological countries and begin developing its own system for training young artificial intelligence specialists.
Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, reported that 8.4 million Ukrainian citizens are currently abroad.
“More than 8.4 million of our citizens are currently outside Ukraine. It is our duty to ensure that each of them knows: Ukraine remembers them and is ready to protect their rights,” Lubinets wrote on Telegram on Tuesday.
Heating bills were the main reason for the initiation of enforcement proceedings related to utility payments in Ukraine during the first half of 2026. Over the course of six months, 46,186 thousand enforcement proceedings were initiated regarding heating debts. These cases account for 42.5%, or, rounded, 43%, of all new utility debts, according to Opendatabot.
In second place are debts for water supply—19,416 thousand cases, or 17.9%.
Another 12,648 thousand cases, or 11.7%, are related to payments for housing maintenance services. Gas supply accounts for 11,538 thousand cases, or 10.6%, while electricity accounts for 9,947 thousand, or 9.2%.
A total of 7,020 thousand cases were opened due to debts for waste collection, while another 1,806 thousand were related to other types of utility services.
The largest group of debtors consisted of Ukrainians aged 46 to 60—they accounted for 38,119 thousand cases, or 35.1%.
People over 60 accounted for 27,695 thousand cases, or 25.5%, while citizens aged 36 to 45 accounted for 26,076 thousand, or 24%. The share of debtors under 35 was about 15%.
Women were involved in 60,141 thousand new cases, that is, more than half of all cases. The highest number of cases against a single individual in 2026 was recorded for a resident of the Mykolaiv region born in 1952—15 cases, all due to electricity debt.
In total, 108,561 thousand proceedings regarding utility debts were initiated in Ukraine from January through June. Of these, 70,206 thousand—or 65%—remained open and unpaid as of early July.
Sales of new passenger cars in July of this year fell by 10.5% compared to the same month in 2025—to 5,754 thousand units, according to a report by “Ukravtoprom” on its Telegram channel.
According to the association, the most popular brand remains Japan’s Toyota, which increased its sales by 20% to 985 units.
Skoda took second place with 693 units (+24%), while VW came in third with 444 units (-10%).
The top ten most popular brands also included Renault with 345 units (-47%); BMW with 308 units (+17%); Hyundai with 298 units (=); Mazda—259 units (+66%); BYD—229 units (-69%); Suzuki—194 units (+39%); and Audi—156 units (-38%).
The Toyota RAV-4 crossover was the month’s best-seller.
According to Ukravtoprom, a total of about 38,800 new passenger cars were sold in the country from January through July, which is 1% less than a year ago.
According to Ukravtoprom, the new passenger car market in 2025 grew by 17% compared to 2024, reaching 81,300 units.
