Storming of Lavra, massive missile attack and Metropolitan Pavlo's heart attack: August 15 highlights

The morning attack

On the morning of August 15, Russian troops attacked Lviv, Volyn, Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk regions with missiles.

The Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that the occupiers had attacked Ukraine with 28 air- and sea-launched missiles. In addition, 8 launches of enemy S-300/S-400 anti-aircraft guided missiles were recorded in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. The Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed 16 cruise missiles.

In the Lviv region, 19 people were injured in the attack, three employees of the Swedish SKF plant were killed and three others were wounded in Lutsk. In Dnipro, two employees of the enterprise were injured as a result of the attacks. In Kramatorsk, the Russians hit a food warehouse: one person was killed and another was injured.

In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, missile fragments fell on a house in Kolomyia district, damaging two nearby outbuildings. In Smila, Cherkasy region, the territory of a medical facility was among the damaged objects. Water and heat supply networks were also damaged, and part of the city is currently without water.

In one of the villages of the Zaporizhzhia district, a missile hit the stadium of a gymnasium, damaging the building of the educational institution, residential buildings, and a kindergarten.

The head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, said that the Kh-101 cruise missiles that Russia launched at Ukraine at night were manufactured this year. There are about 30 foreign microchips in the Kh-101.

Storming of the Lavra

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) announced the "storming" of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra buildings, where its supporters barricaded themselves inside and did not allow the commission to seal the premises for several days.

In the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve, we were told that the commission entered hotel buildings 57 and 58. There were 11 people in one building and about 15 in the other. The commission entered the premises together with law enforcement officers, conducted an inspection, and the police analyzed the people who were there.

MPs propose to decriminalize porn

MPs have prepared a bill that would decriminalize pornography in Ukraine.

However, criminal liability will remain for:

• non-consensual porn (revenge porn, deep fake);
• extreme porn (violence, zoophilia, necrophilia);
• porn with children and for children;

For everything else, they want to remove criminal liability, "so that the imagination of law enforcement officers does not generate 1000+ cases a year", explains MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak. Pimping, involvement in prostitution, and human trafficking will also remain criminal offenses.

Metropolitan Pavlo's heart attack

Metropolitan Pavlo (Lebid) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate, who underwent surgery in the cardiology department of a Kyiv hospital, was diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction. This was stated by his lawyer. The day before, Metropolitan Pavlo was urgently hospitalized in a Kyiv hospital.

Ukraine was not invited to the G20 summit in India

India, which is hosting the G20 summit in New Delhi in early September, has published a list of invitees. Ukraine is not on it. But the president of Russia, which is a member of the G20, is listed.

In addition to the 19 countries and the European Union, representatives of 9 other countries have been invited to the event. These are Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the UAE.

Zelenskyy visits brigades in the Zaporizhzhia region

During a working visit to the Zaporizhzhia region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the locations of brigades engaged in offensive operations in the Melitopol sector. There, the President met with the commander of Tavria, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi.

Zelenskyy listened to the commanders' reports on the course of hostilities in the frontline areas under their responsibility and discussed the most problematic issues of their units with the brigade and battalion commanders.

Statement on Ukraine's accession to NATO

NATO Secretary General's Chief of Staff Stian Jenssen suggested that Ukraine could become a member of the Alliance in exchange for some territories. In his opinion, this could be part of ending the war. "I am not saying that it should be so. But it could be a possible solution," Jenssen explained.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry responded that talks of Ukraine joining NATO in exchange for giving up part of Ukrainian territories are absolutely unacceptable: "The conscious or unconscious participation of NATO officials in shaping the narrative about the possibility of Ukraine giving up its territories plays into Russia's hands."