A key bridge linking southern Russia to Crimea has been broken once more, with Moscow blaming Ukraine. The assault may very well be a part of Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive to reclaim occupied territory.
In the meantime, Russia has terminated a July 2022 deal for the protected export of Ukrainian grain by the Black Sea.
Learn our in-depth protection. For all our protection, go to our Ukraine war page.
Maldives: Small island nation with big role shipping chips to Russia
Russian ex-oil tycoon expects new rebellion to follow Wagner
Russia’s grain deal exit to gradually hit Asia food supplies
Special report: Russia buying civilian drones from China for war effort
China fears Russia chaos after Wagner uprising
Europe weighs using frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine
Special report: How U.S.-made chips are flowing into Russia
Word: Nikkei Asia determined in March 2022 to droop its reporting from Russia till additional info turns into out there relating to the scope of the revised prison code. Entries embody materials from wire companies and different sources.
Listed here are the most recent developments:
Thursday, July 27 (Tokyo time)
4:06 a.m. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi held summit talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in St. Petersburg, the African nation’s State Data Service experiences.
The assembly was held forward of the second Russia-Africa Summit, a two-day occasion ending Friday.
Sisi thanked Putin for Moscow’s assist in establishing initiatives together with the Dabaa nuclear energy plant, Egypt At this time experiences.
Wednesday, July 26
8:00 p.m. Russia has deployed the warship Sergey Kotov to the southern Black Sea, the British Defence Ministry says, warning of potential Russian actions towards business vessels. The corvette is tasked with patrolling the transport lane between the Bosphorus and Odesa, the ministry says in an intelligence replace.
“There’s a life like risk that it’s going to kind a part of a job group to intercept business vessels Russia believes are heading to Ukraine,” the ministry says.
A day earlier, U.Okay. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talked by cellphone on the potential for Russian forces including service provider ships to their listing of targets within the Black Sea, British Ambassador to the U.N. Barbara Woodward advised reporters.
Russia has repeatedly attacked grain warehouses within the port of Odesa since suspending its participation in an settlement making certain the stream of agricultural exports by the Black Sea. Moscow says different events to the deal failed to carry up their finish of the discount.
2:00 p.m. Russian Protection Minister Sergei Shoigu is to go to North Korea, state media in Pyongyang report, a part of the primary journey by overseas dignitaries to the remoted East Asian nation because the begin of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shoigu flew into Pyongyang on a aircraft carrying a Chinese language delegation together with Li Hongzhong, a member of the Communist Get together Politburo, Kyodo experiences, citing aviation sources.
10:30 a.m. The U.S. has introduced $400 million in further army assist for Ukraine, together with air protection missiles, armored autos and small drones. The brand new assist bundle will embody, for the primary time, U.S.-supplied Black Hornet surveillance drones made by Teledyne FLIR Protection, a part of Teledyne Applied sciences. The Norwegian-built mini drone is being utilized in Ukraine by donations by the British and Norwegian governments. The U.S. may also provide further munitions for Patriot air protection programs and Nationwide Superior Floor-to-Air Missile Programs (NASAMS), in addition to Stinger anti-aircraft programs.
Tuesday, July 25
10:45 p.m. Landmines have been discovered at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy plant by worldwide inspectors, in keeping with Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company chief Rafael Grossi.
“Having such explosives on the positioning is inconsistent with the IAEA security requirements and nuclear safety steering and creates further psychological stress on plant workers,” Grossi says.
3:00 p.m. Operators performing upkeep at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant have switched the shutdown mode of two reactors, the Moscow-installed administration of the plant says. “In an effort to conduct a scheduled technical inspection of the tools of energy unit No. 5, the administration of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy plant determined to switch it to the ‘chilly shutdown’ state,” the administration stated on its Telegram channel. It added: “And to be able to present steam for the station’s personal wants, the reactor plant of energy unit No. 4 was transferred to the ‘scorching shutdown’ state.”
1:40 p.m. Russia and different nations collaborating on this week’s Russia-Africa summit will talk about Moscow’s grain and fertilizers exports, says Oleg Ozerov, ambassador at giant for the Russian overseas ministry, in feedback to state information company RIA.
1:10 p.m. Russia’s finance ministry plans to chop the low cost it makes use of to set taxes on the nation’s crude oil exports to $20 per barrel from $25, Reuters experiences, citing Finance Minister Anton Siluanov’s remarks revealed on the day.
10:10 a.m. U.S. wheat futures hit a five-month excessive, stretching positive aspects following Russia’s assaults on Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure that sparked considerations about long-term international provides and meals safety.
8:30 a.m. Russia launched an air assault on Kyiv early on Tuesday, the army administration of the Ukrainian capital says. “On the outskirts of Kyiv, air defence programs are being engaged [in repelling the attack],” stated Serhiy Popko, head of the administration, on the Telegram messaging channel.
8:00 a.m. Belarus’ Ministry of Emergency Conditions is finishing the arming and army coaching of personnel to be prepared to assist protection and inside ministries within the occasion of an armed battle, the ministry head says.
7:50 a.m. Brian Nelson, the U.S. Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and monetary intelligence, will spotlight Washington’s efforts to facilitate Russian grain and fertilizer exports throughout a go to to Kenya and Somalia, and stress that Moscow’s exit from the Black Sea grain deal will harm African states, a spokesperson says.
7:45 a.m. The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog says it had discovered antipersonnel mines in an space of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy facility in Ukraine and complained for the second month working that this violated security procedures. In response to Reuters, Rafael Grossi, the IAEA’s director normal, company inspectors stationed on the plant had famous mines in a buffer zone between the positioning’s inside and exterior perimeter limitations and had additionally noticed mines throughout earlier checks. “However having such explosives on the positioning is inconsistent with the IAEA security requirements and nuclear safety steering and creates further psychological stress on plant workers,” Grossi stated in an announcement on the company’s web site.
Monday, July 24
11:40 p.m. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a legislation on making a digital ruble and an digital platform for transactions within the new forex format, Tass experiences.
The digital ruble might be used as a method for funds and transfers, Tass experiences, including that the platform might be operated by the Financial institution of Russia.
3:30 p.m. The Russian Protection Ministry says Ukraine tried to assault Crimea in a single day utilizing 17 drones, however that the assault was foiled and that there have been no casualties, Reuters experiences. It stated 11 of the drones crashed into the Black Sea after being suppressed by anti-drone tools, three fell on Crimean territory and three had been destroyed by air-defenses. Reuters was not in a position to independently confirm the report.
2:00 p.m. Russia’s in a single day drone assault on the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa destroyed a grain depot and injured 4 port workers, Ukraine’s southern army command says on social media. Primarily based on preliminary info, three drones had been destroyed within the assaults, the command stated.
1:20 p.m. Russia’s protection ministry accuses Ukraine of a “terrorist” drone assault on Moscow after the town’s mayor stated that two buildings had been hit and media reported that particles was discovered not removed from the ministry’s buildings. The protection ministry stated on its Telegram messaging app that two drones “had been suppressed and crashed.” Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated on his Telegram messaging app that two non-residential buildings had been struck at round 4 a.m. (0100 GMT), including that there was no “critical injury or casualties.”
10:45 a.m. Fragments of a drone had been present in central Moscow some 2 kilometers away from the primary constructing of the Ministry of Defence, Russia’s state information companies report, citing emergency companies. Komsomolsky Avenue from the middle of Moscow towards the outskirts of the town was closed, RIA information company reported, citing Moscow’s Division of Transport. A Reuters witness heard two loud explosions earlier than the experiences of the drone fragments had been discovered. Preliminary info signifies that there have been no casualties.
7:30 a.m. Russia’s Investigative Committee says it has launched a prison probe into the killing of a Russian conflict reporter. The committee stated on its web site that “armed Ukrainian formations focused and intentionally fired at a gaggle of Russian journalists” working close to Pyatikhatka, in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia area. It didn’t specify the kind of weapons or munitions used, however stated Rostislav Zhuravlev, a journalist for RIA state information company, was killed.
5:40 a.m. A beforehand introduced assembly of a brand new NATO-Ukraine Council, anticipated to handle Black Sea safety, has been scheduled for Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says in his nightly video tackle on Sunday.
NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu says on Saturday that the assembly, requested by Zelenskyy in a phone dialog with NATO Secretary-Basic Jens Stoltenberg, would talk about the state of affairs following Russia’s withdrawal from a year-old deal overseeing grain exports from Ukrainian ports.
Sunday, July 23
11:30 p.m. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that whereas Ukraine has reconquered half the territory that Russia initially seized in its invasion, Kyiv faces a “a really exhausting struggle” to win again extra.
“It is already taken again about 50% of what was initially seized,” Blinken says in an interview to CNN on Sunday. “These are nonetheless comparatively early days of the counteroffensive. It’s powerful,” he stated, including: “It is not going to play out over the following week or two. We’re nonetheless wanting I believe at a number of months.”
5:30 pm. Russian air assaults on Ukraine’s southern port of Odesa kills one, injures almost 20 and badly damages an Orthodox cathedral.
“Odesa: one other evening assault of the monsters,” Oleh Kiper, governor of the Odesa area, stated on the Telegram messaging app.
The Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Cathedral, or the Transfiguration Cathedral, was severely broken, Odesa’s army administration stated. Odesa’s largest church constructing, it’s situated within the historic metropolis heart, which is a UNESCO world heritage website.
Saturday, July 22
5:40 p.m. Street site visitors on the bridge linking Russia to the Crimean peninsula has resumed after being briefly suspended on Saturday, an official Telegram channel stated. It didn’t state the explanation for the highway closure. On Monday, the highway was put out of service after an assault that killed two folks. The bridge had solely lately returned to full operation after being broken in a bomb blast final October.
3:10 p.m. Distinguished Russian nationalist and former army commander Igor Girkin, who had publicly accused President Vladimir Putin and the military prime brass of not pursuing the conflict in Ukraine harshly or successfully sufficient, was remanded in custody on Friday on expenses of inciting extremism. His arrest earlier within the day by his ex-employer, the FSB state safety service, suggests authorities have wearied of his criticism of the conflict in Ukraine, following an abortive mutiny final month led by one other outspoken critic, Yevgeny Prigozhin, boss of the Wagner mercenary power, who remains to be free however has sharply curtailed his personal verbal assaults.
Britain’s protection ministry, in an everyday intelligence replace on Saturday, stated the arrest was “more likely to infuriate fellow members of the army blogger neighborhood, who largely see Girkin as an astute army analyst and patriot.”
8:00 a.m. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula to Russia, which was constructed by Moscow and introduced into service in 2018, is a army goal as it’s “not only a logistical highway” and brings “conflict, not peace.” Talking by video hyperlink to the Aspen safety convention in the USA, he stated, “For us, that is understandably an enemy facility constructed outdoors worldwide legal guidelines and all relevant norms. So, understandably, it is a goal for us. And a goal that’s bringing conflict, not peace, must be neutralized.” Ukraine welcomed Monday’s assault on the bridge, which killed two civilians, however officers didn’t immediately declare duty, whereas Moscow blamed Ukraine.
7:30 a.m. French President Emmanuel Macron’s prime diplomatic adviser says China is delivering gadgets that may very well be used as army tools to Russia, in keeping with Reuters. Requested on the Aspen Safety Discussion board late on Thursday if the West had seen any proof that China has armed Russia in any approach within the conflict in Ukraine, Emmanuel Bonne, the top of Macron’s diplomatic workforce on the Elysee Palace, advised the moderator: “Sure, there are indications that they’re doing issues we would like them to not do.” When pressed on whether or not China is delivering weapons, Bonne stated: “Properly, form of army tools … so far as we all know they don’t seem to be delivering massively army capacities to Russia however [we need that to be] no supply.”
Friday, July 21
11:30 p.m. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Kyiv’s ambassador to the U.Okay. and the Worldwide Maritime Group, Vadym Prystaiko, underneath a presidential decree that doesn’t state a purpose.
Prystaiko had given Zelenskyy an obvious rebuke final week for the president’s “sarcastic” response to British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace’s remark that the U.Okay. will not be an “Amazon” supply service for weapons for Ukraine.
The dismissal comes the day after Zelenskyy stated in his nightly video tackle that the state price range ought to prioritize protection and that he had requested the prime minister to think about changing the tradition minister. “Paving stones, metropolis decorations and fountains can wait until after the victory,” the president stated. The tradition minister in query, Oleksandr Tkachenko, says he submitted his resignation earlier than Zelenskyy’s tackle.
2:40 p.m. Poland’s safety committee determined in a gathering on Wednesday to maneuver army items to the nation’s east because of the Wagner Group’s presence in Belarus, state-run information company PAP quotes its secretary as saying on Friday. On Thursday, the Belarusian protection ministry stated Wagner mercenaries had began to coach Belarusian particular forces at a army vary just some miles from the border with NATO-member Poland. “Coaching or joint workout routines of the Belarusian military and the Wagner Group is undoubtedly a provocation,” Zbigniew Hoffmann advised PAP. “The Committee analyzed attainable threats, such because the dislocation of Wagner Group items. Subsequently, the Minister of Nationwide Protection, chairman of the Committee, Mariusz Blaszczak, determined to maneuver our army formations from the west to the east of Poland.”
1:57 a.m. Russia will not be making ready to assault civilian ships within the Black Sea, opposite to American claims, says Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the U.S., in feedback posted on social media by his embassy.
1:34 a.m. The U.S. announces sanctions on a complete of 120-plus people and entities, together with 14 vessels, to “constrain Russia’s army capabilities, its entry to battlefield provides, and its financial backside line.” The Russian Embassy in Washington doesn’t instantly reply to Reuters for remark.
Thursday, July 20
11:00 p.m. Pakistani Overseas Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari endorses calls by Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba that the Black Sea grain initiative be restored. Kuleba, who’s visiting Islamabad, says Russia has undermined world meals safety. Bhutto Zardari says he plans to lift the difficulty with United Nations Secretary-Basic Antonio Guterres.
“It’s not solely in our curiosity however on this planet’s curiosity that this grain initiative is restored,” Bhutto Zardari says.
9:54 p.m. Beginning Friday, Kyiv time, all vessels in Black Sea waters en path to Russian ports and Russian-occupied Ukrainian seaports “could also be thought of for threat evaluation” as carrying army cargo, Ukraine’s Ministry of Protection says.
7:00 p.m. A constructing on the Chinese language consulate in Odesa was broken in a Russian missile and drone assault on the southern Ukrainian port metropolis, regional governor Oleh Kiper stated on Thursday. The injury gave the impression to be minor. Kiper posted {a photograph} on-line displaying the constructing with damaged home windows. Russia, which is an ally of China, attacked the port cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv in a single day for the third successive evening.
3:45 p.m. Russia is answerable for a significant international meals provide disaster, the European Union’s overseas coverage chief, Josep Borrell, stated on Thursday, days after the Kremlin introduced it might droop an settlement for Ukrainian grain exports by the Black Sea. “What we already know is that that is going to create an enormous and big meals disaster on this planet,” Borrell advised journalists earlier than heading into a gathering of EU overseas ministers.
Borrell additionally accused Russia of intentionally attacking grain storage amenities within the southern port metropolis of Odesa, which he stated would additional deepen the meals disaster.
3:40 p.m. Belarus’ Protection Ministry stated in an announcement on Thursday that the nation’s army was persevering with workout routines with fighters from Russia’s Wagner Group mercenary power at a army base close to the town of Brest, on the border with Poland.
2:00 p.m. China’s imports of crude oil from Russia hit an all-time excessive in June, Chinese language authorities knowledge launched on Thursday reveals, with refiners persevering with to gulp oil from the Jap Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline at the same time as reductions towards worldwide benchmarks slim. Arrivals from Russia totaled 10.5 million metric tonnes in June, or 2.56 million barrels per day. Shipments had been up 44.1% from 1.77 million bpd in the identical month final yr, in keeping with knowledge from the Basic Administration of Customs. Russian arrivals for the primary half totaled 52.61 million metric tonnes, up 21.6% from the year-earlier interval.
8:00 a.m. The White Home warned on Wednesday that Russia might develop its focusing on of Ukrainian grain amenities to incorporate assaults towards civilian transport within the Black Sea. Adam Hodge, White Home Nationwide Safety Council spokesperson, stated U.S. officers have info indicating Russia laid further sea mines within the approaches to Ukrainian ports. “We consider that it is a coordinated effort to justify any assaults towards civilian ships within the Black Sea and lay blame on Ukraine for these assaults,” he stated.
Picture couldn’t be loaded
12:27 a.m. Russia’s Protection Ministry says it might take into account all ships touring to Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea as potential carriers of army cargoes from midnight on Thursday morning Moscow time, following the tip of the Black Sea grain deal, experiences Reuters.
In an announcement posted on the Telegram messenger app, the ministry stated that it was declaring southeastern and northwestern components of the Black Sea’s worldwide waters as unsafe for navigation, and that the flag states of ships touring to Ukrainian ports can be thought of events to the battle on the Ukrainian facet.
For earlier updates, click here.