Thursday, July 20, 2023
A third night of Russian air attacks has targeted Ukraine's southern cities, including the port city of Odessa. At least four people were killed, and 27 were injured, officials said.
Russian strikes destroyed several floors of a three-storey building and caused a fire that affected an area of 450 square metres and burned for hours.
Kim said two people were hospitalised, including a child.
In Odessa, at least two were injured following a Russian air attack that damaged buildings in the city centre and caused a fire affecting an area of 300 square meters, Odessa Governor Oleh Kiper said.
The attacks come one day after an intense Russian bombardment using drones and missiles damaged critical port infrastructure in Odessa, including grain and oil terminals. It destroyed at least 60,000 tonnes of grain.
More updates 👇
1627 GMT — Ukraine considers ships heading to Russia-controlled ports as 'potential military cargo carriers'
Ukraine has announced that it will consider ships either sailing to Russian ports or towards Ukrainian ports under Russian control in the Black Sea to be “potentially carrying military cargo,” following a similar decision by Russia a day earlier.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the decision will become effective as of Thursday midnight.
It also said navigation in the northeastern parts of the Black Sea as well as the Kerch-Yenikale Canal, was prohibited as it is dangerous.
“Relevant navigational information for mariners has already been published,” said the statement, which accused Russia of “brutally violating the universal right to free navigation for the whole world” and “deliberately undermining food security, condemning millions of people to starvation.”
1624 GMT — Ukraine to nationalise Sense Bank from its Russian owners
Ukraine's central bank has said it will nationalise Russian-owned Sense Bank, one of the country's top commercial banks, and put it under temporary administration.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) said in a statement on Thursday it decided to "withdraw from the market the systemically important" bank and submitted a proposal to the government on the state's participation in the process.
The "safe" transfer will not be noticeable to clients, NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyi said.
Sense Bank, with 3 million depositors, posted losses of 7 billion hryvnias ($189.75 million) in 2022, the central bank said.
1448 GMT —Russian bombs hit frontline Ukraine chemical plant
The Russian high-explosive bombs started falling around the frontline Ukrainian chemical plant about three months ago.
Sergiy Dmytrenko, a plant director, said workers had pulled out the most hazardous materials from the plant south of Bakhmut shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine 17 months ago.
But a fifth of the phenol and naphthalene extracted from the local coal tar still rested in the 106-year-old site's storage vats.
Phenol and naphthalene are toxic chemicals used in the production of everything from plastics and rubber to concrete.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that severe exposure to phenol can damage internal organs and cause convulsions.
0714 GMT — Teenage girl killed in Ukrainian drone strike on Crimea
A teenage girl has been killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on a settlement in Crimea in which four administrative buildings were damaged, the Russian-backed head of Crimea said.
Sergei Aksyonov, the official, said the strike took place in the northwestern part of the Black Sea peninsula where he said emergency and other services were working.
"Unfortunately, there were victims. A teenage girl was killed. I express my sincere and deep condolences to her family and friends. All necessary support will be provided to the family."
There was no immediate reaction to his assertion from Ukraine.
In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, a move widely viewed as illegal by the international community, including Türkiye and the UN General Assembly.
0644 GMT — Russia is causing a global food crisis with grain deal withdrawal: EU's Borrell
Russia is responsible for a major global food supply crisis, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said, some days after the Kremlin announced it would suspend an agreement for Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea.
"What we already know is that this is going to create a big and huge food crisis in the world...", Borrell told journalists before heading into a EU foreign ministers' meeting.
Borrell also accused Russia of deliberately attacking grain storage facilities in the southern port city of Odessa, which he said would further deepen the food crisis.
2244 GMT — US alleges Russia preparing to hit civilian ships in Black Sea
Russia is considering attacks on civilian ships carrying grain from Ukraine on the Black Sea and then seeking to put the blame on Ukrainian forces, a senior White House official has alleged, without giving evidence.
"The Russian military may expand their targeting of Ukrainian grain facilities to include attacks against civilian shipping," National Security Council spokesperson Adam Hodge told the AFP news agency.
Hodge cited "a coordinated effort to justify any attacks against civilian ships in the Black Sea and lay blame on Ukraine for these attacks."
2224 GMT — At least nine wounded in Russian strike on Mykolaiv: governor
At least nine people have been wounded and some killed by a Russian strike on the Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said, and authorities in Odesa also reported fresh strikes on the region.
A three-storey residential building was hit in the Mykolaiv city centre, Kim wrote on the Telegram messaging app. According to Odesa administration speaker Serhiy Bratchuk, two people were hospitalised after a strike on Odesa which damaged a building and caused a fire.
Another strike was reported outside the city, he wrote on Telegram.
For our live updates from Wednesday (July 19), click here.
