Russia-Ukraine war – live: Putin’s forces pushed back around Bakhmut as Kyiv’s troops creep closer

Ukrainian troops are inching closer to the eastern city of Bakhmut, the scene for some of the fiercest fighting in the continuing invasion, officials in Kyiv said as their military is about to receive a consignment of 1,700 strike and reconnaissance drones to help with its counteroffensive.

Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said fierce fighting raged near the villages of Klishchiivka, Kurdyumivka and Andriivka on the southern flank of Bakhmut, a small city reduced to ruins in a bloody, months-long battle that gave Russian forces control of the area for now.

Despite steady Western military aid, Ukrainian military officials have said Russia still has an advantage in artillery, tanks and manpower.

Mykhailo Fedorov, a deputy prime minister, said 1,700 drones were on their way to the front lines to help the offensive.

This comes as Ukraine’s security service claimed responsibility for the first time on Wednesday for a sabotage operation that badly damaged the Russian-made Kerch Bridge linking occupied Crimea with Russia last October.

Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said his agency was behind the attack.

Key Points

• Putin’s forces pushed back around Bakhmut in Ukrainian counteroffensive

• Putin ‘looked paralysed and unable to act’ as Wagner coup unfolded

• Wagner gold smuggling critical to keeping Russia’s economy afloat, MPs say

• Kyiv security service claims responsibly for Crimea bridge blast

Putin’s forces pushed back around Bakhmut in Ukrainian counteroffensive

03:44 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian troops are appear to be creeping closer to the eastern city of Bakhmut, the scene for some of the fiercest fighting of the war – and the military is about to receive a consignment of 1,700 strike and reconnaissance drones to help with its counteroffensive.

Hanna Maliar, the deputy defence minister, said Kyiv’s troops were successfully attacking in the east on the flanks of occupied Bakhmut and also reported advances towards the southern, occupied cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk which is on the Sea of Azov

Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, holds swathes of territory in the south and east.

Read the full report here:

Putin’s forces pushed back around Bakhmut as Ukraine’s troops press on

Latest pictures from Ukraine

03:00 , Martha Mchardy

Wagner gold smuggling critical to keeping Russia’s economy afloat, MPs say

02:00 , Martha Mchardy

Russia’s economy is being kept afloat by “critical” gold-smuggling operations by the Wagner mercenary group led by its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, a parliamentary report has suggested.

The report by the foreign affairs committee said that Mr Prigozhin’s Wagner Group is smuggling “significant” quantities of the precious metal out of Sudan.

The private military company (PMC) has been simultaneously supporting Sudan’s RSF paramilitary group and its army forces since conflict erupted between the military factions in April, the committee said.

Oliver Pritchard-Jones reports:

Wagner gold smuggling critical to keeping Russia’s economy afloat, MPs say

Irish Government would not offer condolences to Russia after Putin’s death, says Taoiseach

01:00 , Martha Mchardy

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he does not think the Irish Government would offer condolences to Russia in the event of Vladimir Putin’s death.

Mr Varadkar said he did not believe an Irish delegation would be present at the Russian president’s funeral.

The Irish Government adhered to a strict policy of neutrality throughout the Second World War.

However, then-taoiseach and minister for external affairs Eamon de Valera sparked outrage among the international community when he expressed condolences to Germany’s Irish minister Eduard Hempel following Adolf Hitler’s death by suicide in 1945.

The event caused significant reputational damage to Mr de Valera and the state, and is regarded as an important moment in the history of Irish neutrality.

While Ireland insists it continues to employ a policy of neutrality, senior government ministers say this relates to being militarily neutral rather than being politically neutral.

Last week, Mr Varadkar pledged to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes when he visited Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

He also announced millions of euro in additional funding for humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Mr Varadkar was banned from travelling to Russia last year after the Kremlin said it was placing 52 “key representatives” from Ireland on a sanctions list for expressing what it claimed was Russophobic sentiment.

Watch: Ukrainian minister shows rows of drones ‘to protect the lives of our soldiers’

Thursday 27 July 2023 00:00 , Martha Mchardy

Lawmakers say the UK should ban Russia's Wagner as a terrorist group

Wednesday 26 July 2023 23:00 , Martha Mchardy

Britain has “underplayed and underestimated” the threat posed by the Russian Wagner mercenary group and should ban it as a terrorist organization, a powerful committee of U.K. lawmakers said Wednesday.

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said the sanctions imposed by Britain on Wagner are “underwhelming” and U.K. authorities have done little to track the private army’s activities beyond Ukraine, where it has fought as part of Russia’s invading forces.

“There are serious national security threats to the U.K. and its allies of allowing the network to continue to thrive,” said the committee, whose members come from both governing and opposition parties. It said Britain should “urgently proscribe the Wagner Network as a terrorist organization,” something the Conservative government has so far been unwilling to do.

Jill Lawless reports:

Lawmakers say the UK should ban Russia's Wagner as a terrorist group

Watch: Inside RAF fighter jet cockpit over Estonia as Russian invasion of Ukraine continues

Wednesday 26 July 2023 22:00 , Martha Mchardy

Biden orders US to share Russian war crimes evidence with ICC -official

Wednesday 26 July 2023 21:54 , Martha Mchardy

U.S. president Joe Biden has ordered his administration to begin sharing evidence of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine with the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), a U.S official said on Wednesday.

The Pentagon had been resistant to the move and privately argued that any cooperation with the court could open the way for politicized prosecution of American troops deployed overseas.

The ICC, a permanent war crimes tribunal, in March issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for suspected deportation of children from Ukraine, which would be a war crime.

The news was first reported by the New York Times, which said the Biden administration had started notifying lawmakers on Tuesday.

The White House declined to discuss specifics of any cooperation with the ICC.

“Since the beginning of Russia’s assault on Ukraine, the president has been clear: there needs to be accountability for the perpetrators and enablers of war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine,” a National Security Council spokesperson said.

“On the ICC specifically, we are not going to discuss the specifics on any cooperation, which is consistent with the court’s practice of treating requests for cooperation in a confidential manner,” the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson said the United States had previously sent teams of international investigators and prosecutors to help Ukraine’s Office of the prosecutor general in preparing war crimes cases.

Ukrainian and Western authorities say there is evidence of murders and executions, shelling of civilian infrastructure, forced deportations, child abductions, torture, sexual violence and illegal detention.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers have accused the Pentagon of effectively undermining war crimes prosecution of Russia by blocking the sharing of U.S. military intelligence with the ICC.

Russia is not a member of the ICC and rejects its jurisdiction. It denies committing atrocities during its conflict with Ukraine.

The United States is also not a member of the ICC.

Russia has issued an arrest warrant for the ICC prosecutor who in March prepared a warrant for Putin on war crimes charges.

A successful war crimes prosecution requires a high standard of proof, in a situation where access to suspects and crime scenes is often restricted and there is overlapping jurisdiction between national and international courts.

What was Trevor Reed accused of?

Wednesday 26 July 2023 21:30 , Martha Mchardy

Mr Reed was accused of grabbing the right arm of the driver in the police car, causing him to swerve dangerously into other lanes. He was also accused of “striking the officer in the back seat with his elbow as the officer tried to stop Trevor from grabbing the driver.”

In April 2021, Mr Reed was freed from nearly three years of imprisonment after he was swapped for a Russian drug trafficker in a prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow at the time.

Mr Reed was swapped in Turkey for Konstantin Yaroshenko, who had been serving a 20-year prison sentence in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy case.

Mr Yaroshenko was detained in Liberia in 2010 by the US and accused of smuggling cocaine and knowing that some of the drugs were intended for distribution in the US. Mr Yaroshenko was detained by Liberian authorities and later turned over to the US. Despite never visiting the US, Mr Yaroshenko was flown there to stand trial in 2011 where he was convicted.

At the time, The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the arrest, calling it a “kidnapping of a Russian national from a third country.”

US proposal for talks with Russia on keeping nuclear arms curbs in limbo

Wednesday 26 July 2023 21:19 , Martha Mchardy

The United States and Russia blamed each other for a lack of progress on arms control following a U.S. proposal to open talks on a “framework” that would preserve curbs on strategic nuclear weapons deployments when the current limits expire in 2026.

Russia’s apparent rejection of the plan last week and what several arms control experts say was a White House failure to formally convey it to Moscow have fueled concerns about whether there would be enough time to reach a new pact.

“There is no excuse that the administration has delayed for nearly two months the formal communication of this proposal to the Kremlin,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association (ACA) advocacy group.

Such complex negotiations would be “difficult in good times and extraordinarily difficult so long as Russia’s war on Ukraine continues,” he said.

U.S. president Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan unveiled the proposal in a June 2 speech to the ACA, announcing that the administration was ready for talks “without preconditions” with Moscow on managing “nuclear risks” and “a framework” to replace the New START treaty after it expires.

Sullivan said that any new limits to which Washington could agree would be “impacted by the size and scale” of China’s ongoing nuclear arsenal buildup.

Russia last Friday appeared to reject the U.S. proposal. The state-run TASS news agency quoted deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying that while Moscow studied Sullivan’s speech, Washington had not sent a formal written proposal.

“We are not ready to and will not conduct this dialogue based on what the Americans are now proposing as they ignore several points,” Ryabkov, Moscow’s top arms control negotiator, said according to TASS.

A U.S. National Security Council spokesperson said in an email that the United States “remains open to discussing nuclear risks and the future of arms control with Russia. Unfortunately the Russian side appears not to share this willingness.”

Asked whether the U.S. had delivered a formal proposal, the NSC spokesperson said Russia “was very clearly aware of Jake’s speech,” adding that the administration “privately” conveyed the proposal to Moscow, but he declined to elaborate.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair does not see big U.S. inflation impact from Ukraine grain deal suspension

Wednesday 26 July 2023 21:06 , Martha Mchardy

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the Fed is watching developments in grain markets closely after the suspension of Ukraine’s Black Sea grain shipment deal, but so far it does not see the suspension making a big contribution to U.S. inflation.

“Grain prices did go up on this news, but they remain well below their peaks of last spring, and the moves that we’ve seen so far I would say are not expected to make a significant contribution to U.S. inflation,” Powell told a news conference following the Fed’s policy meeting. “Of course, we will be watching that situation carefully.”

Powell said the cut-off of grain shipments from Ukraine does raise concerns about global food security, particularly for poorer countries that import much of their food.

Ukraine’s forces have achieved ‘very good results’ from the front line, says Zelensky

Wednesday 26 July 2023 21:05 , Martha Mchardy

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had achieved “very good results” on the front line, and he promised to provide details of their successes soon. “By the way, today our boys had very good results at the front,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “Good for them! Details will follow.”

Zelensky has repeatedly said the offensive launched by Ukrainian forces last month in Russian-occupied areas of the country’s east and southeast is going more slowly than he would like.

Who is Trevor Reed?

Wednesday 26 July 2023 21:00 , Martha Mchardy

Mr Reed is originally from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and spent his 20s in the US Marine Corps and eventually received an honourable discharge.

In 2016, Mr Reed began dating a young Russian woman called Alina, according to a website set up by his family to call for his release. In 2017, after his service, he then returned to college and began working toward a degree in International Studies at the University of North Texas, which required him to select a foreign language course.

Mr Reed selected Russian as a foreign language and was inspired to learn the language given that his girlfriend was also from Russia and he wanted to communicate with his girlfriend’s family.

In May 2019, Mr Reed travelled to Moscow to study Russian and spend the summer with his girlfriend. A week before his scheduled flight back to Texas, on 15 August 2019, Mr Reed reportedly attend a party with his girlfriend and her coworkers.

Russian police alleged that Mr Reed was detained by police in Moscow after leaving a car on a busy street while he was intoxicated. It was alleged that Mr Reed grabbed the arm of an officer while they were on the way to the police station, causing the police vehicle to swerve into another lane. A claim that Mr Reed’s lawyers disputed.

According to the website set up by Mr Reed’s family, Mr Reed apparently became “inebriated” due to the level of alcohol in his system that night.

Mr Reed reportedly became nauseated and wanted to get out of the vehicle. When the car stopped, he left the vehicle and started running around near a busy street in the early hours of 16 August.

His behaviour caused those with Mr Reed to call the police for assistance. The family’s website states that when the police arrived, they reported he was “in the condition of strong intoxication considering his shaky gait, rambling speech, and strong smell of alcohol. Mr Reed waved his hands, shouted incoherent words, and behaved inadequately”.

The police then took Mr Reed to the police station, where he was detained for the evening. His girlfriend was told to return in the morning to pick him up but when she returned, Mr Reed was being interviewed by the Russian Federal Security Services (FSB).

Ukraine counteroffensive is moving, US says while pledging support

Wednesday 26 July 2023 20:36 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine’s counteroffensive is “not a stalemate” even if it is not progressing fast enough, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday.

Kirby made the remarks when asked about the pace of Ukraine’s counteroffensive in a press briefing.

“President Zelensky himself has said that he that it’s not progressing as fast as he would like and they’re not moving as far every day as they would like. The United States is not going to take a position on that,” Kirby said.

He added: “That said they are moving, it’s not a stalemate. They’re not just frozen. The Ukrainians are moving.”

The White House national security spokesman said Washington would “make sure that they (Ukrainians) have the kinds of tools and capabilities they need to stay on the move.”

More than $43 billion in U.S. military aid has been provided since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022. The U.S. Department of Defense announced $400 million in additional security assistance for Ukraine earlier this week, including air defence missiles, armoured vehicles and small drones.

U.S. secretary of Ssate Antony Blinken said on Sunday that while Ukraine has recaptured half the territory that Russia initially seized in its invasion, the counteroffensive was in its early days and would take shape over “several months.”

Russian aircraft flew 'dangerously close' to US drone over Syria -White House

Wednesday 26 July 2023 20:33 , Martha Mchardy

A Russian aircraft flew “dangerously close” to a U.S. drone over Syria earlier this week in violation of established protocols and international norms, the White House said on Wednesday.

“We have seen the early reports of a second Russian fighter aircraft this week, flying dangerously close to our drone on a defeat ISIS mission,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in a press briefing.

The U.S. military said on Tuesday the Russian fighter jet hit the U.S. drone with a flare and “severely” damaged its propeller over Syria.

U.S. officials say that Russian jets have increased the pace of dangerous encounters with U.S. military aircraft in recent months over Syria, where forces from both countries operate.

Everything we know about Trevor Reed after his injury in Ukraine

Wednesday 26 July 2023 20:30 , Martha Mchardy

Former United States Marine Trevor Reed, who was released last year after being wrongfully detained in Russia for three years, has been injured in Ukraine, the State Department said on Tuesday.

A person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press that Mr Reed was wounded several weeks ago. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said he has now been taken to Germany for medical care.

Not much has been said about Mr Reed’s injury or presence in Ukraine. Mr Patel added: “As I indicated, we have been incredibly clear warning American citizens, American nationals, not to travel to Ukraine, let alone participate in the fighting.

Faiza Saqib reports:

Everything we know about former US Marine Trevor Reed after his injury in Ukraine

Ukraine’s deputy defence minister gives update from frontlines

Wednesday 26 July 2023 20:00 , Martha Mchardy

On the ground, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar reported “successes” in the southeast, including near Staromayorske, a village near a cluster of hamlets that Ukraine recaptured in the Donetsk region this summer.

“Battles continue near Staromayorske, our defenders have successes, they were gaining a foothold on the reached frontiers,” she said.

In the east, Ms Maliar said Ukrainian forces continued to repel Russian advances in the direction of Kupiansk and Lyman, which Ukraine liberated last year.

Fierce fighting raged, she said, near the villages of Klishchiivka, Kurdyumivka and Andriivka on the southern flank of Bakhmut, a small city reduced to ruins in a bloody, months-long battle that gave Russian forces control of the area for now.

Despite steady Western military aid, Ukrainian military officials have said Russia still has an advantage in artillery, tanks and manpower.

Watch: Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu reaches North Korea to join armistice celebrations

Wednesday 26 July 2023 19:30 , Martha Mchardy

Putin’s forces pushed back around Bakhmut as Ukraine’s troops press on

Wednesday 26 July 2023 19:00 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian troops are appear to be creeping closer to the eastern city of Bakhmut, the scene for some of the fiercest fighting of the war – and the military is about to receive a consignment of 1,700 strike and reconnaissance drones to help with its counteroffensive.

Hanna Maliar, the deputy defence minister, said Kyiv’s troops were successfully attacking in the east on the flanks of occupied Bakhmut and also reported advances towards the southern, occupied cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk which is on the Sea of Azov

Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, holds swathes of territory in the south and east.

Olena Harmash reports from Kyiv:

Putin’s forces pushed back around Bakhmut as Ukraine’s troops press on

Ukraine's allies commit $244 mln for humanitarian mine clearance - Kyiv

Wednesday 26 July 2023 18:30 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine’s allies have committed to allocating $244 million and providing special equipment for the purpose of humanitarian mine clearance, first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Tuesday.

“Our task is not only to demine the entire territory in order to save people’s lives, but also to speed up this process,” Svyrydenko, who is also the Ukrainian economy minister, said in a statement on the government’s website.

“This is a question of economic recovery, because the sooner we return potentially mined lands to circulation, the faster business will develop on them,” she said.

She said the donors included the United States, European Union, Japan, Germany, Britain, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada, Austria, Switzerland, Korea and the Howard Buffett Foundation.

Russia’s full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, has left swathes of Ukraine strewn with mines and dangerous war detritus.

The U.S. State Department estimated in early December that some 160,000 square kilometres (62,000 square miles) of Ukrainian land needed to be checked for explosives hazards. That is nearly half the size of Germany.

Humanitarian demining, according to the United Nations, refers to clearing “land so that civilians can return to their homes and their everyday routines without the threat of explosive hazards.”

Svyrydenko said Ukraine would receive by the end of the year 10 demining machines from Croatia’s DOK-ING engineering firm and another 10 from the Swiss-based Global Clearance Solutions.

International partners have also committed to supplying hundreds of metal detectors and pyrotechnic machines, as well as individual demining kits and gear.

There were also agreements with DOK-ING and the Danish HYDREMA machinery firm regarding locating production in Ukraine.

Russian missiles strikes attack three Ukrainian regions - air force

Wednesday 26 July 2023 18:04 , Martha Mchardy

Russia attacked the Ukrainian regions of Kyiv, Khmelnytskiy and Kyrovohrad with missiles on Wednesday, Ukraine’s air force spokesman said in televised comments after air raid sirens were sounded across the country.

“We have registered high-speed targets, probably also ballistic missiles, the enemy is using different weapons types,” air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said.

Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk, writing on Telegram, said anti-aircraft units had downed 36 targets - three Kalibr cruise missiles and 33 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles.

Ihnat said some missiles had travelled towards the city of Starokostiantyniv, the site of a Ukrainian military airfield. He said the missiles had taken a highly convoluted route, even making a 180-degree turn at one point.

Ukrainian air defences thwarted an earlier attack on Wednesday afternoon, shooting down two Kalibr cruise missiles over the central city of Vinnytsia that appeared to have been fired by a submarine in the Black Sea, the air force said.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that while Ukraine had recaptured half the territory that Russia initially seized, a Ukrainian counteroffensive was in its early days and would take shape over “several months.”

Kyiv security service claims responsibly for Crimea bridge blast

Wednesday 26 July 2023 17:43 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine’s security service claimed responsibility for the first time on Wednesday for a sabotage operation that badly damaged the Russian-made Kerch Bridge linking occupied Crimea with Russia last October.

Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said his agency was behind the attack, speaking in comments shown on television.

“There were many different operations, special operations. We’ll be able to speak about some of them publicly and aloud after the victory, we will not talk at all about others,” Malyuk said.

“It is one of our actions, namely the destruction of the Crimean bridge on Oct. 8 last year.”

The bridge was badly damaged in October in a powerful blast, with Russian officials saying the explosion was caused by a truck that blew up while crossing the bridge, killing three people.

The bridge was hit by a fresh attack this month, but Malyuk made no mention of who was behind that one.

The 19 km bridge is the only direct link between the transport network of Russia and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

The bridge was a flagship project for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who opened it for road traffic with great fanfare by driving a truck across in 2018.

It served as a crucial supply route for Russian forces after Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, sending forces from Crimea to seize parts of southern Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Nato says it’s boosting Black Sea surveillance and condemns Russian grain deal exit

Wednesday 26 July 2023 17:33 , Martha Mchardy

Nato said on Wednesday it was stepping up surveillance of the Black Sea region as it condemned Russia’s exit from a deal assuring the safe passage of ships carrying Ukrainian grain.

The announcement came after a meeting of the Nato-Ukraine Council, a body established earlier this month to coordinate cooperation between the Western military alliance and Kyiv.

“Allies and Ukraine strongly condemned Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea grain deal and its deliberate attempts to stop Ukraine’s agricultural exports on which hundreds of millions of people worldwide depend,” Nato said in a statement.

“Nato and Allies are stepping up surveillance and reconnaissance in the Black Sea region, including with maritime patrol aircraft and drones,” the statement said.

The deal that has allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine’s grain for the past year expired on July 17 after Russia quit in a move the United Nations said would “strike a blow to people in need everywhere.”

Moscow suggested it would consider reviving the deal if demands to improve exports of its own grain and fertilizer were met. The Nato statement criticized a Russian warning that parts of the Black Sea’s international waters were temporarily unsafe for navigation.

As part of that warning, Russia also declared that any ships travelling to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports would be seen as possibly carrying military cargoes.

“Allies noted that Russia’s new warning area in the Black Sea, within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, has created new risks for miscalculation and escalation, as well as serious impediments to freedom of navigation,” the Nato statement said.

Bulgaria is a member of Nato.

Nato also said it condemned recent Russian attacks on Odesa, Mykolaiv and other port cities, including a drone strike on a Ukrainian grain storage facility in the Danube port city of Reni, near the border with Nato-member Romania.

“We remain ready to defend every inch of Allied territory from any aggression,” Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said.

Ukrainian troops to receive 1,700 drones as they push back Putin’s forces

Wednesday 26 July 2023 16:35 , Laura Sharman

Ukraine’s military is about to receive 1,700 drones as its soldiers gradually advance in the south.

The consignment includes strike and reconnaissance drones to help with the country’s counteroffensive, officials said on Wednesday.

Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar reported advances towards the occupied cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk which is on the Sea of Azov.

She said Kyiv’s troops were also successfully attacking in the east on the flanks of occupied Bakhmut.

Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, holds swathes of territory in the south and east.

Ukraine launched a big push to recapture land this summer, but progress has been slow against entrenched Russian positions.

Russia expands air attacks on Ukrainian grain targets

Wednesday 26 July 2023 16:20 , Laura Sharman

Russia has expanded its air attacks on Ukrainian grain targets in recent days.

It comes after the Kremlin quitted a 2022 deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that had allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain for the past year.

The United States and several European countries have urged China to use its influence over Russia to seek an end to the war in Ukraine.

Earlier this year, China published a 12-point peace plan, calling for the protection of civilians and the sovereignty of all countries to be respected.

Putin welcomes African leaders as Russia seeks allies in Ukraine war

Wednesday 26 July 2023 15:50 , Laura Sharman

Leaders from Africa have arrived in Russia for a summit with president Vladimir Putin as he seeks more allies in the Ukraine war.

Africa’s 54 nations make up the largest voting bloc at the United Nations and have been more divided than any other region on General Assembly resolutions criticising Russia‘s actions in Ukraine. Putin has billed his two-day summit as a major event that will help bolster ties with a continent of 1.3 billion people that is increasingly assertive on the global stage.Today, he is set to hold meetings with the leaders of Egypt and Ethiopia ahead of the summit in St Petersburg on Thursday.

It’s the second Russia-Africa summit since 2019 which welcomed 43 heads of state.

However, the number of those attending this year shrank to 17 because of what the Kremlin describes as a crude Western pressure to discourage African nations from going.

Russia and Belarus not invited to 2024 Olympics

Wednesday 26 July 2023 15:32 , Laura Sharman

Russia and Belarus have not been invited to the 2024 Olympic games.

A year to the day until the games in Paris, the International Olympic Committee sent formal invites to the world’s nations, excluding Russia and its ally Belarus.

Turkey and China meet to discuss latest situation in Ukraine

Wednesday 26 July 2023 15:15 , Laura Sharman

The Turkish Foreign Minister and his newly appointed Chinese counterpart are discussing the latest situation in Ukraine.

Hakan Fidan and Wang Yi met in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday to discuss the war among other issues, according to a source at the Turkish foreign ministry.

China named veteran diplomat Wang as its new foreign minister on Tuesday, removing Qin Gang after a one-month absence from duties barely half a year into the job.

EU bans export of aircraft engines to Belarus in new sanctions

Wednesday 26 July 2023 14:40 , Laura Sharman

The European Union has agreed to ban exports of battlefield equipment and aviation parts to Belarus.

The decision forms part of expanding sanctions on the Kremlin ally for its involvement in Russia‘s war against Ukraine.

Spain, the current holder of the EU’s rotating chairmanship, said the new sanctions were a response to “the situation in Belarus and the involvement of Belarus in the Russian aggression against Ukraine” in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

In another post, Lithuania’s EU ambassador, Arnoldas Pranckevicius, said that the embargo covered “dual use battlefield and aviation goods”, as well as a blacklist of individuals.

The decision must still be finalised and will take effect if none of the bloc’s 27 member states raise last-minute objections by Friday.

A draft of the decision, which is dated June 24 and was seen by Reuters, named aircraft engines and their parts among exports under the new sanctions that extend to Belarus more of the trade curbs the EU has in place against Russia.

Moldova cuts Russian embassy staff over 'hostile actions'

Wednesday 26 July 2023 14:15 , Laura Sharman

Moldova is dramatically cutting the number of diplomats Russia can have in its capital Chisinau.

The country cited years of “hostile actions” by Moscow and a media report about a possible spying kit installed on the embassy’s rooftop when it announced the decision on Wednesday.

Relations between Russia and Moldova, once part of the Soviet Union, have reached new lows after President Maia Sandu strongly condemned Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Moldova’s foreign minister Nicu Popescu said: “We agreed on the need to limit the number of accredited diplomats from Russia so that there are fewer people trying to destabilize the Republic of Moldova.”

Embassy personnel will be cut from more than 80 to just 25, the foreign ministry said, bringing Russia‘s embassy in line with Moldova’s diplomatic mission in Moscow.

Russia should implement the decision by August 15, it said.

“For many years we have been the object of hostile Russian actions and policies. Many of them were made through the embassy,” Popescu added.

Ukrainian probe into lawmaker suspected of taking criminal luxury holiday in the Maldives

Wednesday 26 July 2023 13:49 , Laura Sharman

Ukrainian prosecutors have opened a criminal case into a lawmaker suspected of taking a luxury holiday in the Maldives in breach of a wartime ban on private travel abroad, the general prosecutor’s office said.

Private trips abroad by officials have been banned since January, while most Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are also barred from leaving the country.

This is under a martial law that was introduced when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The investigation found the lawmaker had travelled to Poland for three days on a business trip and later taken sick leave.

But during this time, the prosecution said he was actually in the Maldives with his family.

The lawmaker stayed in a hotel on the private island of Ithaafushi in Maldives in mid-July, according to the State Bureau of Investigation which is running the investigation with Ukraine’s Security Service.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeared to allude directly to the case in his nightly speech on Tuesday, in which he railed against corruption and officials who shirk their responsibilities during the war.

On their own front line: Ukraine’s surgeons treat waves of soldiers

Wednesday 26 July 2023 12:28 , Laura Sharman

A hospital in Ukraine has been met with a procession of stretchers bearing limp bodies whisked from the front line.

Soldiers have been arriving with greater frequency with bandaged limbs, blackened faces and expressions frozen in shock.

This surge coincides with the major counteroffensive Ukraine launched in June to try to recapture its land - with nearly one-fifth now under Russian control.

Evacuated from trenches in the east, forests in the north and the open fields of the south, wounded troops begin appearing at the Mechnikov Hospital in late afternoon.

Dozens more are in desperate need of surgery and wheeled in before the sun rises the next day.Surgeons at Mechnikov are busier now than at any other time since Vladimir Putin began his full-scale invasion 17 months ago, according to doctors at the hospital.

Russian court jails cyber security chief for treason

Wednesday 26 July 2023 11:58 , Laura Sharman

A top cyber security executive has been convicted of treason and jailed for 14 years in Russia.

Ilya Sachkov was sentenced by a Russian court on Wednesday.

The case centred on allegations that he had passed classified information to foreign spies, the state news agency TASS reported.

Sachkov, who denied wrongdoing, helped found Group-IB, once one of the most prominent cybersecurity firms in Russia.

Earlier this year, the company announced it had cut ties with its original market.

Pictures show Russian minister saluting North Korea’s past leaders

Wednesday 26 July 2023 10:38 , Laura Sharman

Russia’s defence minister visited the statues of the late North Korean leaders in North Korea on Wednesday.

Pictures show Sergei Shoigu saluting the 74ft tall bronze statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in the Pyongyang capital.

He was among several Russian officials photographed huddling under umbrellas at Mansu Hill which plays host to a total 229 figures commemorating the history of North Korea.

Russia plans to strengthen ties with North Korea’s defence ministries

Wednesday 26 July 2023 10:18 , Laura Sharman

Russia’s defence minister has announced plans to strengthen the Kremlin’s cooperation with North Korea.

Sergei Shoigu said he aims to work more closely with North Korea’s defence ministry after holding talks with his counterpart Kang Sun Nam.

Shoigu was greeted by the North Korean defence minister at Pyongyan Sunan International Airport on Tuesday.

Photos show hundreds of uniformed soldiers from the Korean People’s Army lining the airport and holding signs to welcome the Russians.

Moscow has sent government delegations to the North Korean capital this week for events marking the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted fighting in the 1950 to 53 Korean War.

Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet vows to return to the West despite cultural boycott

Wednesday 26 July 2023 09:37 , Laura Sharman

The artistic director of Moscow’s state-owned Bolshoi Ballet has vowed that his company will eventually perform in the West again, having been subject to a cultural boycott since Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine.

In its first international tour since the pandemic, the storied ballet company performed at Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts on Tuesday.

Speaking in Beijing on the eve of the performance, artistic director Makhar Vaziev, 62, insisted the troupe was “not suffering” from being unable to perform in the West.

“I have no doubt that one day everything will go back to how it should be because culture is a wave that is very hard to suppress,” he added.

“Many governments have banned cultural figures from Russia...but we are still talking to the same people we talked to in the past.”

The Bolshoi’s dancers hope their performances will herald a return to the global stage for the crown jewel of Russian culture, which toured the world even in the most tense days of the Cold War.

But the company only has two further confirmed international stops so far: the Belarusian capital Minsk in November, and Oman in January 2024.

Putin invited to visit China and plans to go in October

Wednesday 26 July 2023 09:12 , Laura Sharman

Vladimir Putin has been invited to visit China, according to a foreign policy adviser at the Kremlin.

The Russian president plans to travel to the country in October when the One Belt One Road forum will take place, Yury Ushakov said.

It comes after China’s foreign minister Wang Yi announced the country is open to working with Russia as well as Brazil, India, and South Africa on “more practical cooperation” when it comes to the challenges of international secnrutiy.

Greek politician urges government to seek help from Russia to fight wildfires

Wednesday 26 July 2023 08:39 , Laura Sharman

A former Greek defence minister has urged the Greek government to seek help from Russia to fight the devastating wildfires.

Panos Kamennos claims it is impossible to cope with the ravaging fires without the support of the Russian Be-200 amphibious aircraft.

“Without Beriev, nothing happens. Let’s bow out heads and ask for help now. We will be given...” he said in a social media post.

North Korea to welcome Russia with military display after pandemic isolation

Wednesday 26 July 2023 08:28 , Laura Sharman

After years of pandemic isolation, North Korea has invited its friends back this week, hosting senior Russian delegations for 70th anniversary commemorations of the Korean War and the struggle against the United States and its allies.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu is expected to be presented with one of North Korea’s signature events: a massive military parade showcasing its latest weaponry.

Chinese officials have also been invited to the event.

Analysts say the spectacle will likely include the North’s nuclear-tipped missiles banned by the United Nations Security Council, where Russia and China are permanent members.

The visits are the first known foreign delegations to visit North Korea since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

North Korea’s capital Pyongyang has looked to deepen its ties with Beijing and Moscow, finding common ground in their rivalries with Washington and the West.

Thursday’s holiday, in which North Korea celebrates what it sees as a victory over US-led allied forces in the 1950 to 1953 Korean War, provides a chance for Pyongyang to highlight the Cold War days when North Korean troops fought with Chinese and Russian support.

Ukraine’s allies commit $244m for humanitarian demining, says official

Wednesday 26 July 2023 07:46 , Arpan Rai

Ukraine’s allies have committed to allocate $244m (£189m) in addition to special equipment for the country’s humanitarian demining needs, first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.

“Our task is not only to demine the entire territory in order to save people’s lives, but also to speed up this process,” Ms Svyrydenko, who is also economy minister, said in a statement on the government’s website.

“This is a question of economic recovery, because the sooner we return potentially mined lands to circulation, the faster business will develop on them,” the official said.

Russia left large areas of land filled with mines after it halted its initial full-scale invasion in Ukraine in the first half of last year and moved its forces to the east.

Ukraine’s international partners Japan, Canada, Korea, Switzerland, Lithuania, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme, and others have committed to hundreds of metal detectors and pyrotechnic machines, as well as individual demining kits and gear.

Increasing violence in Black Sea amid war expected, says UK MoD

Wednesday 26 July 2023 07:20 , Arpan Rai

The British Ministry of Defence has said that Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has altered its posture since Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI), in preparedness to enforce a blockade on Ukraine.

“The modern corvette SERGEY KOTOV, has deployed to the southern Black Sea, patrolling the shipping lane between the Bosphorus and Odesa. There is a realistic possibility that it will form part of a task group to intercept commercial vessels Russia believes are heading to Ukraine,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update.

It added that the grain initiative has moderated the involvement of the Black Sea in the war. “There is now the potential for the intensity and scope of violence in the area to increase,” the ministry said.

Wave of wounded soldiers reaching Ukrainian surgeons since counteroffensive began

Wednesday 26 July 2023 06:48 , Arpan Rai

Wounded soldiers being evacuated from trenches in the east, forests in the north and the open fields of the south begin showing up at the Mechnikov Hospital in late afternoon. They are followed by dozens more in desperate need of surgery who are wheeled in before the sun rises the next day.This massive spike in the count of wounded soldiers coincides with the major counteroffensive Ukraine launched in June to try to recapture its land, nearly one-fifth of which is now under Russian control.

Surgeons at Mechnikov are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia began its full-scale invasion 17 months ago, according to doctors at the hospital, who declined to be more specific, reports Associated Press.In a war where casualty counts are treated as state secrets, the hospital — one of Ukraine‘s biggest — serves as a measurement of distant battles. When they intensify, so does the doctors’ workload, which these days consists of 50 to 100 surgeries per night.“Here, we see the worst of the front line,” Dr Serhii Ryzhenko, the hospital’s 59-year-old chief doctor, says with a weary smile. “We have 50 operating rooms, and it’s not enough.”

Blinken defends latest tranche of Ukraine aid: ‘Russia could end this war at any time'

Wednesday 26 July 2023 06:16 , Arpan Rai

Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarked on the latest military aid announcement for Ukraine by the US, defending the assistance in the continuing war as an act of solidarity with Kyiv.

“Russia could end this war at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine and stopping its brutal attacks against Ukraine‘s cities and people. Until it does, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine, for as long as it takes,” Mr Blinken said in a statement.

The attacks from Russia on Ukraine ports and Ukrainian infrastructure have shot up after Vladimir Putin withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative last week.

Russia, whose 16-month full-scale invasion of Ukraine has caused deaths of thousands and the displacement of millions of civilians, denounced the new US package.

“The actions by Washington... are beyond morality and common sense,” Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov said in a post on the embassy’s Telegram channel.

US to deliver Black Hornet spy drone for Ukraine in fresh military aid

Wednesday 26 July 2023 05:53 , Arpan Rai

The US Department of Defence has announced $400m (£310m) in additional security assistance for Ukraine and will deliver air defence missiles, armoured vehicles and small drones.

The new aid package will for the first time include US-furnished Black Hornet surveillance drones, made by Teledyne FLIR Defence.

The Norwegian-built Hornet is being used in Ukraine through donations by the British and Norwegian governments, the company said. FLIR Unmanned Aerial Systems was awarded a $93m (£72m) contract in April to provide the small reconnaissance drones to the US army.

In addition, the weapons aid package includes munitions for Patriot air defence systems and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), Stinger anti-aircraft systems, more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Stryker Armoured Personnel Carriers and a variety of other missiles and rockets.

Wagner gold smuggling critical to keeping Russia’s economy afloat, MPs say

Wednesday 26 July 2023 05:00 , Arpan Rai

A UK parliamentary report has suggested Russia’s economy is being kept afloat by “critical” gold-smuggling operations by the Wagner mercenary group led by its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The report by the foreign affairs committee said that Mr Prigozhin’s Wagner Group is smuggling “significant” quantities of the precious metal out of Sudan.

The private military company (PMC) has been simultaneously supporting Sudan’s RSF paramilitary group and its army forces since conflict erupted between the military factions in April, the committee said.

The panel has called on Wagner to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation, and said its activities in Sudan were “mainly” non-combat.

Wagner gold smuggling critical to keeping Russia’s economy afloat, MPs say

Ban Russia’s Wagner as a terrorist group, say UK lawmakers

Wednesday 26 July 2023 04:05 , Arpan Rai

Britain has “underplayed and underestimated” the threat posed by the Russian Wagner mercenary group and should ban it as a terrorist organisation, a powerful committee of UK lawmakers have appealed.

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said the sanctions imposed by Britain on Wagner are “underwhelming” and UK authorities have done little to track the private army’s activities beyond Ukraine, where it has fought as part of Russia’s invading forces.

“There are serious national security threats to the UK and its allies of allowing the network to continue to thrive,” said the committee, whose members come from both governing and opposition parties.

It said Britain should “urgently proscribe the Wagner Network as a terrorist organisation,” something the Conservative government has so far been unwilling to do.

Read the full story here:

Lawmakers say the UK should ban Russia's Wagner as a terrorist group

Trevor Reed, US Marine freed from Russia in prisoner swap, injured fighting in Ukraine

Wednesday 26 July 2023 04:00 , Martha Mchardy

Trevor Reed, a former US Marine freed from a Russian prison last year, was injured while fighting as an international volunteer in Ukraine, according to US officials.

A pair of defence sources told The Messenger that Mr Reed, who came back to the US in a high-profile prisoner swap in April 2022, stepped on a land mine in Ukraine and was not in the country acting on behalf of the US government in any way.

“Since the beginning of the war, we have warned that US citizens who travel to Ukraine, especially with the purpose of participating in fighting there, that they face significant risks, including the very real risk of capture or death,” one of the officials said.

Trevor Reed, US Marine freed from Russian prison, injured fighting in Ukraine

Putin ‘looked paralysed and unable to act’ as Wagner coup unfolded

Wednesday 26 July 2023 03:45 , Arpan Rai

Vladimir Putin was reportedly left “paralysed” when the Wagner coup began and no orders were given that day.

The mercenary group launched its short-lived mutiny on 24 June, driving its forces towards the Kremlin and preaching open rebellion against Russia’s military leadership – only to abandon its mission just hours later.

Now, security officials from Ukraine and other parts of Europe have spoken out, claiming the Russian president was unable to act when he first heard the news.

According to intelligence assessments shared with the Washington Post, Mr Putin got a warning from Russian security services that the leader of the Wagner Group Yevgeniy Prigozhin was possibly planning a rebellion, two or three days before it began.

Putin ‘looked paralyzed and unable to act’ as Wagner coup unfolded

Today in pictures

Wednesday 26 July 2023 03:00 , Martha Mchardy

Putin ‘looked paralyzed and unable to act’ as Wagner coup unfolded

Wednesday 26 July 2023 02:00 , Martha Mchardy

Vladimir Putin was reportedly left “paralysed” when the Wagner coup began and no orders were given that day.

The mercenary group launched its short-lived mutiny on 24 June, driving its forces towards the Kremlin and preaching open rebellion against Russia’s military leadership – only to abandon its mission just hours later.

Now, security officials from Ukraine and other parts of Europe have spoken out, claiming the Russian president was unable to act when he first heard the news.

According to intelligence assessments shared with the Washington Post, Mr Putin got a warning from Russian security services that the leader of the Wagner Group Yevgeniy Prigozhin was possibly planning a rebellion, two or three days before it began.

Lucy Skoulding reports:

Putin ‘looked paralyzed and unable to act’ as Wagner coup unfolded

EU agriculture ministers meet to discuss vital Ukraine grain exports after Russia nixed deal

Wednesday 26 July 2023 01:00 , Martha Mchardy

European Union agriculture ministers met Tuesday to discuss ways of moving grain vital to global food security out of Ukraine after Russia halted a deal that allowed the exports. At the same time, they want to protect prices for farmers in countries bordering the war-ravaged nation.

The ministers met in Brussels for the first time since Russia pulled the plug last week on the wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, where hunger is a growing threat and high food prices have pushed more people into poverty.

The deal provided guarantees that ships would not be attacked when entering and leaving Ukrainian ports, while a separate agreement facilitated the movement of Russian food and fertilizer.

Read the full story:

EU agriculture ministers meet to discuss vital Ukraine grain exports after Russia nixed deal

Anger grows in Ukraine's port city of Odesa after Russian bombardment hits beloved historic sites

Wednesday 26 July 2023 00:00 , Martha Mchardy

Tetiana Khlapova’s hand trembled as she recorded the wreckage of Odesa’s devastated Transfiguration Cathedral on her cellphone and cursed Russia, her native land.

Khlapova was raised in Ukraine and had always dreamed of living in the seaside city. But not as the war refugee that she has become.

In only a week, Russia has fired dozens of missiles and drones at the Odesa region. None struck quite as deeply as the one that destroyed the cathedral, which stands at the heart of the city’s romantic, notorious past and its deep roots in both Ukrainian and Russian culture.

“I am a refugee from Kharkiv. I endured that hell and came to sunny Odesa, the pearl, the heart of our Ukraine,” said Khlapova, who has lived in the country for 40 of her 50 years.

Her neck still has a shrapnel scar from the third day of the war, when her apartment was hit. On Day 4, she fled to Odesa.

Read the full story:

Anger grows in Ukraine's port city of Odesa after Russian bombardment hits beloved historic sites

Unilever chose ‘least bad’ option by staying in Russia, boss says

Tuesday 25 July 2023 23:00 , Martha Mchardy

The boss Unilever has insisted that the company chose the “least bad” option by staying in Russia days after the consumer goods giant admitted it would allow its Russian staff to fight in Ukraine if they were called up.

The business, which is behind dozens of brands including Ben & Jerry’s, Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, was earlier this month named as an “international sponsor of war” by Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention.

On a call with reporters on Tuesday, chief executive Hein Schumacher said that Unilever was guided by two main principles in how it runs its Russia business.

August Graham reports:

Unilever chose ‘least bad’ option by staying in Russia, boss says

Russia declares independent TV channel 'undesirable,' banning it from country

Tuesday 25 July 2023 22:00 , Martha Mchardy

The Russian prosecutor-general’s office on Tuesday declared independent TV channel Dozhd to be an undesirable organization, continuing the country’s wide crackdown on news media and groups regarded as threats to Russia’s security.

The designation outlaws Dozhd from operating in Russia and exposes its journalists, staff and donors to potential criminal charges.

Dozhd, which is often critical of the Kremlin, closed its operations in Russia soon after the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, moving first to Latvia and then to the Netherlands. The prosecutor-general’s office said Dozhd had spread extremist material and discredited authorities.

Read the full story:

Russia declares independent TV channel 'undesirable,' banning it from country

Estonian-based fighter jet pilots focused despite Ukraine war – RAF commander

Tuesday 25 July 2023 21:00 , Martha Mchardy

Pilots flying fighter jets in Estonia are “very well placed” to deal with threats in the Baltic Sea despite the Russian war in Ukraine, an RAF Lossiemouth wing commander has said.

British military personnel have been deployed at the eastern European country’s Amari airbase since March to uphold security in the region as part of Nato’s Baltic air police mission.

The mission, known as Operation Azotize, began in March 2023 and is the second deployment in the region since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Read the full story:

Estonian-based fighter jet pilots focused despite Ukraine war – RAF commander

Watch: Russian fighter jet damages US drone with flares over Syria

Tuesday 25 July 2023 20:15 , Martha Mchardy

Russian military delegation to join Chinese in North Korea visit

Tuesday 25 July 2023 19:51 , Martha Mchardy

A Russian delegation led by defence minister Sergei Shoigu will visit North Korea this week, Shoigu’s ministry announced on Tuesday, joining a Chinese group as the first such public visitors to the country since the start of the pandemic.

The delegations will visit to celebrate the 70th anniversary of “Victory Day” on Thursday in Pyongyang, state media agency KCNA reported, with Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong leading the group from his country.

Russia’s Defence Ministry, whose delegation will visit from Tuesday to Thursday, said it had been invited by its North Korean counterpart and would attend the Victory Day events.

“This visit will contribute to strengthening Russian-North Korean military ties and will be an important stage in the development of cooperation between the two countries,” the ministry said in a statement.

North Korea closed its border in early 2020 to all trade and diplomatic exchanges, even with its main economic and political partners China and Russia. The state media report did not say whether the visits would mark any change in policy.

The anniversary events are expected to include a major military parade in North Korea’s capital.

Marine veteran freed from Russia in 2022 prisoner swap is injured while fighting in Ukraine, US says

Tuesday 25 July 2023 19:15 , Martha Mchardy

A former U.S. Marine who was released from Russia in a prisoner swap last year has been injured while fighting in Ukraine, the State Department and a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

Trevor Reed was injured several weeks ago, according to the person, who was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said Reed was taken to Germany for medical care. He said Reed was not acting on behalf of the U.S. government.

Reed was released from Russian custody in a prisoner swap last year in exchange for a Russian pilot imprisoned in the U.S. for a drug trafficking conspiracy.

US announces $400 mln in security aid for Ukraine

Tuesday 25 July 2023 18:45 , Martha Mchardy

The United States will provide up to $400 mln in additional security assistance for Ukraine, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday.

The new aid will include air defence munitions, armoured vehicles and anti-armour weapons, it said in a statement.

Putin passes law banning Russians from changing gender in latest blow to LGBT+ communit

Tuesday 25 July 2023 18:30 , Martha Mchardy

Vladimir Putin has signed a new controversial legislation banning surgical gender reassignment in Russia in yet another blow to the country’s LGBT+ population.

Crackdowns against the LGBT+ community and gender minorities in the country have only gathered pace ever since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year as the Russian president seeks popularity among citizens.

The latest move by Mr Putin on Monday marks Russia’s final step in rendering gender-affirming procedures illegal and depriving its transgender population of their right to access gender-reassignment services.

Arpan Rai reports:

Putin signs off law banning Russians from changing gender in blow to LGBT+ community

Putin was told of Wagner mutiny plot but failed to stop it - Washington Post

Tuesday 25 July 2023 18:00 , Martha Mchardy

Russian president Vladimir Putin failed to stop a rebellion by Wagner fighters last month despite being warned of the mutiny days in advance, the Washington Post reported.

President Putin was allegedly told two or three days before the June 23 uprising that Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin was preparing a possible rebellion.

“Putin had time to take the decision to liquidate [the mutiny] and arrest the organisers,” an unnamed European security official said.

“Then when it began to happen, there was paralysis on all levels … There was absolute dismay and confusion. For a long time, they did not know how to react.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the claims as “nonsense” shared by “people who have zero information.”

Kremlin adviser: Putin set to visit China in October

Tuesday 25 July 2023 17:29 , Martha Mchardy

Russian president Vladimir Putin intends to visit China in October, planning his visit to coincide with a “One Belt, One Road” forum, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov told reporters on Tuesday, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.

China has become Russia’s most significant ally since early last year, when the West’s already strained ties with Moscow were chilling further as Putin was preparing to send his armed forces into Ukraine.

Putin last visited Beijing just before the invasion, which Russia calls a “special military operation”, and together with Chinese president Xi Jinping announced a “no limits” partnership that has extended into economic, trade, political and military areas.

China has declined to blame Moscow for the war and condemned Western sanctions on Russia, even as it has profited by securing discounts for oil and gas that Russia no longer sells to Europe, and watched Russia increasingly use its yuan as a reserve currency, in preference to the U.S. dollar.

Xi in turn came to Moscow in March, sealing a series of economic and other agreements with his “dear friend” Putin.

China presented a paper in Moscow calling for a de-escalation and eventual ceasefire in Ukraine, but Kyiv and its Western allies rejected the plan, saying it would lock in Russian territorial gains.

Former Russian defence workers sentenced for spying on behalf of Ukraine

Tuesday 25 July 2023 17:25 , Martha Mchardy

Two former Russian defence workers have been jailed for treason after being found guilty of spying for Ukraine.

The couple, who were formerly married, were sentenced to 17 and 13 years in prison after being accused of passing military intelligence to Kyiv.

The two former defence workers also planned to blow up railway lines in the Kursk and Belgorod regions., the Kursk Regional Court said in a statement.

The couple, identified as R.A. Sidorkin and T.A. Sidorkina by the FSB, were accused of handing over technical documents and models used in the manufacture of weapons systems for Russia’s air force.

The FSB said it had seized plastic explosives, four detonators, military design documentation and $150,000 in cash.

Sidorkin, 50, was additionally charged with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and sentenced to 17 years.

Sidorkina, 41, was sentenced to 13 years.

Ukrainian politician arrested over alleged collaboration with Russia

Tuesday 25 July 2023 17:15 , Martha Mchardy

A Ukrainian politician suspected of collaborating with Russia has been arrested, the country’s prosecutor general’s office has said.

Oleksandr Ponomaryov, a lawmaker elected for a now-banned party accused of ties to Russia, was placed in detention without bail by Kyiv’s Pechersk district court, the prosecutor’s office said.

He is accused of going “over to the side of the enemy” and helping Russia occupy the city of Berdyansk.

Putin visit to Turkey planned, but no firm date yet

Tuesday 25 July 2023 16:59 , Martha Mchardy

Senior Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov said on Tuesday that a visit by Russian president Vladimir Putin to Turkey is in both countries’ plans, but no firm date has yet been agreed, the Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Putin to discuss Ukraine with African leaders at July 28 summit

Tuesday 25 July 2023 16:30 , Martha Mchardy

Russian president Vladimir Putin will discuss Ukraine with a group of African leaders in a working dinner at a summit in St Petersburg on July 28, Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov as saying on Tuesday.

The state news agency RIA quoted Ushakov as saying that 17 African heads of state would speak at the Russia-Africa summit, which takes place this Thursday and Friday.

Ukraine not ‘slowing down pace’ of its ambitions to join Nato, says Zelensky

Tuesday 25 July 2023 16:27 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine is not “slowing down the pace” of its ambitions to join Nato, president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

In a tweet, the Ukrainian president said: “We are not slowing down the pace of our integration with Nato. I brought together representatives of the Verkhovna Rada and government officials to prepare practical steps to implement the decisions of the Vilnius summit.

“In particular, we have a clear plan to launch the Nato-Ukraine council at all levels. We will see its work at the ambassadorial level tomorrow during an urgently convened meeting on the situation in the Black Sea.

“We are also starting to jointly prepare an interoperability plan with the Alliance.”

Russian fighter jet damages US drone with flares over Syria

Tuesday 25 July 2023 16:08 , Martha Mchardy

A Russian fighter jet flew within a few metres of a US drone over Syria and fired flares at it, striking the aircraft and damaging it, the US military said.

A senior Air Force commander said the move on Sunday was an attempt by the Russians to knock the MQ-9 Reaper drone out of the sky and came just a week after a Russian fighter jet flew dangerously close to a US surveillance aircraft carrying a crew in the region, jeopardising the lives of the four Americans on board.

“One of the Russian flares struck the US MQ-9, severely damaging its propeller,” Lt Gen Alex Grynkewich, the head of US Air Forces Central, said in a statement describing the latest close call.

“We call upon the Russian forces in Syria to put an immediate end to this reckless, unprovoked and unprofessional behavior.”

Lt Gen Grynkewich said one of the crew members operating the drone remotely kept it in the air and flew it back to its home base.

The incident is the latest in a series of encounters between Russian fighter jets and US aircraft flying over Syria. In all but the one instance a week ago, the US aircraft were MQ-9 drones without crew members.

On that Sunday, however, the Russian Su-35 jet few close to a US MC-12 surveillance aircraft with a crew, forcing it to go through the turbulent wake.

US officials at the time called it a significant escalation in the ongoing string of encounters between US and Russian aircraft that could have resulted in an accident or loss of life. They said the Russian move hampered the crew members’ ability to safely operate their plane.

In recent weeks, US officials said, Russian fighter jets have repeatedly harassed US MQ-9 drones, which are conducting anti-Islamic State group missions, largely in western Syria.

On multiple occasions in the past three weeks, the officials said, Russian fighter jets flew dangerously close to the US Reapers, setting off flares and forcing the drones to take evasive maneuvers.

US and Russian military officers communicate frequently over a deconfliction phone line during the encounters, protesting against the other side’s actions.

There are about 900 US forces in Syria, and others move in and out to conduct missions targeting Islamic State group militants.

EU ready to move almost all of Ukraine’s grain exports via solidarity lanes

Tuesday 25 July 2023 15:01 , Martha Mchardy

The European Union is ready to export almost all of Ukraine’s agriculture goods via solidarity lanes, the EU’s agriculture commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said.

“We are ready to export almost everything. This is about 4 million tonnes per month of oilseeds and grains and we achieved this volume in November last year,” he told reporters.

Prior to Russia pulling out of the U.N.-backed grain deal this month, he said 60% of Ukraine’s exports were shipped via solidarity lanes while 40% went via the Black Sea.

UN says Ukrainian POWs in Donetsk not killed by rocket, as Russia claimed

Tuesday 25 July 2023 14:51 , Martha Mchardy

The U.N. human rights chief on Tuesday called for accountability for the deaths of at least 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war last year in an explosion in a Donetsk region detention facility, rejecting Moscow’s claim that they were killed by a rocket.

The prisoners being held in a Russian-controlled detention facility in Olenivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, were killed by an apparent explosion July 28-29 2022. Unverified Russia media video footage showed the burned out remains of the prison and charred bodies.

Russia’s defence ministry said at the time that a missile strike by a U.S.-made HIMARS rocket was responsible. Kyiv, which frequently raises the incident, has maintained that Russia conducted the explosion at the Olenivka prison in order to hide mistreatment of the Ukrainian captives held inside.

Russia’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Moscow has previously denied maltreating POWs.

“The prisoners of war who were injured or died at Olenivka, and their family members, deserve the truth to be known, and for those responsible for breaches of international law to be held accountable,” said High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk in a statement sent to journalists.

The UN rights body, which said it has conducted extensive interviews with survivors and analysed additional information, added that the incident “was not caused by a HIMARS rocket”.

It said that it has not identified the source of the explosion but would continue to follow up on the incident. Russia has not granted requests to access parts of Ukraine under temporary Russian control nor given the satisfactory safety assurances for a site visit, the statement added.

The U.N. rights office has previously said both Russia and Ukraine have abused prisoners of war during the conflict, although the former has done so on a bigger scale.

Moldova to summon Russian ambassador over spying claims

Tuesday 25 July 2023 14:31 , Martha Mchardy

Moldova’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday it would summon Russian ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov for an explanation of media reports that equipment has been installed on the Russian embassy’s rooftop that could be used for spying.

The Insider media outlet and television channel Jurnal TV said 28 satellite dishes, masts, and transmitting and receiving devices had been installed on the embassy and a neighbouring residential building used by diplomats and technical personnel.

They said in a joint report that people associated with Russian intelligence had been seen on the buildings.

“We consider espionage or foreign interference in the internal affairs of Moldova to be absolutely unacceptable, which represents a direct challenge to the sovereignty and national security of the Moldovan state,” the ministry said.

The embassy and Moscow did not immediately comment on the ministry statement or on the media report.

Russia has denied repeated Moldovan accusations of meddling in its affairs, particularly over the breakaway region of Transdniestria, where Moscow has a contingent of peacekeepers.

Tension has also mounted over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moldova, which borders Ukraine, has criticised the invasion and Russia’s war on its neighbour.

In February, Russia rejected an accusation by Moldova’s president that Moscow was plotting to destabilise the former Soviet republic. The Russian foreign ministry described such assertions as “completely unfounded and unsubstantiated.”

Why are Wagner mercenaries in Belarus – and would they try to invade Poland?

Tuesday 25 July 2023 14:18 , Martha Mchardy

Thousands of Wagner group mercenaries have arrived in Belarus since its failed mutiny against Moscow led by founder Yevgeny Prigozhin – leading to Nato-member Poland reinforcing its eastern border from the “potential threat” they pose.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko welcomed Wagner forces into the country after brokering a deal between the Kremlin and Mr Prigozhin – stopping the mercenaries march on Moscow about 125 miles from the capital. He and Russian President Vladimir Putin have spoken about the mercenaries on a number of occasions, including during two days of talks over the weekend and into Monday, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. Mr Putin has said that any aggression from

The Wagner chief called the mutiny a “march of justice” to oust the top military leaders. The mercenaries faced little resistance and downed at least six military helicopters and a command post aircraft, killing a number of Russian troops.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Why are Wagner mercenaries in Belarus – and would they try to invade Poland?

Kremlin: Putin and Lukashenko discussed Wagner, economic cooperation, external threats

Tuesday 25 July 2023 13:50 , Martha Mchardy

Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko discussed the Wagner mercenary group, economic cooperation and external threats during two days of talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

Lukashenko, who helped broker a deal to end a mutiny against the army’s top brass by the Wagner group last month, flew to St Petersburg on Sunday to start the talks with Putin.

The two men have met regularly, as well as talking by phone, since Lukashenko allowed Belarus to be used as a staging post for Russia’s armed forces when they launched what Moscow calls its “special military operation” against Ukraine in February 2022.

Peskov said the two men had not set out to reach any new agreements in the latest talks, but that “within the framework of very close relations, the presidents synchronise their positions, synchronise their watches”.

He said the agenda had taken in “the theme of the Wagner Group, and the theme of trade and economic cooperation, and the Union State, and external threats along the perimeter of our countries.”

Russia and Belarus are linked in a partnership called the “Union State” in which Moscow is the dominant player.

Lukashenko has proved his usefulness to Putin not only in February 2022 but also by letting Russian forces train at his military bases and station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

The Kremlin also credited Lukashenko with brokering last month’s deal to end the mutiny, under which Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was allowed to relocate to Belarus. Thousands of his fighters have since moved there.

Russian could target civilian ships in Black Sea after grain deal collapse, warns Cleverly

Tuesday 25 July 2023 13:30 , Martha Mchardy

Russian could target civilian ships in the Black Sea in a bid to “destroy” Ukraine’s exports following the collapse of a crucial grain deal, the Government has warned.

Foreign secretary James Cleverly warned: “The UK believes that Russia may escalate its campaign to destroy Ukraine’s food exports by targeting civilian ships in the Black Sea.”

He said that the Government would raise this “unconscionable behaviour” at the UN Security Council.

“Russia should stop holding global food supplies hostage and return to the deal,” Mr Cleverly said.

The deal, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, was broken off earlier this month by Russia in a move that sparked fresh concerns about global food security as the war drags on.

In recent days Russia has also fired dozens of missiles and drones at the Odesa region, a key Ukrainian hub for exporting grain.

UK PM and Zelensky agree on need for Ukraine to be able to export grain

Tuesday 25 July 2023 13:25 , Martha Mchardy

Prime minister Rishi Sunak and Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky agreed on Tuesday on the importance of ensuring Ukraine can export grain to international markets, Sunak’s office said following a call between the pair.

“Discussing the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the leaders agreed on the importance of ensuring grain was able to be exported from Ukraine to reach international markets,” a spokesperson for Sunak said in a statement.

“The prime minister said the UK was working closely with Turkey on restoring the grain deal, and we would continue to use our role as chair of the UN Security Council to further condemn Russia’s behaviour.”

Sunak also told Zelensky he was appalled by the devastation caused by the recent Russian attacks on Odesa, the statement said.

Kremlin says it is impossible to return to Black Sea grain deal for now

Tuesday 25 July 2023 13:16 , Martha Mchardy

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it was impossible for Russia to return to the Black Sea grain export deal for now, as an agreement related to Russian interests was “not being implemented”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, however, that president Vladimir Putin had made it clear that the deal could be revived if the Russia-focused part of the agreement was honoured.

The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to help prevent a global food crisis by allowing grain blocked by the conflict in Ukraine to be safely exported.

Peskov said it would be important for Russia to discuss grain supplies with African countries at a Russia-Africa summit later this week.

Russian lawmakers vote to raise conscription age limit to 30

Tuesday 25 July 2023 13:11 , Martha Mchardy

Russia’s lower house of parliament voted on Tuesday to raise the maximum age at which men can be conscripted from 27 to 30 years, increasing the number of young men liable for a year of compulsory military service at any one time.

The law will come into effect on Jan. 1.

Sunak reaffirms UK support for Ukraine in call with Zelensky

Tuesday 25 July 2023 11:08 , Matt Mathers

Prime minister Rishi Sunak reaffirmed the UK’s support for Ukraine in a call with president Zelensky this morning.

The two leaders said they looked forward to speaking with one another again “soon”, a Downing Street readout of the call said.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The UK continued to support Ukraine’s air defence and artillery needs with more ammunition and missiles being delivered, the prime minister said.

"Reflecting on long-term security assurances, the leaders agreed the number of countries who had put themselves forward to sign up to the multilateral Joint Declaration was a testament to the international support for Ukraine.

"The leaders looked forward to speaking again soon."

UN warns of mines near occupied nuclear plant

Tuesday 25 July 2023 10:40 , Matt Mathers

The UN atomic watchdog staff at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine have reported seeing anti-personnel mines around the site as Kyiv pursues a counter-offensive against the Kremlin’s forces after 17 months of war.

"Having such explosives on the site is inconsistent with the IAEA safety standards and nuclear security guidance and creates additional psychological pressure on plant staff," International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Rafael Grossi said.

However, any detonation of the mines, located between the site’s internal and external perimeter barriers, "should not affect the site’s nuclear safety and security systems", the statement added.

Russia launches fresh strikes on Kyiv

Tuesday 25 July 2023 09:46 , Matt Mathers

Russia launched new drone strikes on Kyiv and parts of central and northern Ukraine early on Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

There were also no reports of new attacks on southern Ukraine, which had been struck almost every night since Russia pulled out of a deal allowing the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea on July 17.

Russia used Iranian-made Shahed drones to attack Kyiv for the sixth time this month, but all were shot down, said Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration.

Air raid alerts blared for more than three-and-half hours over the Kyiv region. Regional governor Ruslan Kravchenko said there had been no reports of damage or casualties although falling debris set off a fire in a field.

Air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said air defences had been engaged in three regions in the north of the country.

"About 10 drones were recorded, the information is being clarified," he told Ukrainian television, adding that up to five were destroyed.

Ukraine makes small gains in south - Kyiv

Tuesday 25 July 2023 09:07 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine has made small advances against Russian troops in the south of the country, Ukraine’s armed forces has said/

Andriy Kovaliov, spokesperson for the armed forces general staff, said Ukrainian troops had made gains in the direction of the southeastern village of Staromayorske, near settlements recaptured by Ukraine last month in the Donetsk region.

Kyiv says it has retaken more than 192 sq km of land in the south and 35 sq km in the east since launching its counteroffensive, a senior defence official said on Monday.

Moscow and Crimea hit by drone attacks – as Russia strikes ports on the Danube

Tuesday 25 July 2023 08:45 , Matt Mathers

Two drones have crashed into buildings in Moscow, Russian officials said, with one crashing close to the Defence Ministry in the city centre.

Nobody was hurt in the drone attack early on Monday morning, while a senior Ukrainian official said there would be more to come.

One drone struck close to the Moscow building where the Russian military holds briefings, a symbolic blow which underscores the reach of such drones.

Full report:

Moscow and Crimea hit by drone attacks – as Russia strikes ports on the Danube

Russian diplomat says there are no talks on restoring grain deal - RIA

Tuesday 25 July 2023 08:17 , Matt Mathers

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Vershinin said on Tuesday that no talks on resuming the Black Sea grain export deal were currently under way, the RIA news agency reported.

The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to prevent a global food crisis by allowing grain blocked by the war in Ukraine to be safely exported.

Russia announced it was withdrawing from the deal last week.

Russia targeting Odesa over belief that Ukraine is storing military assets there, says UK MoD

Tuesday 25 July 2023 06:54 , Arpan Rai

The British Ministry of Defence has claimed that Russia is now “less politically constrained” after walking out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and is striking the Odesa port more in recent days as it believes Ukraine is storing military equipment there.

“Since 28 July, Russia has conducted greater numbers of long-range strikes against Odesa and other areas of southern Ukraine. These attacks have featured an unusual number of AS-4 KITCHEN missiles, a 5.5 tonne weapon originally designed to destroy aircraft carriers,” the ministry said today in its latest intelligence update.

It added that the Russian attacks have damaged several grain silos at Chronomorsk Port, south of Odesa, as well as the historic city centre.

The ministry pointed to Russia’s extended one-way attack drone strikes to the docks of the Danube River, approximately 200 metres from the Romanian border, yesterday.

Russia generally refrained from targeting civilian infrastructure in the southern port region between August last year and June this year, when the Black Sea grain deal was still in force, the ministry said.

“Since Russia failed to renew the deal, the Kremlin likely feels less politically constrained, and is attempting to strike targets in Odesa because it believes Ukraine is storing military assets in these areas. Since the start of the war, Russia’s strike campaign has been characterised by poor intelligence and a dysfunctional targeting process,” it added.

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant's fourth and fifth blocks in shutdown mode

Tuesday 25 July 2023 06:17 , Arpan Rai

Russia-installed officials at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant said the fourth and fifth blocks of the facility were put in a shutdown mode for inspection purposes.

“In order to conduct a scheduled technical inspection of the equipment of power unit number 5, the management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant decided to transfer it to the ‘cold shutdown,’ state,” the administration said on its Telegram channel.

“And in order to provide steam for the station’s own needs, the reactor plant of power unit number 4 was transferred to the ‘hot shutdown’ state.”

The plant has been under Russia’s control from the early days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has seen continuous shelling from both sides, risking the nuclear plant’s safety.