The battle in Ukraine, which broke out in February 2022 with Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor, exhibits no signal of ending as either side intensify assaults to realize management of contested areas.
Learn our newest updates right here. For all our protection, go to our Ukraine war page.
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Word: Nikkei Asia determined in March 2022 to droop its reporting from Russia till additional info turns into accessible concerning the scope of the revised prison code. Entries embody materials from wire providers and different sources.
Listed below are the most recent developments:
Friday, Aug. 18 (Tokyo time)
5:28 a.m. Ukraine has acquired two IRIS-T air protection programs from Germany, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in an deal with, experiences Reuters.
Thursday, Aug. 17
4:18 p.m. Ukraine within the first half of August exported 820,000 tonnes of grain through its ports on the Danube River, which is presently its most important export route, experiences Reuters, citing the APK-Inform consultancy. Ukraine historically exports most of its grain utilizing its deep-water Black Sea ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv, nevertheless it was pressured to modify to the Danube after Russia pulled out of a U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal in mid-July.
5:00 a.m. Russian drones pounded grain storage amenities and ports alongside the Danube River that Ukraine has more and more relied on as a substitute transport path to Europe after Moscow broke off a key wartime delivery settlement utilizing the Black Sea. On the similar time, a loaded container ship stranded on the Black Sea port of Odesa since Russia’s full-scale invasion greater than 17 months in the past set sail alongside a short lived hall established by Ukraine for service provider delivery.
3:47 a.m. Sweden’s authorities says it had instructed the Nationwide Board of Commerce to discover whether or not an increase in exports to international locations bordering Russia was triggered by makes an attempt to avoid sanctions imposed over the battle in Ukraine, experiences Reuters.
Wednesday, Aug. 16
4:00 p.m. Russia’s exit from the Black Sea grain deal almost a month in the past is a shock for 345 million individuals who had been already going through extreme meals insecurity, the manager director of the World Meals Programme says in an interview.
Cindy McCain, who spoke with Nikkei Asia throughout a go to to Fiji and Australia, accuses Moscow of “utilizing meals as a weapon of battle.” Learn more.
9:30 a.m. Ukraine’s air drive says a big group of Russian military drones entered the mouth of the Danube River and headed towards the Izmail port throughout the river from Romania. Social media teams reported listening to air protection programs firing within the space close to two Danube ports — Izmail and Reni. Ukraine’s Danube ports accounted for round 1 / 4 of grain exports earlier than Russia pulled out of a U.N.-backed deal to supply protected passage for the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.
Tuesday, Aug. 15
6:05 p.m. Russian airstrikes hit two western areas of Ukraine bordering NATO member Poland and different areas, killing three individuals and wounding greater than a dozen, Ukrainian officers stated. Native media stated the assaults had been the biggest air assault on the Lviv area for the reason that Russian invasion in February 2022. The fatalities had been reported within the northwestern area of Volyn. Officers stated an industrial enterprise within the regional capital Lutsk was struck within the in a single day assault. A number of individuals had been additionally hospitalized, Gov. Yuriy Pohulyaiko stated.
5:51 p.m. Russia on Tuesday fined social media web site Reddit for the primary time for not deleting “banned content material” that it stated contained “faux” details about Russia’s army marketing campaign in Ukraine, RIA reported, citing a Moscow courtroom. Reddit joins an inventory of web sites underneath scrutiny in Russia for failing to take away content material that Moscow deems unlawful, together with Wikimedia, streaming service Twitch and Google. RIA stated the courtroom had fined Reddit 2 million rubles ($20,365). Reddit didn’t instantly reply to an emailed request for remark.
4:36 p.m. Russia’s central financial institution raised its key rate of interest by 350 foundation factors (3.50 proportion factors) to 12%, an emergency transfer to attempt to halt the ruble’s latest slide after a public name from the Kremlin for tighter financial coverage. The extraordinary price assembly got here after the ruble plummeted beneath the brink of 100 to the U.S. greenback on Monday, dragged down by the affect of Western sanctions on Russia’s stability of commerce and as army spending soars.
Monday, Aug. 14
11:56 p.m. The U.S. will ship Ukraine new safety help valued at $200 million, together with air protection munitions, artillery rounds, anti-armor capabilities and extra mine-clearing tools, Secretary of State Antony Blinken says in a press release.
11:20 p.m. The Financial institution of Russia will maintain an emergency assembly after the Russian forex touched an almost 17-month low of greater than 101 rubles to the greenback. The assembly “might be held to contemplate the difficulty of the important thing price degree,” the central financial institution says.
Russia’s current-account surplus is shrinking on a mix of falling crude oil costs and the affect of Western sanctions. A weakening ruble is placing upward strain on Russian shopper costs.
4:00 p.m. Chinese language Protection Minister Li Shangfu will go to Russia and Belarus from Aug. 14 to 19, the ministry says. Whereas in Russia, Li will attend a global safety assembly and make a speech there, in keeping with the ministry. He will even meet with leaders from Russia’s nationwide protection division. Throughout his go to to Belarus, Li will meet with the nation’s head of state and army. China and Russia have strengthened army ties, conducting joint patrols and army workout routines. He met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in April, vowing to strengthen army cooperation. In July, Li met with the top of Russia’s navy in Beijing.
1:30 p.m. At the very least three individuals had been wounded in two waves of Russian drone and missile assaults in a single day on the port metropolis of Odesa, an official and the army within the Ukrainian area on the Black Sea says. “Because of the enemy assault in Odesa, a number of fires broke out from falling rocket fragments,” the governor, Oleh Kiper, stated on the Telegram messaging app. “Home windows in buildings had been blown out by the blast wave.” Ukraine’s armed forces command within the south stated that its air protection forces destroyed all 15 drones and eight Kalibr-type sea-based missiles that Russia launched on the port.
5:00 a.m. A Russian warship on Sunday fired warning photographs at a cargo ship within the southwestern Black Sea because it made its manner north, the primary time Russia has fired on service provider delivery past Ukraine since exiting a landmark U.N.-brokered grain deal final month. In July, Russia halted participation within the Black Sea grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural produce through the Black Sea. Moscow stated it deemed all ships heading to Ukrainian waters to be probably carrying weapons. On Sunday, Russia stated in a press release that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired computerized weapons on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship’s captain failed to answer a request to halt for an inspection.
Sunday, Aug. 13
8:20 p.m. Russian air defenses have shot down not less than 4 Ukrainian drones over western areas of Russia, the Russian Protection Ministry says. Three had been downed over the Belgorod area and one other over the Kursk area, in keeping with the announcement.
6:30 p.m. A Russian warship fired warning photographs at a Palau-flagged dry-cargo ship on its technique to Ukraine within the southwestern Black Sea, Russia’s Protection Ministry says in a press release. This marks the primary time that Russia has fired on service provider delivery past Ukraine since exiting a landmark United Nations-brokered grain deal final month, Reuters experiences.
3:15 p.m. There may be “a sensible chance” that the Kremlin now not funds the Wagner mercenary group, the U.Ok.’s Protection Ministry says in its public every day intelligence replace on Ukraine. “If the Russian state now not pays Wagner, the second most believable paymasters are the Belarusian authorities,” it says.
Saturday, Aug. 12
2:00 p.m. Russian forces destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones launched onto the Crimean Peninsula early on Saturday, Russia’s Protection Ministry says. There have been no casualties and no injury because of the tried assault, the ministry stated on the Telegram messaging app. It stated 14 drones had been destroyed by air protection programs and 6 had been suppressed by digital warfare. It was not instantly clear what was focused within the reported assaults on the Russian-annexed peninsula.
9:00 a.m. Russia’s newest missile strikes, which killed a toddler in western Ukraine, represent “battle crimes and should not go unpunished,” France’s International Ministry says in a press release. “These assaults have as soon as once more focused civilian infrastructure, together with a residential zone, which is a flagrant violation of worldwide humanitarian rights,” the assertion reads. Moscow denies deliberately concentrating on civilians. Russia on Friday launched 4 hypersonic missiles into the western Ukrainian area of Ivano-Frankivsk. Three landed close to a army airfield.
12:50 a.m. The U.S. is imposing sanctions on 4 distinguished members of Russia’s monetary elite who’ve served on the supervisory board of the Alfa Group Consortium, one of many largest monetary and funding conglomerates in Russia, the State Division says.
The U.S. will proceed to take all acceptable motion to carry accountable those that allow and revenue from Russia’s battle in opposition to Ukraine, in keeping with the press assertion.
For earlier updates, click here.