A few days ago a coordinating council for the nomination of Kamianets-Podilskyi to the World Heritage List was formed and held a meeting (source). Interestingly, they only discussed the natural features of the canyon, and noted that discussions regarding the cultural component would fall "within the framework of other specialized programmes" when the creation of the nomination file itself willl take place (which will be the final step of a long programme that aims to primarily ensure the proper preservation and upkeep of the canyon). Anyway, the idea of nominating the Smotrych Canyon only for its natural significance has been brought up before, so I'm not surprised that they're going for a mixed nomination now, but not sure how successful this attempt will be given that all previous ones did not achieve much.

A meeting of the Bureau of the National Commission for UNESCO with the participation of the Ministry of Culture took place. WHS-related topics were the proposal to include Chersonesus in the "in danger" list, the transnational ATWHS of Cucuteni-Trypillia, and the finalization of the Sofiivka Park dossier (which, I assume, means the replacement of the old tentative site that lacks specific criteria with a more complete and up-to-date one, although this could also mean the development of a nomination file) - source.

Last Monday, I visited the WHS of Odesa on a day trip from Chisinau (Moldova). A full review will follow later; for now, here are the practical details. This is currently an easy trip for travelers who do not need a visa for Ukraine and have suitable health insurance (I traveled on an EU passport).

Getting there
* Around 20 direct buses run daily between Chisinau and Odesa.
* Main operators: GalTrans and SVS; tickets can be booked online. My GalTrans return ticket cost 35 EUR.
* Buses depart from both Gara de Nord bus station and Chisinau Airport. Same bus, two stops — boarding at the airport may save time.
* Minibuses, private drivers, and tours are also available. Private day trips cost around 350 EUR.
* Travel time varies between 4–6 hours. My trips took 5.5h each way due to border delays and stops. Actual driving time is only 3–3.5h.

Border crossing
* The only active Moldovan–Ukrainian crossing is at Palanca.
* It is a joint border post, so only one stop is needed.
* Usually not very busy compared to Polish-Ukrainian borders.
* Officers collect passports on the bus for scanning.
* Luggage storage is checked for contraband.
* Crossing times depend heavily on bus occupancy (mine varied between 15 and 60 minutes)

Arriving in Odesa
* After the border, it is about one more hour to Odesa.
* Buses use two stations:
Pryvoz Market Station: best option, within walking distance of the historic center and with facilities like money exchange.
Central Bus Station (Autovokzal): less convenient, about 45 minutes on foot from the center.
I used a Bolt taxi (cash payment) to reach the latter for my return trip.

Restrictions
* The full historic core zone appears accessible again. Earlier wartime restrictions around the Potemkin Stairs have been lifted.
* Photography is generally allowed, though caution is wise near the port. Sharing images of soldiers or military damage publicly is prohibited, either of which you are unlikely to encounter in the city center of Odesa.
* Restaurants, cafés, and outdoor terraces are operating normally.

Tour
I booked a 2-hour private walk with Ukraine-by-locals (38 EUR). This was a useful introduction and helped me understand the city layout before exploring independently.

Communication
Ukraine joined the EU roaming scheme this year, so I could continue using the same SIM card and mobile data as in Moldova and at home.

Is it safe? Is it ethical to visit?
The core zone (historic center) is probably the safest area of Odesa. The biggest danger (as with visiting countries like Syria) would be getting stuck there if the infrastructure were damaged, which would make the lifeline to Moldova disappear.
The city welcomes tourists as long as they behave appropriately to the situation; people working in tourism like to earn an income and the Ukrainian ladies on my bus were happy to have me.

Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (monastery) has been attacked and heavily damaged last night. Visited it just 3 weeks ago during business trip to Kyiv..
https://galinfo.com.ua/news/rosiyany_zavdaly_udaru_po_kyievopecherskiy_lavri_ukraina_terminovo_initsiyuie_zahody_v_yunesko_449820

Should be mentioned that 11 people also died in the attack. So sad to see the pictures and footage of this attack. Per reports, it seems Russia and Ukraine are just pointing fingers at each other on who is to blame with Ukraine vowing to restore it.

Apparently, the drone remains found at the site are Geran-2 but I don't know enough to comment on that. Regardless, I think the current "WHS in the news" description doesn't do it justice; "Kyiv monastery set on fire" makes it sound like this was an accident. I don't see why the drone strike shouldn't be mentioned.

This does denote intentionality, instead of something like "... caught fire", and it simply shortens the original title of the Guardian.

Absolutely shocking news. Unbelievable!

The Kiev Lawra is one of the great wonders of our world.
I spent more than 2 hours under the earth there joining a group of believers.
An unforgettable experience.Bresks my heart to learn that the Lawra has bern attacked.
Unforgivable.

UNESCO official statement on the strikes. Was updated yesterday to more specifically condemn the strikes and with more details on the damage:

https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-statement-ukraine

I haven't posted any updates on Derzhprom for a while so here's one. A meeting took place on July 15 regarding its nomination, where further plans were discussed. Unfortunately, no interesting details were revealed, though it is implied that a lot of the work is already done, and the working group is still aiming for an emergency nomination (source). On July 22, the Kharkiv Regional Council approved the planned allocation of money for the preparation and translation of the nomination dossier (source).