Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Russia has warned that from Thursday any ships traveling to Ukraine's Black Sea ports will be seen as possibly carrying military cargoes after Ukraine said it was setting up a temporary shipping route to try and continue its grain exports.

The moves by both countries came just days after Russia quit a deal - brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye - that allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain for the past year, and revoked its guarantees of safe navigation.

Russia's Defence Ministry then said it would deem all ships travelling to Ukraine to be potentially carrying military cargo and "the flag countries of such ships will be considered parties to the Ukrainian conflict".

In a statement on the Telegram messaging app, it said the move would start at midnight Moscow time (2100 GMT Wednesday).

More updates: 👇

1738 GMT - US announces additional $1.3 billion in military aid for Ukraine

The United States has announced additional security assistance of about $1.3 billion for Ukraine. The package includes air defense capabilities, drones and munitions.

"This announcement represents the beginning of a contracting process to provide additional priority capabilities to Ukraine," the Pentagon said in a statement.

The United States is using funds in its Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) programme, which allow President Joe Biden's administration to buy weapons from industry rather than pull from US weapons stocks.

The package includes four National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and munitions; 152 millimeter artillery rounds; mine clearing equipment; and drones, according to the Pentagon.

1730 GMT - USAID chief pledges $230M in new aid for Ukraine businesses

US Agency for International Development chief Samantha Power has pledged $230 million in new funding to help Ukraine's small and medium-sized businesses and boost the economy, hit by the war.

Speaking at Mykhailivska Square at the heart of the capital Kiev, she said that the aid package would include both technical assistance and also support to businesses that seek to grow and expand their operations.

"USAID is going to work with the US Congress to invest $230 million in new resources for Ukrainian businesses," she told media at the end of her three-day visit to Ukraine.

"This new commitment is just one of many that the United States has made to the Ukrainian people this week."

1609 GMT - Talks on repatriating Ukrainian children from Russia under way

Talks being mediated by Saudi Arabia and Türkiye on the repatriation of Ukrainian thousands of children taken to Russia since Moscow's offensive have been under way since at least April, a source with knowledge of the discussions has said.

The source confirmed a Financial Times report that Riyadh and Istanbul were trying to broker a deal to bring home children who have been have been taken to Russia and placed in children's homes or adopted by Russian families.

Ukraine has accused Russia of carrying out illegal deportations. Moscow, which controls parts of Ukraine's east and south, denies abducting children and says they have been transported away for their own safety.

1523 GMT - Kiev expects 'long and difficult' counteroffensive: presidency

A senior aide to Ukraine's president has told AFP that Kiev's counteroffensive launched last month to recapture territory under Russian control would likely be grinding.

Five weeks into Kiev's long-anticipated operation, much of the front appears to be frozen.

Presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak admitted progress was "slower than we want".

"Undoubtedly, this operation will be quite difficult, long and will take quite a lot of time," Podolyak said.

1506 GMT - Ukraine setting up temporary shipping route after Russia exit

Ukraine is setting up a temporary shipping route to maintain grain shipments after Russia quit a deal allowing Ukrainian exports via a UN-backed safe corridor in the Black Sea, Kiev said.

In an official letter letter dated July 18 submitted to UN shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Ukraine said it had "decided to establish on a temporary basis a recommended maritime route".

"Its goal is to facilitate the unblocking of international shipping in the north-western part of the Black Sea," Vasyl Shkurakov, Ukraine's acting minister for communities, territories and infrastructure development, said in the letter.

Ukraine added in the letter that it would establish shipping traffic routes close to the waters around Chornomorsk, Odessa, Pivdennyi, the three Ukrainian ports that were part of the corridor, leading up to the territorial waters and the exclusive maritime economic zone of Romania.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the Black Sea grain deal could continue without Russian participation, and Ukraine is working on options to keep its commitments on food supplies.

1505 GMT - Compromise with Russia will 'destroy' Ukrainian statehood: presidency

Any compromise with Russia to end the war in Ukraine would "destroy" Kiev's statehood as Moscow "hates" Ukraine and seeks to recreate the Soviet Union, presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak told AFP.

"For us a compromise does not exist because Russia hates us, it came to destroy the concept of the Ukrainian state," Podolyak said.

"A compromise would in one way or another lead to the slow loss of Ukraine and its statehood" and the "return of the Soviet Union," he added.

1438 GMT - Russia backs bill to arm National Guard with heavy weapons

Russian politicians have passed a bill that would allow the National Guard to deploy heavy weapons, including tanks, in the wake of a short-lived insurrection by mercenary group Wagner.

The National Guard was created by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2016 with the aim of warding off unrest and breaking up protests.

The force has since taken on a broader role, joining Moscow's offensive on Ukraine launched in February last year.

1358 GMT - IMF says Russia exit from grain deal risks adding to food inflation

The International Monetary Fund has said Russia's exit from a grain deal allowing Ukrainian exports via the Black Sea worsens the global food security outlook and risks adding to food inflation, especially for low-income countries.

An IMF spokesperson said the global lender would continue to carefully monitor ongoing developments in the region and their impact on global food insecurity.

"The discontinuation of the initiative impacts the food supply to countries that rely heavily on shipments from Ukraine, in particular in North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia," the fund said.

1337 GMT - Wagner Group will halt fighting in Ukraine: Prigozhin

Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has been shown in a video welcoming his Wagner fighters to Belarus and telling them they would for now take no further part in the Ukraine war.

In the video, the authenticity of which Reuters could not immediately verify, a man whose voice and Russian sounded like Prigozhin's is heard welcoming his men. The video was reposted by his press service on Telegram.

"Welcome lads... Welcome to Belarusian soil," Prigozhin said. The video was shot after night had fallen and it was only possible to discern what looked like Prigozhin's profile.

"We fought honourably," said Prigozhin. "You have done a great deal for Russia. What is going on at the front is a disgrace that we do not need to get involved in."

Prigozhin then tells his men to behave well towards the locals and orders them to train the Belarusian army and collect their strength for a "new journey to Africa."

1323 GMT - Russian attack damages Chornomorsk port grain infrastructure: Kiev

A Russian attack on the southern Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk has damaged grain export infrastructure and destroyed thousands of tonnes of stored grain, Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky said.

He put the amount of grain destroyed in the overnight air strike at 60,000 tonnes, and said the grain should have been loaded and shipped 60 days ago under a wartime deal meant to guarantee the safe passage of grain via the Black Sea, he said.

Ukraine said the Russian air strike was an intentional and deliberate attack on the grain terminals and port infrastructure after Moscow quit the year-old deal.

Solsky said that, according to experts, it would take at least a year to fully repair the damaged objects.

1311 GMT - Russia claims capturing railway station in Ukraine's Kharkiv region

The Russian Defence Ministry has claimed that Russian forces captured a railway hub in Ukraine's Kharkiv region used for the supply of weapons, ammunition and military personnel transportation.

Speaking at a press conference in Moscow, ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said another important military object, the Kanatovo air base, a reserve air base of the Ukrainian Air Force located in Kirovohrad Oblast, was hit with high-precision weapons.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy urged the West on Tuesday to supply Ukraine with more air defence systems.

1235 GMT - Russians against Ukraine war should spy for UK: MI6 chief

The head of Britain’s MI6 intelligence service has asked Russian nationals angry with the war in Ukraine to “join hands” with the United Kingdom to help end the bloodshed.

“I invite them to do what others have done this past 18 months and join hands with us. Our door is always open… Their secrets will be safe with us and together we will work to bring the bloodshed to an end,” MI6 chief Richard Moore told Politico at the British Embassy in Prague.

The interview took place in front of an audience at the embassy, where Moor publicly said that British spies are using artificial intelligence (AI) to curb the supply of weapons to Russia.

1139 GMT - Russia says has advanced in northeast Ukraine

Russia has said that its forces had advanced one kilometre along the frontline in Ukraine's northeastern region of Kharkiv.

"Over the last day, the advance of Russian units amounted to more than a kilometre in depth and up to two kilometres along the front. The advancing units captured the Molchanovo railway station in the Kharkiv region," the defence ministry said in a statement.

1135 GMT - Kremlin says it did not tell S.Africa that Putin arrest would mean war

Russia did not tell South Africa that arresting President Putin on an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) would mean "war", the Kremlin has said.

Shortly after the Kremlin's comments, South Africa said that Putin would not attend a summit of the BRICS group of nations in South Africa in August "by mutual agreement."

The ICC has accused Putin and his children's commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova of the war crime of deporting children from Ukraine to Russia, something Moscow rejects as false.

A local court submission published on Tuesday had shown that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had asked permission from the ICC not to arrest Putin in the context of the BRICS summit because to do so would amount to a declaration of war.

Speaking before South Africa said Putin would not be attending, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that everyone understood - without having it explained to them - what an attempt to infringe on Putin's rights would mean.

1132 GMT - South Africa says Putin agreed not to attend BRICS summit

Russian President Putin will not attend the summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies in South Africa in August "by mutual agreement", South Africa's presidency has said.

Russia will instead be represented by its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Johannesburg summit, alongside the leaders of Brazil, India, China and South Africa, the presidency said in a statement.

South Africa faced a dilemma in hosting the summit because, as a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), it would theoretically be required to arrest Putin for alleged war crimes if he were to attend.

The ICC in March issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

1118 GMT - Kremlin accuses West of turning blind eye to Ukrainian 'terrorist attacks'

The Kremlin has accused the West of turning a blind eye to what it said were "terrorist attacks" committed by Ukraine inside Russia, noting what it said was the silence this week over a deadly attack on the Crimean Bridge.

The mother and father of a 14-year-old girl were killed on Monday and the girl left wounded as they tried to cross the bridge to start a family holiday in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Moscow said Ukraine had used naval drones to attack the bridge, which links Russia to the Crimean Peninsula.

Kiev, which according to Ukrainian media reports was behind the attack but has not taken official responsibility, says Crimea is Ukrainian and that it intends to take it back by force as part of its drive to expel Russian troops from its territory.

1114 GMT - Putin briefed on fire at Crimea military site: Kremlin

Russian President Putin has been informed about a fire at a military site in Moscow-annexed Crimea that forced authorities to evacuate thousands of civilians, the Kremlin said.

"Of course, this is reported to the president. (Crimea's head Sergei) Aksyonov reacted very quickly. We know that there was a fire there," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

News of the blaze came two days after Ukraine used waterborne drones to attack the Kerch bridge, a key military supply artery from mainland Russia to annexed Crimea.

1013 GMT - Russia rejects reports of secret talks with US over Ukraine

Russia has rejected media reports that claimed Moscow and Washington held secret talks over Ukraine in April.

Speaking with the Russian Pervy TV channel, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denied reports circulating in the US media that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a meeting with former US officials to establish an informal communication channel.

She said these “fake” reports have been spread "intentionally" to sow discord in Russian society, adding that such information will keep appearing in the future.

0915 GMT - China prepares for naval drills with Russia

China has said it dispatched navy ships in preparation for joint exercises with Russia’s sea forces, in a sign of Beijing’s continuing support for Moscow.

The move comes despite the growing economic and humanitarian repercussions of the bloody 16 month-old air, sea and ground conflict in Ukraine.

China claims to be neutral in the conflict, but has accused the US and its allies of provoking Russia and has maintained robust economic, diplomatic and trade ties with Moscow.

0836 GMT - Russia intentionally strikes grain ports, Odessa: Ukraine

Russia intentionally struck grain terminals and port infrastructure in Odessa in its latest air strikes, a senior Ukrainian presidential adviser said onWednesday.

Political adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter that the attacks on Ukraine's main Black Sea port reflected Russia's attitude towards food security.

"The main objective is to destroy the possibility of shipping Ukrainian grain," he said

08:29 GMT - Central EU members to ask bloc to extend Ukrainian grain imports

Five Central European EU members will jointly ask the European Union to extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports beyond a deadline that expires on Sept. 15 to avoid major market disruption, Hungary's farm minister has told.

Heading for the meeting in Warsaw, Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy said at the airport that Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia will ask for the import ban to remain on Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds for now.

However, he said they would also discuss an option where countries could individually ask the EU to add products to the ban list.

0823 GMT -Moscow gives UN three months to implement its grain terms

Russia has said that unless the United Nations implemented the terms of a memorandum about Russian agricultural exports within three months, Moscow would not restart talks about a deal to allow Ukrainian exports through the Black Sea.

"The UN still has three months to achieve concrete results," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said. "If there are concrete results, we will return to the discussion of this (wider) issue."

0722 GMT - Ukraine says conducted 'successful operation' after Crimea fire

Ukraine has said its forces had carried out a successful operation in the Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula after authorities there said a fire at a military facility prompted mass civilian evacuations.

"A successful operation was conducted on occupied Crimea. The enemy is concealing the extent of the damage and the number of losses in manpower," Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence, said in a statement.

Russian-backed authorities on the Black Sea territory annexed by Russia in 2014 said the fire had broken out at a training ground and that 2,000 nearby civilians were being removed for safety.

They did not specify the cause of the blaze but Russian media reported blasts and showed images of columns of black smoke rising from the sky.

0604 GMT - Ukraine 'destroys' 37 of 63 Russian targets in overnight attack

Ukraine's air forces have said it downed 37 out of 63 targets in a vast Russian overnight missile and drone attack, including 23 suicide drones and 14 cruise missiles.

The air force said critical infrastructure and military facilities had been attacked in the nighttime strikes, and that the main target was Ukraine's southern Odessa region.

0419 GMT - Over 2,000 people to be evacuated from Crimea

More than 2,000 people from the area near the Kirovske military base in Crimea will be temporarily evacuated after a fire broke out at the base, Russian-backed Governor Sergei Aksyonov of Crimea said on the Telegram messaging app.

"It is planned to temporarily evacuate residents of four settlements - this is more than 2,000 people," Aksyonov said.

1955 GMT – Russia warns of Black Sea risks after grain deal exit

Russia has issued a veiled warning over the future of grain exports via the Black Sea after refusing to extend a key agreement allowing safe passage for cargo ships from Ukrainian ports.

The warning came hours after Ukraine said a Russian strike overnight had damaged facilities at the southern port of Odessa, one of the main transit hubs for grain under the pact.

"Without appropriate security guarantees, certain risks arise here [in the Black Sea]," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Were a new arrangement to allow for exports "formalised without Russia, then these risks should be taken into account", he said.

The Kremlin said it was exiting the deal, after months of complaining that elements of the agreement allowing the export of Russian food and fertilisers had not been honoured.

2336 GMT - Ukraine reports 'Russian strikes' in Odessa, Kiev

Russia has launched air attacks on Odessa for a second night in a row, but the key port will not be intimidated and will continue its work to export grains, Ukrainian officials said.

Air defence systems were also engaged in repelling a Russian attack on Kiev, the capital's military administration said on the Telegram channel. Reuters' witness reported hearing blasts and smoke rising near Kiev.

The Odessa region's governor, Oleh Kiper, said on social media that air defence systems were engaged in repelling the Russian air attack and urged residents of the region to stay in shelters.

The attacks on Odessa, one of Ukraine's main ports for exporting grain, followed a pledge of retaliation by Russia after a blast on a bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula on Monday that Moscow blamed on Ukraine.

"[They're] are trying to scare the whole world, especially those who want to work for the grain corridor ... Ukraine, Türkiye and the United Nations," Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Odessa military administration, said in a voice message on his Telegram channel.

All of the eastern parts of Ukraine was under air raid alerts, starting soon after midnight on Wednesday.

Pro-Kremlin military bloggers said that the strikes were "massive" and Moscow was using a combination of missiles and drones to attack Odessa and other regions.

For our live updates from Tuesday (July 18), click here.