- Oorlog in Iran escaleert
Het enige concrete resultaat dat het bezoek van Zelensky afgelopen dagen aan Washington heeft opgeleverd is dat de Amerikaanse onderhandelaars Witkoff en Kushner, waarschijnlijk ook eens naar Kyiv komen. Hoewel ze reizen per trein niet erg aantrekkelijk vinden (het luchtruim is gesloten voor burgerluchtvaart), overwegen ze het toch. Zelensky vroeg om 300 Patriot interceptieraketten vóór het begin van de winter, dan wordt de definitieve krach van de Oekraïense elektriciteitsproductie gevreesd door voortdurende bombardementen. Zie 7.
Het over en weer bombarderen van Rusland en Oekraïne gaat door. Zie 3 en 4.
De nieuwe chef-staf van het Oekraïense heeft een diepgaand onderzoek ingesteld naar het personeelsbeleid (in de ruime zin van het woord) in de Oekraïense krijgsmacht. Daaronder ook het geweld ín de Oekraïense legeronderdelen. Daarmee wordt de kritiek van de afgezette minister Fedorov in de praktijk gebracht. Zie 5.
Een zeer interessant lang artikel in de Ukrainska Pravda English over hoe om te gaan met de verschillende soorten dienstplicht-ontwijkers en hoe voor te bereiden op PTSS veteranen die massaal de burgermaatschappij instromen als de oorlog een keer is afgelopen. Zie 6.
Temidden van alle soorten escalatie is er ook nog het incident met de treffer van de Oekraïense krijgsmacht van een Iraans schip in de Kaspische Zee op weg naar Rusland. Het deed aan bewapening van Rusland, stelt Oekraïne. Helemaal niet, aldus Iran. De Russen dreigen nu hierover Oekraïne. Zie 8.
Een ideetje in Iran om een raket of drone af te vuren op Oekraïense haven kon in de kiem worden gesmoord. Ff bellen, het was een vergissing aldus de Oekraïense minister van Buitenlandse zaken. Maar een gevaarlijke escalatie is het wel. Zie 9.
De door Oekraïne gevraagde Patriot-raketten zijn er niet en wat de Amerikanen hebben wordt in diverse landen in het Midden-Oosten geplaatst, ter bescherming van Amerikaanse bases tegen Iraanse raketten. De Amerikanen zeiden eerder nog verrast te zijn door een Iraanse aanval, nu hebben ze ze zelf de aanval weer geopend op Iran. Zie 10.
Zie voor ontwikkelingen van minuut tot minuut het liveblog van bijvoorbeeld A Jazeera;
Dezer dagen was ook Netanyahu bij Trump op bezoek. Israël wilde heel graag een hervatting van de vijandelijkheden tegen Iran. Of er een direct verband is tussen het bezoek en het herbeginnen is niet bewezen. Maar de Israëlische minister van Defensie schept ook dat de Amerikaanse luchtmacht van Israëlische bases vertrekken. Zie 11.
In het kader van de uitdijende oorlog in het Midden-Oosten heeft Saoedi Arabië het initiatief genomen voor een Rode Zee-coalitie. Vandaag moeten 50 uitgenodigde landen beslissen of ze deelnemen. In de praktijk gaat het niet alleen om het openhouden van de Rode Zee maar ook als het er op aankomt op het bestrijden van de Houthi’s in Jemen. Zie 12.
De onderhandelingen van gemeenten en provincies die Defensie willen afweren bij zijn greep op ruimte gaan overal door. Hier een voorbeeld van Drenthe. Zie 13.
De ontwikkelingen van 29 juli 2026 aan het front in Oekraïne volgens het ISW via de link
https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-july-29-2026/. Dit zijn hun hoofdconclusies:
- Russia’s superior aviation capabilities are allowing Russia to use glide bomb strikes to enable infantry advances in and near Kostyantynivka.
- Efforts to degrade Russian aviation capabilities likely will deprive Russian forces of an important tactical advantage and help further reduce the tempo of Russian advances.
- The situation in and near Kostyantynivka is deteriorating, but Russian forces have not seized the city despite Russian claims. Fighting will likely continue for several weeks as Russian forces try to consolidate the positions they have gained through infiltrations.
- The Kremlin denied that Russia is preparing for mobilization, likely to assuage growing public concerns and possibly signal Russian President Vladimir Putin’s desire to continue volunteer recruitment over compulsory reserve call-ups for as long as possible.
- Russia is not on track to meet its annual recruitment target for 2026.
- The Kremlin continues setting conditions to block Telegram and deny the open internet in Russia, possibly in preparation for compulsory military mobilization.
- Russia launched 60 drones against Ukraine overnight.
- Ukrainian forces continued their long-range strike campaign against Russian energy and industrial infrastructure on July 28 and 29.
- Russian forces recently advanced in the Velykyi Burluk and Slovyansk directions.
- Herhaalbericht; MAANDAG 3 augustus 2026; Stille tocht en blokkade vliegbasis Volkel
In stilte lopen we maandag 3 augustus de 2,7 km van de kerk in Volkel naar de hoofdpoort van de luchtmachtbasis om daar als om 12 uur het luchtalarm afgaat 81 minuten de poort te blokkeren: één minuut voor elk jaar sinds op 6 en 9 augustus 1945 de bommen op Hiroshima en Nagasaki werden afgeworpen. Je kan hier klikken voor het Signal groepje voor deze actie. Zo kun je je ook opgeven voor de bus van Theaterstraat die vanaf Amsterdam station Blijmer-Arena via station Den Bosch naar Volkel en terug rijdt. Opgeven voor de bus kan ook door een mailtje te sturen aan noelhuis@antenna.nl.
Zie voor verdere informatie en aanmelding https://noelhuis.nl/stille-tocht-en-blokkade/
Ter aanvulling op deze oproep een artikel van Anne-Ruth Wertheim die als kind in een Japans concentratiekamp in Nederlands-Indië merkte dat er twee atoombommen in Japan waren gegooid. Zie https://anne-ruthwertheim.com/blog/een-atoombom-niet-groter-dan-een-potlood/.
- At least 14 killed as Russia strikes Ukraine a day after Zelenskyy warning
Al Jazeera, 30 juli 2026, ‘Russia has killed at least 14 people in air strikes on Ukraine, including one person in Kyiv, a day after the Ukrainian president warned that a “massive” attack was imminent. Returning from the US, Zelenskyy says Ukrainians’ safety depends on allies’ willingness to provide anti-missile defences.’ Zie bijlage of https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/30/russia-ballistic-missile-strikes-on-kyiv-come-after-zelenskyys-warning.
- Russian industrial sites on fire after Ukrainian drone attacks
Al Jazeera, 29 juli 2026, ‘Ukrainian drone attacks have hit industrial facilities in Russia’s western city of Ryazan, causing several to catch fire and forcing major retailer Wildberries to evacuate its local warehouses, according to authorities.’ Zie bijlage of https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/29/russian-industrial-sites-on-fire-after-ukrainian-drone-attacks.
- Ukraine’s General Staff announces audit of unit staffing, manpower allocation, as Drapatyi takes charge
Kyiv Independent, 29 juli 2026, ‘Ukraine’s General Staff announced on July 29 an audit of combat unit staffing and manpower allocation under its new commander, General Mykhailo Drapatyi. The move comes after long-standing criticism of Drapatyi’s predecessor as Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, over the disproportionate diversion of Ukraine’s scarce mobilized recruits to newly formed brigades and assault units widely criticized as ineffective and notorious for abuse, violence, and wasteful attacks.’ Zie bijlage of https://kyivindependent.com/general-staff-announces-audit-of-unit-staffing-manpower-allocation-as-drapatyi-takes-charge/.
- Draft Dodgers and Veterans: The Chasm on Which Ukraine’s Victory in the War Depends
Ukrainska Pravda English, 28 juli 2028, ‘There, in eastern Ukraine, where I’ve spent the last several years of my life, everything runs on rules that are harsh but maximally transparent. There’s no room for half-tones or double standards. In our reality, the price of any mistake is absolute — human lives. So effectiveness here isn’t measured by the number of comments and reactions on social media or loud slogans, but by targets destroyed and brothers-in-arms who survived.’ Zie de bijlage of https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/columns/2026/07/28/8046153/.
- Zelensky’s Trump meeting produced one possible breakthrough — and it wasn’t Patriots
Kyiv Independent, 29 juli 2026, ‘President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump took place in what Ukrainian officials described as a warm atmosphere, but it produced few results for Kyiv, people familiar with the discussions told the Kyiv Independent.’ Zie bijlage of https://kyivindependent.com/zelenskys-trump-meeting-produced-one-possible-breakthrough/.
- Kremlin demands Ukrainian threat be ‘definitively destroyed’ after Caspian Sea strike on Iranian vessel
The Cradle, 28 juli 2026, ‘One crewman was killed aboard the Iranian commercial vessel, with several others injured. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 28 July that the Ukrainian strike on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea should be treated as an attack on Iran itself, and that the threat from Kiev must be eliminated.’ Zie de bijlage of https://thecradle.co/articles/kremlin-demands-ukrainian-threat-be-definitively-destroyed-after-caspian-sea-strike-on-iranian-vessel.
- Ukraine and Iran’s dangerous new standoff, explained
Kyiv Independent, 29 juli 2026, ‘The escalating tensions between Ukraine and Iran over the past few days have prompted fears of a military conflict between the two countries.
Kyiv and Tehran have many reasons to be at odds with each other. Iran has supported Russia’s war effort against Ukraine since 2022, while Ukraine responded recently by backing the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.’ Zie bijlage of https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-and-irans-dangerous-new-standoff-explained/
- U.S. launches fresh airstrikes in Iran
AXIOS, 29 juli 2026, ‘The U.S. military conducted “a heavy wave” of airstrikes in Iran on Wednesday evening, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. These are the first U.S. strikes in Iran since President Trump paused the bombing campaign Friday to give negotiations another chance.’ Zie de bijlage of https://www.axios.com/2026/07/29/us-airstrikes-iran-trump-resume.
- Israeli defence minister boasts that US warplanes used Israeli bases to attack Iran
Middle East Eye, 29 juli 2026, ‘Israel Katz threatens to strike Iran ‘with all our might’ if fired upon. US Air Force fighter jets and bombers flew from Israeli bases to attack Iran in recent weeks, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said, highlighting Washington’s use of Israel as a launchpad for its widening regional war.’ Zie bijlage of https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-defence-minister-boasts-us-warplanes-used-israeli-bases-attack-iran.
- Saudi Arabia to announce Red Sea coalition to counter Houthi threats
Al Monitor, 29 juli 2026, ‘Around 50 countries have been invited to join the Saudi-led initiative aimed at countering Houthi threats to Red Sea shipping and preventing a repeat of recent disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia is expected to announce a new multinational military coalition for the Red Sea in a bid to preempt Iranian-backed moves to restrict passage through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Zie bijlage of https://archive.ph/4njBj.
- Defensie wil schade rond De Haar ruim vergoeden, maar doet geen beloftes aan de dorpen
RTV Drenthe,nl, 30 juli 2026, ‘Het ministerie van Defensie wil boeren en andere inwoners die hun eigendom kwijtraken door de geplande uitbreiding van oefenterrein De Haar volledig schadeloos stellen.’ Zie bijlage of https://www.rtvdrenthe.nl/nieuws/18655288/defensie-wil-schade-rond-de-haar-ruim-vergoeden-maar-doet-geen-beloftes-aan-de-dorpen.
Colofon:
Vredespolitiek verschijnt elke werkdag en wordt samengesteld door Guido van Leemput met dagelijkse medewerking van Kees Kalkman en diverse los-vaste tipgevers.
Voor meer berichten, met name over bewapening, als deze zie ook Vredessite.nl; https://vredessite.nl/index.php.
Bij 3. At least 14 killed as Russia strikes Ukraine a day after Zelenskyy warning
Al Jazeera, 30 juli 2026, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/30/russia-ballistic-missile-strikes-on-kyiv-come-after-zelenskyys-warning
Russia has killed at least 14 people in air strikes on Ukraine, including one person in Kyiv, a day after the Ukrainian president warned that a “massive” attack was imminent.
Attacks extended as far west as the city of Lviv, forcing neighbouring Poland to scramble fighter jets to secure its airspace, according to a statement by its armed forces on X.
Multiple explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital soon after 1am local time on Thursday (22:00 GMT Wednesday), according to Kyiv Independent reporters on the ground.
One person was killed and two more injured in Kyiv, emergency services said. At least six more, including two children, were killed in Dnipropetrovsk, and another person was killed in Poltava, according to regional administrators in both areas.
In the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kryvyi Rih, two girls aged five and 12 were among six people killed. Eight people were injured in what Oleksandr Vilkul, the city’s defence council head, said was a direct strike by a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile.
“A dark night,” Vilkul said on Telegram, adding that the missile, launched from Russia’s Voronezh region, struck the home of a large family. He warned the death toll could increase as emergency workers clear away rubble.
In Lviv, close to Poland, rescue workers were scrambling to clear rubble to reach those trapped after Russian missiles damaged two apartment buildings and injured 26, officials said.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces struck what it called military facilities across Ukraine, in areas from Kyiv to Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk. It also said it struck three cargo ships, which it accused of carrying weapons and military equipment around the Black Sea city of Odesa.
“This Russian terror once again proves that protection against the Russian missile threat is the most important task when it comes to saving the lives of our people,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Thursday, adding that the work cannot be “left to Ukraine alone or to any one country alone”.
Zelenskyy’s warning
On Wednesday, Zelenskyy had warned that a “massive” Russian attack on Ukraine was likely. He said the safety of Ukrainians depended on the willingness of allies to provide anti-missile defences.
He was returning from the United States, where he said President Donald Trump had agreed to give Ukraine licences to make Patriot missiles.
In an X post, Zelenskyy also repeated his plea to Ukraine’s allies to give Kyiv the missiles its air defences lack.
In early July, Trump had expressed his intention to allow Ukraine to make the surface-to-air missiles at a time when Russia had stepped up its ballistic missile strikes.
Only US Patriot systems are capable of shooting down Russian missiles, but Ukraine is short of PAC-3 interceptor missiles.
This shortage has worsened since the war on Iran launched by the US and Israel in February.
Bij 4. Russian industrial sites on fire after Ukrainian drone attacks
Al Jazeera, 29 juli 2026, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/29/russian-industrial-sites-on-fire-after-ukrainian-drone-attacks
Ukrainian drone attacks have hit industrial facilities in Russia’s western city of Ryazan, causing several to catch fire and forcing major retailer Wildberries to evacuate its local warehouses, according to authorities.
Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov said 45 drones were shot down over the region overnight Tuesday, with falling debris causing a fire in an “industrial area” and damaging a home and a building. Six people were hospitalised with injuries, he said in a post on Telegram.
The report comes as Ukraine ramps up attacks on Russian industrial sites, including those belonging to Wildberries, which Kyiv accuses of helping to supply the Russian army.
Drones have damaged at least seven Wildberries warehouses in the past several days, destroying about 10 percent of the company’s storage capacity, disrupting operations and inflicting losses on tens of thousands of small businesses that sell goods and services on the platform, according to the company and local authorities.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s latest strikes hit “an oil refinery and logistics centre in Ryazan,” as well as a site in Russian-occupied Crimea, where high-speed boats belonging to Russian Black Sea Fleet are based. “Russia must feel that every day of this war will only come at a higher cost for it,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
Separately, a woman was killed and a man injured after missile debris hit an apartment building in the southern Russian city of Taganrog on the Sea of Azov, home to various industrial facilities and a grain terminal, regional governor Yury Slyusar said.
In Ukraine’s Kherson, a man was killed and another three people wounded in a Russian drone attack, local authorities said.
Five people, including a child, were also injured in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, where Russia carried out dozens of attacks, using drones, aerial bombs and artillery, the head of the local military administration said.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday that its forces had seized two Ukrainian villages – Svtitle, in the eastern Donetsk region, and Nova Sich, in the northeastern Sumy region. It also claimed its drones hit two vessels carrying weapons and military equipment east of the Ukrainian port of Odesa, where the local military administration chief reported damaged infrastructure.
Ukraine and Russia have both increasingly targeted vessels in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov in recent weeks, which has led to a fall in oil and grain supplies in the region.
Ukraine’s new Acting Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara said in an interview Wednesday that Ukraine cannot go “punch for punch” when confronting Russia militarily but must use resources carefully and act in an “asymmetric” fashion.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy met United States President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, discussing plans for Ukraine to produce Patriot missile interceptors – crucial in Ukraine’s defence against Russian aerial attacks – and a revival of peace talks with Russia.
Bij 5. Ukraine’s General Staff announces audit of unit staffing, manpower allocation, as Drapatyi takes charge
Kyiv Independent, 29 juli 2026, https://kyivindependent.com/general-staff-announces-audit-of-unit-staffing-manpower-allocation-as-drapatyi-takes-charge/
Ukraine’s General Staff announced on July 29 an audit of combat unit staffing and manpower allocation under its new commander, General Mykhailo Drapatyi.
The move comes after long-standing criticism of Drapatyi’s predecessor as Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, over the disproportionate diversion of Ukraine’s scarce mobilized recruits to newly formed brigades and assault units widely criticized as ineffective and notorious for abuse, violence, and wasteful attacks.
“The key goal is to assess the actual state of manning in brigades, regiments, and corps, analyze the effectiveness of personnel distribution among units, and identify ways to improve personnel management,” the General Staff’s announcement read.
The military’s handling of manpower became a major source of public criticism of Syrskyi, who was dismissed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 21 after protests over the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov expanded to include demands for his removal.
Nicknamed “butcher” ever since his days commanding the defense of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast, Syrskyi spent the last year of his tenure personally expanding assault battalions into oversized regiments numbering in the thousands, while regular mechanized brigades were desperately short of replenishments.
One of the units, the notorious 425th Assault Regiment, better known as Skelia, has dominated headlines in recent months as the worst example of the inhumane treatment of soldiers, after an investigation by Ukrainian media outlet Babel found dozens of cases of the death of service members during training.
In public interviews, Syrskyi acknowledged the uneven distribution in favor of assault units, but justified it by citing their heavier losses, suffered while undertaking difficult and costly assault operations.
Drapatyi, who has built a reputation for human-centric leadership during his time as Ground Forces commander, has been projected to correct some of the more glaring internal issues exacerbating the manpower crisis, changes that will be crucial if Ukraine is to survive Russia’s war of attrition.
“These decisions are aimed at increasing combat readiness, ensuring personnel balance and more rational use of human capital,” the announcement added.
“Any systemic changes in the army begin with a change in attitude towards a person.”
The General Staff’s announcement is not the first attempt to review the process of manpower allocation in the military.
In November 2025, presidential advisor and former brigade commander Pavlo Palisa led an effort to assess the fairness of personnel distribution between brigades, while Fedorov himself had announced an audit of battlefield losses that likely put him on collision course with Syrskyi.
Fighting against Russia, Ukraine’s military has been locked in a chronic manpower crisis since 2024, when high losses among the infantry coincided with a decline in voluntary enlistment.
Bij 6. Draft Dodgers and Veterans: The Chasm on Which Ukraine’s Victory in the War Depends
Ukrainska Pravda English, 28 juli 2028, https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/columns/2026/07/28/8046153/
There, in eastern Ukraine, where I’ve spent the last several years of my life, everything runs on rules that are harsh but maximally transparent. There’s no room for half-tones or double standards. In our reality, the price of any mistake is absolute — human lives. So effectiveness here isn’t measured by the number of comments and reactions on social media or loud slogans, but by targets destroyed and brothers-in-arms who survived.
But you only have to cross an invisible line and return to the rear — on a short leave or for official business — you instantly slam into the wall of a completely different world. The farther from the front, the more noticeable it is.
Cities for which the front is somewhere far away are full of cafés, of people hurrying about their everyday civilian business. This is exactly what we voluntarily went to fight for, leaving behind our careers, our families, our familiar comfortable lives. Some came back from abroad and joined the ranks of the military. But behind the façade of grateful billboards and drone fundraisers hides a deep social chasm.
Let’s be honest: ordinary society is currently almost completely unprepared to meet those who are doing everything so that, in the thirteenth year of the war, Ukraine continues to exist and fight. I’m not talking here about the families and loved ones of servicemen, but about the millions of citizens and their families who are evading military service, for whom war is something far away.
Words we’re missing
When I search for language to describe what I see in the rear, I find myself instinctively reaching for someone else’s experience. There’s something to learn from our partners here.
Draft dodgers — people who, during World War II, instead of joining the army, fled, forged documents, or hid — an evader in the purest sense.
AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) — a category from a different plane entirely: unauthorized absence without any intention of deserting for good, a lapse rather than a final break with service.
Conchies — a colloquial shortening of “conscientious objectors.” But there’s an important distinction here that needs to be said honestly: a conchie is not someone who simply fled or hid. This is a person who, officially, through a tribunal, declared a refusal to serve on religious or moral grounds and bore responsibility for it — sometimes through alternative service no less dangerous than the front line, sometimes through prison. Frankly, there would be far fewer questions for our citizens if they fulfilled their duty even in this way, rather than setting the war with Russia aside somewhere else.
In Ukrainian, all the terms described above have “merged” into a single word — “ukhylyant” (evader). Judging by the state of society, it’s apparently still more convenient for citizens not to distinguish why exactly a person didn’t go to the front: out of conviction, out of fear, due to circumstances, or simply because no one ever really made them.
The British experience: a tribunal instead of a brand
It’s telling that it was precisely the British — a nation that fought a war of attrition for six years straight — who found a procedure, not just condemnation. There were special tribunals that reviewed the claims of conchies.
The ruling could vary: full exemption, conditional alternative service, and only for refusal to comply — prison. In Ukraine, under martial law, such a narrow concept as alternative service is practically not used.
What’s especially important: attitudes toward objectors in World War II were noticeably softer than in World War I, when men of conscription age were publicly handed white feathers as a mark of cowardice. By the 1940s this was considered too crude a tool. Partly because the conchies themselves worked as firefighters and rescuers during the bombing of London — and society saw that refusing weapons was not the same as refusing risk and responsibility.
I think about this when I hear my favorite phrase, “I respect your service, but…” The British, over six years of war, learned to distinguish between forms of participation. We haven’t yet even learned to distinguish between forms of refusal.
A possible repeat of Vietnam syndrome in our reality
Analyzing how the civilian world in Ukraine’s rear is preparing for mass demobilization and the return of servicemen, another historical experience comes to mind — the U.S. circa the 1970s, right after the end of the Vietnam War. This parallel is the most frightening, because we risk repeating someone else’s social catastrophe while having our own, even more complicated starting conditions.
In terms of attitudes toward service, our circumstances correlate more with the Vietnam War. But there’s a huge difference in the very roots of events then and now.
There, the war was fought on foreign territory, defending global interests, while in our case the war resembles World War II — an aggressor has invaded our land and wants to destroy us as a nation. Both then and now, men who have no legal grounds not to serve are genuine draft dodgers. Tens of thousands of young Americans fled to Canada and Sweden, publicly burned their draft notices, enrolled in universities for deferment. Society split in half: for some they were traitors, for others heroes resisting an unjust war. The split proved so deep that only in 1977, almost a decade after peace, did President Jimmy Carter issue an amnesty for Vietnam War draft evaders — through a separate act, because society itself never reconciled on its own.
But American society back then pushed away not only evaders — it also pushed away its own veterans, because of deep rejection of the war itself. Coming home, soldiers faced aggressive protests, accusations, and complete disregard for their trauma.
Our war is existential; in many cases servicemen are respected only in words. It’s an abstract, “remote” respect that works flawlessly on social media and collapses instantly on contact with reality. The isolation of Vietnam veterans arose against a backdrop of social hostility. Ours risks growing not out of hostility, but out of institutional incapacity and civilian fear of the hard experience of war. These are different diseases, but the result could prove equally destructive.
A paper army versus digitalization
In the U.S. of the seventies there was its own bureaucratic monster — the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which for years denied disability claims from soldiers harmed by chemical weapons, simply to save budget funds.
Ukrainian modern equivalent is the exhausting hell of military medical commissions (VLK) and disability assessment boards (MSEK). The state has created a parallel “paper army” in the rear. A person who gave up their health at the front is forced to stand for weeks in humiliating lines outside offices, collecting endless certificates with wet stamps to prove obvious things. State institutions still function in the paradigm of the Soviet attitude toward a person as a supplicant, completely ignoring a service-oriented approach and basic digitalization.
Stigma in the labor market and the value of military management
The situation looks no less alarming in the civilian labor market. When HR managers review a veteran’s résumé, they often see only a “career gap” or a potential source of problems, fed by stereotypes about uncontrolled PTSD, so companies try to avoid unnecessary risk.
This is a colossal business mistake. Military service in modern technological units isn’t just sitting in a trench. It’s a continuous process of managing complex technical systems, coordinating many units, crisis management, and making strategic decisions under complete uncertainty and time pressure. It’s the highest level of leadership and stress resilience.
Lessons we’re obligated to learn
The United States only grasped the scale of its failure when the wave of suicides among Vietnam veterans exceeded combat losses at the front, and thousands of former soldiers ended up on the street or behind bars. Getting out of this deep crisis took more than a decade and rested on several fundamental decisions that Ukraine is gradually beginning to implement now:
Decentralization of support and the “peer-to-peer” principle. State hospitals and official offices scare off people with combat experience. In America, the problem was solved by creating a network of small community hubs (Vet Centers), where help was provided by fellow veterans who had undergone professional retraining. A veteran will never open up to a civilian psychologist who knows about war only from textbooks, but he will trust a brother-in-arms who shares the same experience. Some cities already have similar centers for veterans, providing legal, psychological, and other kinds of support.
Investment in human capital instead of social handouts. Instead of paying minimal cash compensation, which only preserved poverty and depression, the U.S. updated its legislation (the new GI Bill).
The state bet on fully funding higher education, providing preferential mortgages with no down payment, and grants for starting one’s own business. This turned yesterday’s soldiers into successful entrepreneurs, managers, and a driving force of the American economy. We already have the same thing in Ukraine, but at a very early stage. As an example — the housing voucher for internally displaced persons + combat veterans. It was approved for my family and thousands of others back in January 2026, but so far fewer than ten percent of program participants have received funding.
A new social contract
During my first trip to the U.S., random strangers thanked me for my service more times than during the entire full-scale invasion. The U.S. literally raised gratitude across the generations that came after Vietnam.
We’re standing at a crossroads of the British and American scenarios at the same time. Britain found a solution through tribunals, which, though imperfect, still distinguished between cases — and, in the end, found within itself the capacity to recognize the contribution of those who refused weapons but not risk. America never found it at all, and the price was a division that dragged on for generations after the guns fell silent.
When the time comes for me and my brothers-in-arms to take off the uniform and return to civilian professions, we don’t want to have to fight for our right to decent treatment.
We don’t need pity, excessive toxic sympathy, or token benefits “for show.” We need a functioning system, respect for our experience, and genuine barrier-free access — both physical and mental.
The inclusiveness of our cities, a reformatting of approaches in the HR sphere, and the complete elimination of paper bureaucracy in veterans’ policy must become priority number one already today, while fierce fighting continues on the front line.
Adapting to peaceful life is a two-way road. We took our step toward it several years ago. Now it’s the turn of Ukraine’s civilian rear.
Viktor “Gideon” Cherniavsky, serviceman
Bij 7. Zelensky’s Trump meeting produced one possible breakthrough — and it wasn’t Patriots
Kyiv Independent, 29 juli 2026, https://kyivindependent.com/zelenskys-trump-meeting-produced-one-possible-breakthrough/
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump took place in what Ukrainian officials described as a warm atmosphere, but it produced few results for Kyiv, people familiar with the discussions told the Kyiv Independent. The one breakthrough may have been persuading Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — Trump’s two main envoys on Russia and Ukraine — to finally visit Kyiv after months of shuttling to Moscow.
One U.S. official familiar with the planning cautioned that the trip remains tentative, but said it could take place within the next two weeks. Whether the visit actually happens remains uncertain. But if it does, it would mark the first time either envoy has traveled to Ukraine despite making multiple visits to Russia since taking charge of the ongoing peace process.
A message reaches Trump
The idea gained momentum just before Zelensky’s meeting with Trump. U.S. conservative influencer Laura Loomer, who recently traveled to Ukraine in a dramatic reversal of her previous views on the war, repeatedly questioned why Trump’s envoys had visited Moscow but never Kyiv.
During interviews from the Ukrainian capital, she argued that there was little justification for repeatedly engaging Russia — a country backing Iran in the war with the United States — while refusing to visit Ukraine. She later raised the issue directly with Trump during a phone call from Kyiv. “If other high-level diplomats could come here, (Witkoff and Kushner) could too,” Loomer told the president. According to people familiar with the discussions, the same argument later resurfaced during Trump’s meeting with Zelensky.
Ukraine wanted more
Kyiv arrived in Washington hoping to secure far more than a symbolic visit.
The central issue remained Patriot interceptor missiles — the only weapons Ukraine currently has that can reliably intercept Russian ballistic missiles. “The question is whether they will provide the missiles,” one of the Ukrainian officials who traveled to the U.S. told the Kyiv Independent before the meeting.
Ukraine continues to face a critical shortage of Patriot interceptors as Russia intensifies missile strikes against Kyiv and other cities. When the talks ended, however, no real commitments on additional deliveries had been made.
Zelensky told Trump that Ukraine needs at least 300 Patriot missiles before winter to prevent energy infrastructure from collapsing under Russian attacks.
Instead, the only tangible outcome was renewed U.S. promises that Witkoff and Kushner would travel to Kyiv. “Very good-natured, but still vague,” the same delegate said afterward. “The main thing we need is missiles for air defense — we’ll see if there’s any progress.”
Even those travel plans are viewed cautiously in Kyiv. The envoys have previously discussed visiting Ukraine without ever making the trip.
Why Kyiv matters now
Several factors now appear to be pushing Washington toward finally sending its negotiators.
U.S. officials are preparing another attempt to revive peace talks and believe conditions have shifted enough to justify a fresh diplomatic push.
According to one U.S. official, the White House increasingly believes both Moscow and Kyiv may now have reasons to consider an air ceasefire. Ukraine has dramatically expanded strikes against Russian military infrastructure, logistics hubs, and strategic targets deep inside Russia. Russia, meanwhile, has intensified missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, repeatedly targeting Kyiv and other civilian population centers. Washington believes those changing dynamics could make an agreement to halt air attacks more achievable than a broader ceasefire. That message is expected to form the basis of the next diplomatic initiative.
Russia first — Ukraine second?
Even if the trip goes ahead, Kyiv is unlikely to be the envoys’ first stop. According to officials familiar with the planning, Witkoff and Kushner are expected to travel to Moscow before continuing to Ukraine. There is also a more mundane obstacle. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has closed its airspace, leaving rail travel as the only practical route to Kyiv. “They have their own issue with having to take the train,” one person familiar with the discussions said.
Still, Ukrainian officials believe the visit is now more likely than at any point since the Trump administration revived its mediation efforts. “They want to go to Moscow, so they want to stop by Kyiv too, since they’re already on their way,” one Ukrainian official said. “But we’ll see.”
Bij 8. Kremlin demands Ukrainian threat be ‘definitively destroyed’ after Caspian Sea strike on Iranian vessel
The Cradle, 28 juli 2026, https://thecradle.co/articles/kremlin-demands-ukrainian-threat-be-definitively-destroyed-after-caspian-sea-strike-on-iranian-vessel
One crewman was killed aboard the Iranian commercial vessel, with several others injured
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 28 July that the Ukrainian strike on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea should be treated as an attack on Iran itself, and that the threat from Kiev must be eliminated.
Peskov accused Ukraine of extending the geographic reach of what he called its “terrorist attacks,” adding that “This threat must be neutralized and definitively destroyed.”
Peskov also held Kiev responsible for the explosions that damaged Germany’s Nord Stream pipelines, which Ukraine denies, and for harming Kazakhstan’s interests by striking infrastructure tied to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) oil pipeline.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei warned Ukraine of “unforeseen consequences” over the strike, which killed one sailor and injured others.
He said the attack was “an absolutely illegal and unjustified act,” contrary to the UN Charter and “a dangerous act of adventurism” that would not go unanswered.
IRIB reported that Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister Manouchehr Moradi summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires on 26 July, one day after the strike. Moradi described the attack as “criminal” and conveyed Tehran’s “strong protest” over the incident, stressing that the Islamic Republic would defend its national and security interests.
Tehran identified the targeted ship as a commercial vessel and said the strike caused an explosion on board.
The exchange followed an announcement by Ukraine’s security service (SBU) on 25 July that Ukrainian forces had hit an Iranian ship ferrying military cargo between Iran and Russia across the Caspian Sea, and that the vessel had been operating in evasion of international sanctions.
Zelensky reported early morning long-range strikes on an unspecified number of ships, one of them carrying military cargo in cooperation with Iran.
The Caspian Sea has emerged as a critical trade corridor between Iran and Russia, insulated from US pressure by geography and by treaty.
As the US and Israel tighten pressure on Iran from the south, analysts argue that Tehran’s strategic depth has been shifting northward to the Caspian, which links Iran and Russia directly without passing through any state answerable to US pressure.
Overland routes run through governments either aligned with Washington or unwilling to absorb the cost of secondary sanctions. The Caspian has no such gatekeeper, allowing Iran and Russia to trade directly without external influence, and links Russia to West Asia, India, and markets beyond.
Bij 9. Ukraine and Iran’s dangerous new standoff, explained
Kyiv Independent, 29 juli 2026, https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-and-irans-dangerous-new-standoff-explained/
The escalating tensions between Ukraine and Iran over the past few days have prompted fears of a military conflict between the two countries. Kyiv and Tehran have many reasons to be at odds with each other. Iran has supported Russia’s war effort against Ukraine since 2022, while Ukraine responded recently by backing the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
The most recent escalation was prompted by a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea on July 25. However, analysts say that neither Ukraine nor Iran is interested in a direct military confrontation since they have a lot on their plates already.
The U.S. launched the war against Iran in February, reached a ceasefire in April, and signed a memorandum to end the war in June. However, the ceasefire has effectively collapsed, with both countries launching regular attacks.
Ukraine’s Caspian Sea attack, along with pro-Iranian Yemeni rebel attacks on Saudi Arabia, are signs of the Middle East war’s escalation and spillovers into new regions, Michael Sahlin, a Middle East specialist at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, told the Kyiv Independent.
How did the tensions escalate?
Ukraine said on July 25 that it had struck a vessel transporting military cargo between Iran and Russia in the Caspian Sea. Iran’s Foreign Ministry later claimed the strike targeted a commercial vessel, killing one sailor and injuring another. Iran condemned the strike as “an act of aggression” and said that it “cannot go unanswered.”
Iran was considering launching a missile attack against Ukraine, a source familiar with Ukrainian intelligence told the Kyiv Independent.
The New York Times reported on July 28, citing Iranian and Western officials, that Iran had been considering attacking a seaport in Ukraine. The tensions appeared to have subsided on July 28, when Ukraine’s acting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha spoke by phone with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. “Yesterday’s phone call was an example of de-escalatory diplomacy,” a Ukrainian diplomatic source told the Kyiv Independent.
The source added that “we first want to make sure that the threats have indeed passed, as the New York Times’ sources say, and then we will be ready to discuss the issue in greater detail.”
Following the call, Araghchi said that Sybiha had described the attack as unintentional and added that Iran was not seeking escalation. Araghchi represents the moderate wing of the Iranian regime, and the hawks in Tehran might have a different stance on Ukraine, according to Olli Ruohomäki, a Middle East expert at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.
Reasons for conflict
Ukraine and Iran have had a tense relationship for years, with Russia’s full-scale war further driving a wedge between the two countries. Tehran began supplying Shahed combat drones to Russia in 2022 and later licensed their production to Moscow. Iranian-made and Iranian-licensed drones have killed hundreds of Ukrainians, shifting the battlefield balance in Russia’s favor for a time.
“Ukraine’s strike in the Caspian Sea appears to be in line with Kyiv’s broader strategy of targeting Russian military capabilities and undermining the infrastructure that sustains Moscow’s war effort, rather than opening a new theater against Iran,” Natia Seskuria, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told the Kyiv Independent. “The key strategic objective is to disrupt the flow of Iranian military support to Russia and create additional pressure on the logistical networks that enable Moscow to sustain its military campaign.”
Sascha Bruchmann, a military analyst at the Middle East office of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the Kyiv Independent that the Iranian ship hit by Ukraine was “likely transporting components for UAVs” to Russia.
At the same time, Ukraine has backed the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seeks to secure his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump‘s support. Specifically, Ukraine has sent its military experts to Gulf states in recent months to help them defend against Iranian drone attacks.
“The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran and especially Iran’s retaliatory strikes on U.S. bases in the Middle East have provided Ukraine with an opportunity to demonstrate that Kyiv has valuable technology and battlefield-tested knowledge that can be useful to the U.S. and its allies,” Jenny Mathers, a lecturer in international politics at the U.K.’s Aberystwyth University, told the Kyiv Independent. “Rather than always being the one to ask for help from the West, Ukraine is now in a position to offer it, and this is an important symbolic moment. It allows Ukraine to demonstrate strength as well as competence, knowledge, and experience.”
Zelensky discussed Iran during his meeting with Trump in Washington on July 28, a source familiar with the negotiations told the Kyiv Independent. Specifically, Zelensky sought to obtain more Patriot air defense systems from the U.S. if Iran launched a missile towards Ukraine, according to the source.
Zelensky also said on July 25 that Moscow had been providing Tehran with satellite imagery of U.S. and Gulf military installations throughout the U.S. war against Iran. “The history of Iran supplying Russia with weapons that Moscow uses to strike Ukraine gives Kyiv a reason to take a position on this conflict, just as the continued need and desire by Kyiv to regain U.S. support is a powerful incentive to demonstrate Ukraine’s value as an ally,” Mathers said.
Neil Quilliam, a Middle East expert at Chatham House, said that “Ukraine has aligned itself politically with Washington and has drawn attention to its experience in countering Iranian drones and missile attacks.”
“At the same time, growing cooperation between Moscow and Tehran has reinforced Ukrainian concerns about Iran’s role in supporting Russia,” he told the Kyiv Independent. “The result is that developments in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine are becoming more closely connected than before.”
Is a Ukraine-Iran war possible?
Sidharth Kaushal, a military analyst at the RUSI, told the Kyiv Independent that “quite a few Iranian ballistic missiles can hit at least parts of Ukraine — the Shahab 3 and Khorramshahr 4, for example.” Bruchmann said that Shahed 136 drones “could also reach Ukraine” from Iran. “In turn, Ukraine now possesses long-range drones and missiles like the Flamingo that can reach Iran, which balances the threat equation,” he added.
Analysts say, however, that a direct military conflict between Iran and Ukraine remains unlikely, as opening another front would serve neither country’s interests. Ruohomäki said that Iranian attacks on Ukraine and the other way around are “within the realm of the possible” but unlikely. “Neither side has a strong incentive to open a new war,” Quilliam said. “What is more likely is a continuation of indirect confrontation linked to Iran’s support for Russia, whether through intelligence activities, cyber operations, supply networks, or limited strikes against assets associated with the Russia-Iran partnership.”
Bij 10. U.S. launches fresh airstrikes in Iran
AXIOS, 29 juli 2026, https://www.axios.com/2026/07/29/us-airstrikes-iran-trump-resume
The U.S. military conducted “a heavy wave” of airstrikes in Iran on Wednesday evening, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
These are the first U.S. strikes in Iran since President Trump paused the bombing campaign Friday to give negotiations another chance.
- Wednesday’s strikes came in retaliation for an Iranian missile attack targeting a U.S. base in Jordan on Tuesday. All of the Iranian missiles were intercepted, according to the U.S. military.
What they’re saying: “CENTCOM assets struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran, including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites, and maritime capabilities,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
- “The strikes aimed to further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighboring Gulf countries.”
Driving the news: Trump told reporters Wednesday afternoon that the U.S. would hit Iran “very hard” later in the day.
- “It’s our turn,” Trump said.
- He claimed Iran had acknowledged that launching the missiles was a mistake and had asked the U.S. not to retaliate.
The big picture: Trump paused the strikes Friday after 13 consecutive nights of attacks on Iranian military targets, opening a brief window for diplomacy.
- Iran’s missile attack shattered the pause and prompted Trump to resume the military campaign five days later.
- “More than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently deployed to the Middle East and remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready,” CENTCOM said along with video footage of the strikes.
Bij 11. Israeli defence minister boasts that US warplanes used Israeli bases to attack Iran
Middle East Eye, 29 juli 2026, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-defence-minister-boasts-us-warplanes-used-israeli-bases-attack-iran
Israel Katz threatens to strike Iran ‘with all our might’ if fired upon
US Air Force fighter jets and bombers flew from Israeli bases to attack Iran in recent weeks, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said, highlighting Washington’s use of Israel as a launchpad for its widening regional war. “The Iranians know” that the aircraft took off from Israel, Katz told the right-wing Israeli broadcaster Channel 14 on Tuesday.
“The arrogant empire that threatened to destroy Israel has collapsed,” he said.
Katz then issued a fresh threat against Tehran: “We announced in the clearest terms that if Israel is fired upon, we will attack with all our might. We are prepared to strike Iran.”
Israel intercepted at least three drones near the Jordanian border on Monday and Tuesday.
Bovenkant formulier
Onderkant formulier
“We know how to manage things, and we are prepared,” Katz said.
In the most recent round of fighting between Iran and the US, Israel has played a seemingly minimal role.
The US military and its Gulf allies have launched strikes on Iran but unlike during the initial conflict, which started in February, Israeli forces have not participated.
Iran has also focused its attacks on US interests in the Gulf rather than attacks on Israel.
Popular US critics of the war, such as the prominent podcaster and journalist Tucker Carlson, have suggested that Israel’s plan on Iran was always to have the US do the bulk of the fighting.
The sentiment is shared by members of the Israeli government, including its influential finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich. He described the renewed US war on Iran as the ideal outcome for Israel, provided Israelis do not have to fight it themselves.
“Israel has no interest in joining the campaign – the current situation is the best for us,” Smotrich said on Tuesday in comments carried by Kan news.
Bij 12. Saudi Arabia to announce Red Sea coalition to counter Houthi threats
Al Monitor, 29 juli 2026, https://archive.ph/4njBj
Around 50 countries have been invited to join the Saudi-led initiative aimed at countering Houthi threats to Red Sea shipping and preventing a repeat of recent disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabia is expected to announce a new multinational military coalition for the Red Sea in a bid to preempt Iranian-backed moves to restrict passage through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Saudi-led initiative could be unveiled as early as Thursday, the deadline set for around 50 nations — including the United States, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey — to confirm their participation, two senior diplomatic sources and a third senior US official speaking on background told Al-Monitor. Red Sea littoral states central to the effort, including Egypt and Sudan, have agreed to take part alongside Djibouti and Somalia, the sources said.
However, US support is seen as vital for the initiative to really take off. A well-placed source familiar with the discussions said there had been no decision from Washington as to whether to join the coalition, which will be headquartered in Riyadh and under Saudi command.
A Pentagon spokesperson did not return Al-Monitor’s request for comment by publication time. US Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins declined to comment on Saudi Arabia’s plans.
France, Germany and Italy are among a host of countries waiting for the United States to respond. “Everybody is waiting for the US to show its hand. Without real assets, this initiative won’t take off,” one of the officials said.
US Central Command is currently focused on enforcing a naval blockade of Iran and may therefore be reluctant to divert forces toward Yemen at this time, two former US defense officials told Al-Monitor.
One source said the United Arab Emirates had not yet been invited to the new coalition. Pakistan, along with Bangladesh, both received an invite.
The Emirati Foreign Ministry did not respond immediately to Al-Monitor’s request for comment.
Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait have all been invited and are expected to join. Oman, which was invited, prizes its mediating role in the Iran talks. It is therefore unlikely to risk that position by taking part in a structure that will be perceived as challenging Iran. Turkey, a critical NATO member and rising military power, is unlikely to want to take orders from Saudi Arabia, which was ruled by the Ottomans until 1918.
Rapid recruitment
The sources said the Saudi effort has gained urgency as Riyadh strives to head off a replay of Iran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Tehran’s Houthi allies in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital global shipping chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
Up to 80% of Saudi crude exports were shipped through the Strait of Hormuz before the Iran conflict began. Bab el-Mandeb has therefore become far more critical, with over half of Saudi oil now transported overland to loading terminals at the port city of Yanbu on the Red Sea.
The Houthis, a Yemeni militant group designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization, imposed a maritime embargo on Saudi exports through Bab el-Mandeb last week. That move followed a strike on Sanaa International Airport in Houthi-controlled northern Yemen. While the Saudi-backed Yemeni government claimed responsibility for the attack, a Houthi spokesperson blamed Saudi Arabia, saying the group had fired missiles and drones toward Saudi Arabia “in response to this blatant and criminal aggression.”
The Houthis are now threatening to impose fees on ships sailing through the southern Red Sea, mimicking Iran’s attempts to collect tolls for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.
While the announcement of the initiative appears timed to telegraph unity against Iranian attempts to dominate the shipping lanes, the grouping will have a broader remit of combating piracy, smuggling and terrorism in the Red Sea. It builds on earlier diplomatic efforts like the Saudi-led Red Sea Council, formed in 2020 and grouping eight Red Sea littoral states.
Bij 13. Defensie wil schade rond De Haar ruim vergoeden, maar doet geen beloftes aan de dorpen
RTV Drenthe,nl, 30 juli 2026, https://www.rtvdrenthe.nl/nieuws/18655288/defensie-wil-schade-rond-de-haar-ruim-vergoeden-maar-doet-geen-beloftes-aan-de-dorpen
Het ministerie van Defensie wil boeren en andere inwoners die hun eigendom kwijtraken door de geplande uitbreiding van oefenterrein De Haar volledig schadeloos stellen. Daarnaast gaat Defensie in gesprek met bewoners, ondernemers, maatschappelijke organisaties en bestuurders over hoe het grotere oefenterrein in het gebied past.
Investeringen in de leefbaarheid van Hooghalen, Laaghalen en Smilde wil het ministerie niet toezeggen.
Dat schrijven ambtenaren van het ministerie in een reactie op het compensatiebod van de gemeente Midden-Drenthe. In dat plan doet de gemeente, met inbreng van allerlei betrokkenen uit het gebied, voorstellen aan Defensie voor manieren van compensatie voor direct en indirect getroffen inwoners.
Direct getroffen inwoners
Boeren en andere inwoners van het gebied moeten voor de uitbreiding hun grond of zelfs hun woning of bedrijf opgeven. Defensie gaat de waarde daarvan vergoeden, maar zegt nu dat ook andere schadeposten worden meegenomen. “Zoals misgelopen omzet of investeringen die niet kunnen worden terugverdiend”, schrijven de ambtenaren.
Rentmeesters kijken op dit moment per situatie naar oplossingen. Verder komt er in overleg met de getroffen boeren en belangenorganisatie LTO een onafhankelijke vertrouwenspersoon om het ruilen van grond te begeleiden, waarschijnlijk na de zomer.
In het compensatiebod schreef Midden-Drenthe dat direct getroffenen een eerlijke en ruimharige compensatie moeten krijgen. Een deel van de voorstellen om dat te bereiken, neemt Defensie mee. Dat geldt bijvoorbeeld voor verdere compensatie dan enkel grond- of pandwaarde en het vergoeden van juridische bijstand.
Gaat er vooral om dat je goed met elkaar afspreekt hoe in beeld komt wat precies de schade is
Burgemeester Zwiers
Burgemeester Jan Zwiers van Midden-Drenthe vindt de reactie van het ministerie een goed startpunt voor verdere gesprekken met staatssecretaris Boswijk (CDA).
Wat betreft de compensatie voor boeren reageert Zwiers op dit moment positief, zoals de volledige schadeloosstelling en de komst van een onafhankelijke gebiedscoördinator. “Het gaat er vooral om dat je goed met elkaar afspreekt hoe in beeld komt wat precies de schade is. Zo weten mensen waar ze aan toe zijn”, zegt de burgemeester.
Verder is Zwiers blij dat inwoners en de gemeente betrokken worden bij het vervolg van het proces. Defensie wil van allerlei betrokkenen horen wat zij belangrijk vinden en waarover ze zich zorgen maken. Het ministerie denkt dan onder meer aan het beperken van overlast voor omwonenden, bereikbaarheid en natuurherstel.
Geen toezeggingen over leefbaarheid
Defensie wil nog weinig beloven over het verbeteren van de leefbaarheid, zoals investeren in dorpshuizen, sportverenigingen, parken en speeltuinen. Dat is voor inwoners van dorpen als Hooghalen en Smilde juist een heel belangrijk punt, net als voor Midden-Drenthe.
Wat de gemeente betreft komen er twee fondsen met geld voor initiatieven vanuit inwoners en het versterken van de lokale economie, recreatie en natuur. Ook stelt Midden-Drenthe de bouw van nieuwe woningen voor.
Maar het ministerie lijkt dat voor nu niet van plan. Komen er toch investeringen, dan moeten die wel iets te maken hebben met de gevolgen van de uitbreiding van het oefenterrein. Ideeën van inwoners als het vernieuwen van een dorpshuis of de renovatie van een zwembad vallen dan buiten de boot.
Ik zie dit meer als een soort tussenstand
Burgemeester Zwiers
Defensie is op tal van plekken in Nederland bezig met uitbreidingen of nieuwe militaire faciliteiten. Krijgt Midden-Drenthe potten met geld, dan zal men dat op andere plekken ook willen.
Burgemeester Zwiers is niet tevreden met die boodschap en wil graag met Defensie om tafel. Toch heeft hij er begrip voor dat er nog geen concrete toezeggingen in de brief staan. “Deze reactie is geschreven door ambtenaren, maar we hebben het hier over bestuurlijke zaken. Daar moeten we met de staatssecretaris uitkomen. Dus ik snap dat ze het nu zo opschrijven, maar ik zie dit meer als een soort tussenstand”, zegt de burgemeester.
Lobby ontbreekt
In de reactie gaat het ministerie niet in op de wens van Midden-Drenthe om mee te helpen lobbyen in Den Haag. De gemeente zou graag wat beter op de kaart komen in de gangen en zalen van het parlementsgebouw.
Zo kan het stationsgebied van Beilen wel een opknapbeurt gebruiken en zijn er op tal van plekken, net als in Hooghalen en Smilde, nieuwe woningen nodig.
Zwiers benadrukt dat de lobbywens een veel minder belangrijk onderdeel van het compensatiebod is dan de andere twee punten. Dat Defensie er nu geen enkel woord aan wijdt, vindt de burgemeester niet zo gek. “Lobby speelt vaak op de achtergrond, dus dat het er niet in staat is wat mij betreft niet zo’n probleem. Wel willen we daar graag transparant over zijn en niet de indruk wekken dat we dit over de rug van onze inwoners willen doen. Je moet het meer zien als bijvangst: het bod moet vooral gaan over onze inwoners.”
Guido van Leemput
