Friday, August 4, 2023

2143 GMT — Ukrainian military officials have said that Kiev was persistently working to retake land near the shattered eastern city of Bakhmut while Russian forces were pouring in additional troops in a bid to stop Kiev's advances.

"The Russians are throwing huge numbers of forces into the Bakhmut area," Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar told national television.

"It has been important for us to establish ourselves on dominant heights in these areas."

Accounts from Moscow said Russian troops had repelled eight Ukrainian attempts to advance in the east and inflicted a defeat near Bakhmut.

Russia's Defence Ministry, in its daily synopsis of frontline activity, said Russian forces had made air and artillery strikes on Bakhmut's village Klishchiivka and surrounding towns, knocking out Ukrainian vehicles and equipment.

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1527 GMT — Russia says Poland 'prone' to escalating tensions on border with Belarus

Russia has pointed oddities in Warsaw's statements on the situation along Polish-Belarusian border, saying Poland is generally prone to escalate tensions.

"There are a lot of strange things there, in general Poles are prone to provoking situations, escalating tensions. This line is not new and has only been progressing in recent years," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a press briefing in Moscow.

Warsaw said two Belarusian helicopters violated the Polish airspace on Tuesday, a charge Belarus has denied.

It said it will deploy more troops at the border with Belarus, where thousands of Wagner fighters are said to be based following a short-lived mutiny against Moscow.

1504 GMT — Putin signs law on barring 'unfriendly' foreigners from owning stakes in Russian firms - RIA

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing for foreign investors from "unfriendly" countries to be barred from holding stakes in major Russian companies and banks, state news agency RIA said.

It said the government would draw up a list of Russian firms to be covered by the law, including all systemically important banks and firms above a certain size in terms of revenue, employees, assets, or taxes paid.

Under the law, the rights of foreign investors from unfriendly countries - meaning those that have imposed sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine - could be suspended, and their shares distributed proportionally among Russian owners.

1447 GMT — Global food prices rise after Russia ends grain deal

Global prices for food commodities like rice and vegetable oil have risen for the first time in months after Russia pulled out of a wartime agreement allowing Ukraine to ship grain to the world, and India restricted some of its rice exports, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly traded food commodities, increased 1.3 percent in July over June, driven by higher costs for rice and vegetable oil. It was the first uptick since April, when higher sugar prices bumped up the index slightly for the first time in a year.

Commodity prices have been falling since hitting record highs last year in the wake of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.

1410 GMT — Trump presidential rival Christie visits Ukraine, meets with Zelenskyy

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie has visited Ukraine and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he underscored strong US support for Kiev's fight against Russia.

Christie, once an ally of former President Donald Trump, is now challenging him for their party's 2024 presidential nomination - and drawing a stark contrast on Ukraine with the front-runner.

The former New Jersey governor met with Zelenskyy at the presidential palace after visiting a mass grave in Bucha, a site where Ukraine accuses Russian troops of having committed atrocities, and touring damage in Iprin.

Both towns were retaken by Ukrainian forces in 2022 as Russian invasion forces abandoned their attempt to seize Kiev, the capital. Christie also toured a child protection centre in Kiev.

1314 GMT — Date not yet set on Putin's next visit to Türkiye: President Erdogan

On the Russian president's upcoming visit to Türkiye, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the date has not yet been set, but talks continue and hopefully, Putin will visit in August.

"The date is not clear, but the foreign minister, head of the intelligence organisation, they are all holding talks,” Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers in Istanbul.

"Within the framework of these talks, I think that this visit will take place hopefully in August."

Erdogan’s remarks followed his Wednesday phone call with Putin, in which they agreed he would pay a visit to Türkiye in the coming days. Erdogan also told Putin that Türkiye will continue its “intense” efforts and diplomacy for resumption of the Black Sea grain deal.

1304 GMT — No explosives found on Zaporizhzhia reactor roofs after month-long wait: IAEA

The UN nuclear watchdog has been granted access to areas of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine a month after requesting it and has found no explosives, it said in a statement.

On July 4, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of planning to stage an attack on Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, where the International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly warned of potential catastrophe from nearby military clashes.

A small IAEA team based at the plant sought to verify the accusations. It issued updates in the following weeks to say that it had found no signs of explosives in the areas it had been able to visit, except mines outside the perimeter that appeared to pose no danger to the plant's safety.

1240 GMT — Poland arrests Belarusian on suspicion of spying for Russia

Poland has arrested a Belarusian man on suspicion of spying for Russia, the Polish interior minister said.

“Belarusian Mikhail A. was involved in reconnaissance of military facilities and ports. He also carried out propaganda activities for Russia,” Mariusz Kaminski said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Kaminski's press office said that in the past months, 15 suspected spies were arrested, according to the state-run PAP news agency.

1238 GMT — Lithuania declares more than 1,000 Belarusians and Russians to be national security risks

Lithuania has declared more than a thousand citizens of Russia and Belarus living in the country to be threats to national security and said it was stripping them of their permanent residency permits.

The decision comes after the government asked the Russians and Belarusians to answer a questionnaire that included questions about their views on Russia’s offensive in Ukraine and the status of Crimea, the Ukrainian territory which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

The Migration Department said that it had established that 1,164 Belarusian and Russian citizens residing in Lithuania posed a threat to national security, a decision that was based on an evaluation of public and non-public information.

It said 910 of those were Belarusian citizens and 254 Russian citizens.

1159 GMT — EU must convince Russia to resume participation in grain deal, says Borrell

The European Union must convince Russia to resume its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said in a tweet.

"Russia must stop to use food as a weapon," Borrell added, sharing a link to his guest op-ed published in British daily The Guardian on Thursday.

Borrell criticized Russia for its decision to pull out from the grain deal and for trying to deflect blame by claiming "that its own agricultural exports were not sufficiently facilitated."

1137 GMT — UN urged to help unblock Russian fertiliser stuck in Europe

Russian and seven African leaders have called on the UN to take necessary action to release 200,000 tonns of Russian fertiliser stuck on European seaports for immediate delivery to the world's second-largest continent.

In a joint statement, published on the Kremlin website, the presidents of Comoros, Congo, Egypt, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia "called for specific steps to remove obstacles to Russian grain and fertiliser exports, thus allowing the resumption of the full implementation of the Black Sea package initiative of the United Nations Secretary-General as endorsed on 22 July 2022 in Istanbul."

"The Leaders also called upon the United Nations to take necessary action in order to release 200 thousand tonnes of Russian fertiliser blocked in European Union seaports for immediate and free delivery to African countries," it said.

They also mentioned the African peace initiative, saying it will be continued "to open a door to peace."

1051 GMT — Ukraine says Russia planning 'false flag' attack at Belarus refinery

The Security Service of Ukraine has accused Russia of preparing to stage a "false flag" attack at the Mozyr oil refinery in Belarus in order to blame Ukrainian saboteurs as part of an effort to draw Minsk into the war in Ukraine.

The attack, it said in a statement on the Telegram app, would be carried out by military and intelligence forces sent by Moscow to Belarus disguised as Wagner mercenaries who were exiled after staging a mutiny in Russia in June.

"Russia plans to accuse Ukraine of what they have done in order to try once again to draw Minsk into the full-scale war against our state," it said in a statement, without providing evidence.

0809 GMT — Russian navy vessel damaged in drone attack: Ukrainian source

The Russian navy's Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship has been damaged during a sea drone attack conducted by Ukraine's SBU security agency and navy near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, a Ukrainian intelligence source said.

"As a result of the attack, the Olenegorsky Gornyak received a serious breach and currently cannot conduct its combat missions," the source told Reuters.

"All the Russian statements about a 'repelled attack' are fake," the source said.

Earlier, Russia's defence ministry said that the Ukrainian sea drones were destroyed by Russian warships.

Ukraine has repeatedly used sea drones packed with explosives to try to strike back at the Russian navy fleet that dominates the Black Sea and has allowed Moscow to prevent Ukraine exporting grain via its favoured export route.

0509 GMT — Signs China will attend Jeddah Ukraine talks, but unclear how: German official

There have been positive signals about some kind of Chinese participation in this weekend's Ukraine peace summit in Saudi Arabia, a German government official has said, adding that it was so far unclear exactly what form any participation would take.

The official said the aim of the conference, in which more than 30 countries would take part, was to "consolidate" peace plans on the table and find a common denominator between them, as well as to bring countries of the Global South into closer dialogue with Kiev.

China is seen as having a crucial role in any peace settlement because of Beijing's influence on Russia, whose attacks on Ukraine began in February 2022.

0245 GMT — Russian defence minister inspects combat zone in Ukraine: army

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has visited a combat zone in Ukraine to inspect a command post and meet senior military officers, the army said.

Shoigu got an update on the situation on the front and "thanked commanders and soldiers... for successful offensive operations" in Lyman in eastern Ukraine, it said, without mentioning when the visit took place.

Television images showed Shoigu in uniform listening to a report presented by General Andrey Mordvichev, the head of the Central Military Unit in Ukraine.

The minister was also shown getting on a Swedish CV90 - "one of the many armoured vehicles taken during fighting", the army statement said.

Shoigu last visited the front at the end of June after a failed rebellion by the Russian paramilitary group Wagner fighting along with Moscow's forces in Ukraine.

0251 GMT —Russia 'destroys' Ukraine's drones targeting Novorossiysk port

Ukrainian sea drones attacked a Russian navy base near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, a major hub for Russian exports, and were destroyed by Russian warships, Russia's defence ministry has said.

Social media users reported hearing explosions and gunfire near the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, one of the biggest ports in the Black Sea.

Videos posted in a local online community and circulated by Russian online news outlet Astra showed the movement of ships just off the coast with the sound of gunfire coming from the direction of the sea.

Separately, Russian air defences downed 10 Ukrainian drones over Crimea and suppressed three more with electronic countermeasures, TASS cited the Russian defence ministry as saying.

For our live updates from Thursday (August 3), click here.