Russia-Ukraine war – live: Putin admits Kyiv’s attacks have intensified ‘significantly’

Russian president Vladimir Putin has admitted that Ukrainian attacks have intensified in recent days.

Attacks by Ukrainian forces have “intensified significantly” on the frontline, primarily through Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, Putin said speaking on Russian TV.

The Russian president claimed that Ukraine had not enjoyed success on the front lines, despite Russian troops being pushed back around Bakhmut in recent days.

Battles in recent weeks have taken place on multiple points along the 1,500-kilometer front line as Ukraine wages a counteroffensive with Western-supplied weapons and Western-trained troops against Russian forces who invaded 17 months ago.

Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian troops are advancing toward the city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhizhia region.

Ukraine has committed thousands of troops in the region in recent days, according to a Western official.

Meanwhile, The Institute of Study of War reported that Ukrainian forces launched “a significant mechanized counteroffensive operation in western Zaporizhzhia region” on Wednesday and “appear to have broken through certain pre-prepared Russian defensive positions.”

Key Points

• Kyiv is said to have launched a major push against Russian forces in southeastern Ukraine

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

• Russia hits port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region

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

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

Kyiv is said to have launched a major push against Russian forces in southeastern Ukraine

10:06 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Kyiv has launched a major push to dislodge Russian forces from southeastern Ukraine as part of its weeks-long counteroffensive, committing thousands of troops to the battle in the country’s southeast, according to Western and Ukrainian officials and analysts.

The surge in troops and firepower has been centered on the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, a Western official said late Wednesday.

The official was not authorised to comment publicly on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The intense fighting is taking place in areas in the south and east of Ukraine, far from the capital Kyiv, and it was not possible to verify either side’s claims.

The Institute of Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, reported that Ukrainian forces launched “a significant mechanised counteroffensive operation in western Zaporizhzhia region” on Wednesday, adding that they “appear to have broken through certain pre-prepared Russian defensive positions.”

UN chief warns ‘handful of donations’ can’t replace Black Sea deal

14:58 , Martha Mchardy

United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday that a “handful of donations to some countries” won’t correct the dramatic impact of the end of a deal that had allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain for the past year.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has promised free Russian grain “to replace Ukrainian grain.”

Putin admits Kyiv’s attacks have intensified ‘significantly’

14:52 , Martha Mchardy

Russian president Vladimir Putin has admitted that Ukrainian attacks have intensified in recent days.

Attacks by Ukrainian forces have “intensified significantly” on the frontline, primarily through Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, Putin said speaking on Russian TV.

The Russian president claimed that Ukraine had not enjoyed success on the front lines, despite Russian troops being pushed back around Bakhmut in recent days.

Battles in recent weeks have taken place on multiple points along the 1,500-kilometer front line as Ukraine wages a counteroffensive with Western-supplied weapons and Western-trained troops against Russian forces who invaded 17 months ago.

Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian troops are advancing toward the city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhizhia region.

Ukraine has committed thousands of troops in the region in recent days, according to a Western official.

Meanwhile, The Institute of Study of War reported that Ukrainian forces launched “a significant mechanized counteroffensive operation in western Zaporizhzhia region” on Wednesday and “appear to have broken through certain pre-prepared Russian defensive positions.”

Ukraine eases its sports boycott policy to compete against some Russians ahead of Olympics

14:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine has signaled it will no longer bar its athletes from competing against Russians who are taking part in sporting events as “neutral athletes,” a significant easing of its boycott policy a year before the Paris Olympics.

A decree dated Wednesday says Ukrainian athletes and teams will only be required to boycott if competitors from Russia or Belarus are competing under their national flags or other symbols, or have signaled allegiance to either of those countries in another way.

The change in policy could smooth the way for Ukrainians to compete at next year’s Paris Olympics. Ukrainian athletes previously boycotted events which allowed Russians and Belarusians as “Individual Neutral Athletes,” the preferred term of the International Olympic Committee.

Ukraine eases its sports boycott policy to compete against some Russians ahead of Olympics

Ukrainian parliament accepts culture minister's resignation - lawmaker

13:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine‘s parliament voted on Thursday to accept the resignation of Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko, a lawmaker said, a week after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked for his dismissal.

Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of parliament, said on the Telegram messaging app that the chamber had voted overwhelmingly to accept Tkachenko’s resignation and published a photograph showing the outcome of the vote.

Tkachenko quit last week after Zelenskiy called for his government to keep a tight lid on spending during Russia‘s war on his country, and asked his prime minister to consider replacing the culture minister.

Tkachenko had been a proponent of several high-profile and costly projects.

Zheleznyak said parliament would not consider the appointment of a replacement for Tkachenko on Thursday and was unlikely to do so this week.

Putin says Ukrainian attacks in Zaporizhzhia intensified but without success

13:19 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Ukrainian attacks had intensified in recent days, primarily on the frontline running through Ukraine‘s Zaporizhzhia region.

Speaking to Russian TV on the margins of a Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg, Putin said that Ukraine had not enjoyed success on any part of the front.

Russia arrests one of its own sailors over alleged plot to attack warship

12:55 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia has arrested one of its own sailors over an alleged plot to carry out a “terrorist attack” against a warship in Russia‘s Black Sea Fleet, the FSB security service said on Thursday.

It said the alleged plot was directed against “a ship...armed with high-precision weapons”. The Black Sea Fleet is headquartered in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

The suspect had been “recruited by a Ukrainian intelligence service” and was caught with two homemade bombs, the FSB said in a statement. He was also suspected of passing state secrets to Ukraine.

Russia has previously brought lesser charges, such as desertion, against some of its own servicemen. But the accusations against the sailor - which include possible charges of terrorism, treason, divulging state secrets and illegally possessing explosives, were of exceptional gravity.

The statement gave no further details and it was not possible to independently verify the incident.

Separately, state media quoted the FSB earlier on Thursday as saying two alleged agents for Ukrainian intelligence had been sentenced by a Russian court to 15 years each in a harsh-regime penal colony for espionage.

Russia says it repelled Ukrainian attacks near Bakhmut and in Zaporizhzhia region

12:17 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia‘s Defence Ministry said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces were continuing what it called “unsuccessful” attacks across several fronts, state media said.

It said Russian forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks around the village of Klishchiivka near Bakhmut, and north of Robotyne on the frontline in Zaporizhzhia region, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.

11:50 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday told African leaders he would gift them tens of thousands of tons of grain within months despite Western sanctions which he said made it harder for Moscow to export its grain and fertilisers.

Speaking at a summit in St Petersburg devoted to Russian-African ties, Putin said Russia was expecting a record grain harvest this year and was ready to replace Ukrainian grain exports to Africa on both a commercial and aid basis and honour what he said was Moscow’s critical role in global food security.

“We will be ready to provide Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic and Eritrea with 25-50,000 tons of free grain each in the next 3-4 months,” Putin told the summit, whose participants reacted with applause.

“We will also provide free delivery of these products to consumers”

The event, which is expected to see various agreements signed, follows Moscow’s first Russia-Africa summit in 2019 and is part of a concerted push for influence and business on a continent where mercenaries from Russia‘s Wagner Group remain active despite an abortive mutiny at home last month.

Ukraine MP being investigated for taking family holiday in Maldives amid Russian invasion

11:24 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian authorities are reportedly conducting an investigation to determine whether a member of parliament violated the law by taking a family holiday to the Maldives.

Earlier in January this year, the Ukrainian president banned officials from travelling abroad for non-governmental purposes.

The security service has initiated a criminal case to ascertain whether member of parliament, Yuriy Aristov provided false information to the authorities. He faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

During a video address in January, Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Ignoring the war is a luxury that no one can afford.”

Ukraine MP being investigated for taking holiday in Maldives amid Russian invasion

Russia jails two alleged Ukrainian intelligence agents for 15 years

10:39 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Two alleged agents for Ukrainian intelligence have been sentenced by a Russian court to 15 years each in a harsh-regime penal colony for espionage, Russian state media on Thursday quoted the FSB security service as saying.

The FSB did not name the accused people or say which court had passed the verdict.

Russia has frequently announced the arrests of alleged spies since launching its war in Ukraine 17 months ago.

The FSB said the defendants had been detained last year on suspicion of espionage and involvement in the deaths of Russian troops and destruction of equipment in the area of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Russia's FSB: traces of explosives found on second Russia-bound grain ship

09:44 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia‘s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday it had found traces of explosives on board a foreign vessel en route from Turkey to Russia that had previously entered a Ukrainian port.

In a statement on its website, the FSB said that the BMO River, which had been travelling between the Turkish port of Sinop and Russia‘s Rostov-on-Don, had been ordered to leave Russian waters. The FSB said the ship had twice in June and July entered the Ukrainian port of Reni.

It was the second such announcement this week involving a foreign ship heading to Russia to pick up grain. The FSB said on Monday that it had found traces of explosives on another ship travelling from Turkey to Rostov-on-Don.

Russia last week pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal, which had allowed Ukraine to ship food from its southern ports despite the war, and said it would consider all ships travelling to Ukraine to be potentially transporting military cargo

What is the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin?

09:01 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine have been supported on the battlefield by tens of thousands of mercenaries from a shadowy group led by a businessman and longtime ally of president Vladimir Putin.

The Wagner Group is a private military company under the control of Yevgeny Prigozhin that cut its teeth in deployments to Crimea – illegally annexed by Russia – and eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014 and has since dispatched troops to several conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, including the Syrian Civil War.

In Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Wagner has been a key part of Moscow’s fighting force, but a power struggle between the Kremlin and the outspoken Mr Prigozhin threatened – for 24 hours at least – to drag Russia towards civil war.

What is the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin?

Russia hits port infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region - governor

08:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian forces struck port infrastructure in Ukraine‘s Odesa region in an overnight missile attack, killing a security guard and damaging a cargo terminal, the region’s governor said on Thursday.

Odesa’s ports have been regular targets for Russian attacks since Moscow withdrew on July 17 from a U.N.-brokered deal that allowed Ukrainian grain to be exported via the Black Sea.

Before the latest attack, Ukrainian Deputy Prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said Russian air strikes had damaged 26 port infrastructure facilities and five civilian vessels in the previous nine days. He gave no further details of the damage.

Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said Russia fired Kalibr missiles at an unspecified port from a submarine in the Black Sea in the overnight attack. He said a security building had been destroyed and two cars damaged.

Ukraine‘s air force said two missiles were fired in the attack, and that it had been unable to shoot them down, but that air defences had shot down eight drones that Russia launched to attack other regions of Ukraine overnight.

Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine‘s southern military command, said an overnight thunderstorm had helped Russia in the overnight attack on the Odesa region.

“The enemy took advantage of the weather conditions, and launched the missile during the thunder and wind and at an extremely low height in order to make spotting them more difficult,” she said.

Humeniuk said air defences had been strengthened in certain areas, but that further strengthening was still needed.

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

08:07 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

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.

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

Ukraine: 26 port infrastructure facilities damaged in nine days of Russian strikes

08:01 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian air strikes have damaged 26 Ukrainian port infrastructure facilities and five civilian vessels over the course of nine days, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Russia hit more port infrastructure in Ukraine‘s Odesa region in an overnight missile attack, killing a security guard and damaging a cargo terminal, the region’s governor said on Thursday after Kubrakov’s statement.

Russian attack on Odesa region port infrastructure continues, says official

06:54 , Arpan Rai

Russian forces have hit port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region in overnight missile attack, killing a security guard and damaging a cargo terminal, the region’s governor said.

Odesa’s ports have been regular targets for Russian attacks since Moscow’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain initiative last week.

The British Ministry of Defence warned yesterday that potential for the intensity and scope of violence in the Black Sea region is set to increase after Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has altered its posture since Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI). This is likely in preparedness to enforce a blockade on Ukraine, the ministry said yesterday.

It added that the grain initiative has moderated the involvement of the Black Sea in the war.

Angry Russia refuses to speak at UN meeting on attacks on Odesa

06:18 , Arpan Rai

Russia refused to speak at a UN Security Council meeting called to dissuss Moscow’s recent devastating attacks on the key port of Odesa immediately following its refusal to extend the Black Sea grain deal, signalling escalation of Russia’s anger at Ukraine and its Western backers.The confrontation began at the start of a council session called by Russia on the divided Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky ,protested that Britain, which holds the council presidency, was allowing only two briefers and Moscow wanted a third — Archbishop Gideon of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.The Ukrainian government has cracked down on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over its historic ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leader, Patriarch Kirill, supported Russian president Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine.Mr Polyansky accused the UK of bias, censorship and obstruction for limiting the number of briefers.Deputy British ambassador James Kariuki responded that because of a tight time schedule to fit in two council meetings, the UK had offered a compromise to allow a third Russian briefer to submit a statement to the council, which he said was “not unreasonable.”

Russian defence minister shown banned missiles by Kim Jong-un

05:18 , Arpan Rai

Russia’s defence minister was taken by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to a defence exhibition that featured the North’s banned ballistic missiles as the neighbours pledged to boost ties, North Korean state media reported today.

The Russian minister, Sergei Shoigu, and a Chinese delegation including a Politburo member arrived in North Korea this week for the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War celebrated in North Korea as “Victory Day”.

The missiles were banned under UN Security Council resolutions adopted with Russian and Chinese support but this week they provided a striking backdrop for a show of solidarity by three countries united by their rivalry with the US.

While KCNA did not refer to the war in Ukraine, North Korea’s defence minister, Kang Sun Nam, was reported as saying North Korea fully supported Russia’s “battle for justice” and to protect its sovereignty.

Kim led Shoigu on a tour of an exhibition of new weapons and military equipment, KCNA said.

State media photographs showed Kim and his guests at a display of some of the North’s ballistic missiles in multi-axle transporter launchers. Another image showed what analysts said appeared to be a new drone.

African leaders arrive in Russia for summit with Putin, as Kremlin seeks allies in Ukraine war

04:00 , Martha Mchardy

Some African leaders arrived in Russia on Wednesday for a summit with President Vladimir Putin as the Kremlin seeks more allies amid the fighting in Ukraine.

Putin has billed the two-day summit that opens Thursday in St. Petersburg as a major event that would help bolster ties with a continent of 1.3 billion people that is increasingly assertive on the global stage.

On Wednesday, Putin is set to hold separate meetings with the leaders of Egypt and Ethiopia ahead of the summit.

Read the full story:

African leaders arrive in Russia for summit with Putin, as Kremlin seeks allies in Ukraine war

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.