What Ukraine faced on 4 July 2023, and the days before
A look back at Russian attacks on Kharkiv, Kherson and Chernihiv, and at diplomatic and sanctions moves in the preceding days.
What did a single day of the war look like in Ukraine's regions on 4 July 2023? According to Ukrainian officials, Russian forces struck Pervomaiskyi in Kharkiv Oblast with missiles, injuring at least 38 civilians and damaging infrastructure. Russian shelling of Kherson killed two people, and shelling of Chernihiv injured three more.
The preceding day
On 3 July 2023, Russia launched drone attacks on Sumy, killing two people and injuring 19 others. In response, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for a major upgrade of anti-aircraft defences. The Sumy strike and the missile attack on Pervomaiskyi a day later showed civilian areas under fire in several parts of the country within 48 hours.
Diplomacy and sanctions
Also on 3 July 2023, Zelenskyy asked Georgian ambassador Gela Dumbadze to return home within 48 hours to negotiate the transfer of Mikheil Saakashvili, the imprisoned former Georgian president and a Ukrainian citizen, to a Ukrainian clinic. The request cited Saakashvili's declining health.
The same day, Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention added the British conglomerate Unilever to its list of "international sponsors of war", claiming that the company's Russian operations indirectly fund the invasion.
Separately, Indian oil refiners began paying for Russian oil imports in Chinese yuan, an alternative to the US dollar, because of the sanctions against Russia.
Taken together, the reports from 3 and 4 July 2023 describe a conflict fought on two fronts: in the shelling of towns and cities, and in the diplomatic and economic arenas, where Kyiv pressed its case with partners and companies.
