Russia-Ukraine war – live: Putin launches fresh drone strikes on Kyiv as air raid sirens wail across capital

Russia launched a fresh wave of drone strikes on Kyiv and other parts of the country early on Tuesday morning, Ukraine has said.

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

Air raid sirens wailed across the capital and attacks were also reported in the north and centre of Ukraine but none in the south. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to buildings.

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.

Earlier, thousands of Wagner group mercenaries have arrived in Belarus since the group’s short-lived rebellion, a military monitoring group said.

Between 3,450 and 3,650 soldiers have travelled to a camp close to Asipovichy, a town 230 kilometres (140 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, according to Belaruski Hajun, an activist group that tracks troop movements within the country.

Key Points

• Putin in fresh drone strikes on Kyiv

• Thousands of Wagner troops arrive in Belarus after failed Kremlin coup

• Russia launches sixth air attack on Kyiv this month

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

• Moscow’s grain and fertiliser exports on agenda for Russia-Africa summit

• Russia threatens revenge after drone attacks on Moscow and Crimea

• Four injured as Russian attack on Odesa destroys grains depot, says Ukraine

• Putin gives chilling warning to Poland as Moscow ready to defend Belarus

Russia launches fresh strikes on Kyiv

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Moscow’s grain and fertiliser exports on agenda for Russia-Africa summit

06:08 , Arpan Rai

Russia’s grain and fertiliser exports are going to be discussed by Moscow and other nation’s taking part in this week’s Russia-Africa summit, Oleg Ozerov, ambassador at large at the Russian foreign ministry, said today.

“The creation of logistics corridors, hubs not only for food and fertilizsrs, but also for any other products that the Russian Federation produces - this will be one of the topics of discussion,” Mr Ozerov told Russian state news agency RIA.

“It seems to me that the idea of such logistics corridors and the creation of grain hubs is promising and feasible,” he said.

This comes a week after Russia withdrew from the year-long Black Sea grain deal that ensured the safe export of Ukrainian grains to other parts of the world, saying that Russia’s conditions for the extension of the deal had been ignored.

The summit will start on Thursday in St Petersburg and will see Moscow and the West in a diplomatic battle for influence in Africa.

Air raid sirens blare in Ukraine overnight

05:41 , Arpan Rai

Air raid sirens wailed for more than three hours across most of Ukraine’s east from about 1.40am (10.40pm GMT), the country’s Air Force said today.

At 5.30am the Air Force said on its Telegram channel that there was a fresh threat of attacks on Ukraine’s east and southeast regions using ballistic weapons and issued air raid warnings for those areas.

Russia launches sixth air attack on Kyiv this month

04:16 , Arpan Rai

Russia launched an air attack on Kyiv in the early hours of this morning, the sixth bombardment targeting the Ukrainian capital this month, the Kyiv military administration said.

Air raid alerts continued blaring for more than three hours over the city as well as other eastern parts of the country.

The attack was carried out using Iranian-made Shahed drones, and based on preliminary information all the drones were downed by Ukraine’s air defence systems, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said.

There were no casualties or serious damage, though information was still being collected, he added.

Russia vows retaliation after ‘Ukrainian drone strike’ near Moscow army HQ

04:02 , Arpan Rai

Russia has pledged harsh retaliatory measures against Ukraine after two drones damaged buildings in Moscow early yesterday, including one intercepted close to the defence ministry’s headquarters.

“We regard what happened as yet another use of terrorist methods and intimidation of the civilian population by the military and political leadership of Ukraine,” the foreign ministry said of the Moscow and Crimea drone attacks.

“The Russian Federation reserves the right to take harsh retaliatory measures.”

The Kremlin said it would press on with its campaign in Ukraine and meet all the aims of an operation which Kyiv and much of the West say is a brutal war of conquest.

The Moscow drone attack, though not serious in terms of its human cost or damage, was the most high-profile of its kind since two drones reached the Kremlin in May.

No casualties were seen in the attack, of which a senior Ukrainian official said there would be more, but one drone struck close to the Moscow building where the Russian military holds briefings on full-scale invasion of Ukraine and what it calls its “special military operation”.

The ministry claimed that a third “helicopter-type drone” which was not carrying explosives fell on a cemetery in a town outside Moscow.

Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine, but has been saying in recent months that destroying Russia’s military infrastructure helps Kyiv’s counteroffensive.

Today in pictures

03:30 , Martha Mchardy

Latest pictures from the frontline in Donetsk

02:30 , Martha Mchardy

Russia wants allies, so it is hosting an Africa summit - food security and Wagner are key questions

01:30 , Martha Mchardy

As Russia seeks more allies during its invasion of Ukraine, longtime U.S. security partner Kenya might not be an obvious choice. But hours after Russia terminated a deal to keep grain flowing from Ukraine, Moscow’s ambassador saw an opening to appeal to one of the African countries that would feel the effects the most.

In an opinion piece for two of Kenya’s largest newspapers, Ambassador Dmitry Maksimychev blamed the United States and European Union for the deal’s collapse, asserting they had “used every trick” to keep Russian grain and fertilizer from the global markets.

“Now, my dear Kenyan friends, you know the whole truth about who is weaponizing food,” he wrote.

Read the full story:

Russia wants allies, so it is hosting an Africa summit. Food security and Wagner are key questions

Bel Trew: Why Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s ports matter for us all

Tuesday 25 July 2023 00:30 , Martha Mchardy

First Moscow ended a pivotal deal allowing Ukraine to export grain, now it is repeatedly attacking the country’s ports, writes Bel Trew. The consequences will be felt from the poorest in Egypt to kitchens across Britain.

Why the Russian attacks on Ukraine’s ports matter for us all | Bel Trew

Russian special forces kill gunman who broke into private house near Moscow

Monday 24 July 2023 23:30 , Martha Mchardy

Russian security forces on Saturday killed a heavily-armed gunman who broke into a private house in the suburbs of Moscow and fired at them, reportedly threatening to march on the Kremlin.

The assailant was spotted by guards after he had broken into an unoccupied house located in an elite cottage village in the Istra region, about 45 kilometers (less than 30 miles) west of Moscow. He held them at gunpoint, but they managed to escape, according to the Russian media.

For several hours, the authorities negotiated with the attacker who was in combat fatigues and toted a Kalashnikov rifle. The man claimed he came from the front lines in Ukraine and was driven by God to march on the Kremlin, the seat of the government in Moscow.

Read the full story:

Russian special forces kill gunman who broke into private house near Moscow

ICYMI: Residential buildings damaged after Russian missile attack on Odesa

Monday 24 July 2023 22:30 , Martha Mchardy

ICYMI: Video shows Moscow high-rise damaged as Kremlin reports drone attack in Russian capital

Monday 24 July 2023 21:30 , Martha Mchardy

Windows have been smashed on a high-rise building in Moscow in what the Kremlin has called a drone strike on Monday, 24 July.

Russia’s defence ministry accused Ukraine of a “terrorist” attack on the capital city.

Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that two non-residential buildings were hit at around 4am (10am GMT). (0100 GMT), adding that there was no “serious damage or casualties.”

Sobyanin added that there was no “serious damage or casualties.”

Further footage shows smashed windows on a building close to the Russian Defence Ministry.

Holly Patrick reports:

Video shows Moscow high-rise damaged as Kremlin reports drone attack

Thousands of Wagner group mercenaries arrive in Belarus, says monitoring group

Monday 24 July 2023 20:33 , Martha Mchardy

Thousands of Russia-linked Wagner group mercenaries have arrived in Belarus since the group’s short-lived rebellion, a military monitoring group said.

Between 3,450 and 3,650 soldiers have travelled to a camp close to Asipovichy, a town 230 kilometres (140 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, according to Belaruski Hajun, an activist group that tracks troop movements within the country.

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko welcomed Wagner forces into the country after brokering a deal between the Kremlin and mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin last month, ending the group’s failed revolt against Russian military leaders.

Satellite images show that about 700 vehicles and construction equipment have also arrived in Wagner convoys to Belarus, Belaruski Hajun said.

Mr Prigozhin registered a “real estate management company” in Belarus last week under the name Concord Management and Consulting in Belarus.

Documents analysed by independent Belarusian media outlet reform.by showed that the company’s registered address was in the same village as the Wagner mercenary camp.

Meanwhile, local officials said on Monday that the mercenaries were continuing to work with Belarusian troops, including at training grounds close to the Polish border.

“Wagner fighters who have really been in the heat of combat are passing on valuable information and experience to our servicemen,” the Belarusian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Russia says traffic 'temporarily' blocked on Crimean bridge

Monday 24 July 2023 20:28 , Martha Mchardy

Road traffic on the bridge linking Russia to the Crimean peninsula has been temporarily blocked, an official Telegram channel of Russian authorities said on Monday.

No reason for the halting of traffic was stated.

News UN chief urges Russia to revive grain deal with Ukraine, warning 'the most vulnerable' will suffer

Monday 24 July 2023 19:40 , Martha Mchardy

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged Russia to resume the internationally-brokered deal so grain can be shipped from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, saying otherwise the world’s most vulnerable among the hungry will suffer the worst consequences.

The U.N. chief made the call during a speech in Rome at the opening of a three-day food systems summit.

With the recent collapse of the Ukraine-Russia grain deal, “the most vulnerable will pay the highest price,’’ Guterres said. He lamented that there are already negative effects on global wheat and corn prices, although he cited no figures.

Frances d’Emilio reports:

UN chief urges Russia to revive grain deal with Ukraine, warning 'the most vulnerable' will suffer

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

Monday 24 July 2023 18:40 , Martha Mchardy

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, with a senior Ukrainian official said there would be more. One drone struck close to the Moscow building where the Russian military holds briefings, a symbolic blow which underscored the reach of such drones.

A third “helicopter-type drone” which was not carrying explosives fell on a cemetery in a town outside Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement in which it bombastically vowed that all those responsible would be found and punished.

Andrew Osborn reports:

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

Putin signs order banning medical gender transitions

Monday 24 July 2023 18:17 , Martha Mchardy

Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed new legislation which marks the final step in outlawing gender-affirming procedures, a crippling blow to Russia’s already embattled LGBTQ+ community.

The Bill, which was approved unanimously by both houses of parliament, bans any “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person”, as well as changing one’s gender in official documents and public records.

The only exception will be medical intervention to treat congenital anomalies.

It also annuls marriages in which one person has “changed gender” and bars transgender people from becoming foster or adoptive parents.

The ban is said to stem from the Kremlin’s crusade to protect what it views as the country’s “traditional values”.

Legislators say the legislation is to safeguard Russia against “Western anti-family ideology”, with some describing gender transitioning as “pure satanism”.

Russia’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ people started a decade ago when Mr Putin first proclaimed a focus on “traditional family values”, supported by the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 2013, the Kremlin adopted legislation that banned any public endorsement of “nontraditional sexual relations” among minors.

In 2020, Mr Putin pushed through constitutional reform that outlawed same-sex marriage, and last year signed a law banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” among adults as well.

Watch: Buildings damaged after Moscow highrise attacked by drone, Kremlin says

Monday 24 July 2023 17:26 , Martha Mchardy

Zelensky says extending EU ban on Ukrainian grain exports ‘unacceptable’

Monday 24 July 2023 16:41 , Martha Mchardy

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that extending a ban on Ukrainian grain exports by land to the European Union in September would be “unacceptable”.

“Our position is clear: blocking exports by land after September 15, when the relevant restrictions expire, is unacceptable in any form,” he said on the Telegram messaging app.

UN chief urges Russia to return to Black Sea deal

Monday 24 July 2023 16:05 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Russia on Monday to return to a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain in line with a proposal he made to President Vladimir Putin.

Russia quit the agreement a week ago, saying that demands to improve its own food and fertilizer exports had not been met, and that not enough Ukraine grain had reached the poorest countries under the Black Sea deal.

“With the termination of the Black Sea Initiative, the most vulnerable will pay the highest price,” Guterres told the UN Food Systems summit in Rome on Monday. “When food prices rise, everybody pays for it.”

Since Russia quit the deal and began attacking Ukrainian food-exporting ports on the Black Sea and Danube river, global wheat and corn futures have risen sharply.

“This is especially devastating for vulnerable countries struggling to feed their people,” Guterres said.

Guterres had written to Putin on July 11 in a final effort to save the deal. He proposed Russia extend it - with a daily limit of four ships traveling to Ukraine and four ships leaving - in return for connecting a subsidiary of Russia‘s Agricultural Bank, Rosselkhozbank, to the SWIFT global payments system.

“I call on the Russian Federation to return to the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative, in line with my latest proposal,” Mr Guterres said. “I urge the global community to stand united for effective solutions in this essential effort.”

Watch: The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary

Monday 24 July 2023 15:50 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

It was a month into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces had withdrawn from around Kyiv and in their wake Bel Trew and her team stumbled on a body by an abandoned Russian camp.

His hands were tied. He had been burned and shot in the back. Soldiers said he was a teenager.

As Bel tried to find out who he was and what had happened, she uncovered a nightmare world: a nation struggling to find thousands of its missing and to identify its dead.

The Body in the Woods by Bel Trew is streaming now on Independent TV and on your smart TV.

The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary

Nearly 30 ships stop around Ukraine's Izmail gateway after Russian Danube strikes

Monday 24 July 2023 15:32 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Almost 30 ships dropped anchor near Ukraine‘s crucial Izmail port terminal after Russia destroyed grain warehouses on the Danube river on Monday, data showed, although it was unclear exactly what had caused them to stop.

Monday’s pre-dawn Russian air strikes wounded seven people and hit infrastructure along the Danube, a vital alternative route for Ukrainian grain since the demise last week of a year-old deal allowing safe exports via the Black Sea. Kyiv said the attack was an expansion of an air campaign Russia launched last week after pulling out of the grain deal.

According to Reuters calculations, based on ship tracking data from analytics company MarineTraffic, some 29 vessels, which also included chemical tankers, had stopped around Izmail.

A further three vessels had also dropped anchor along the waterway leading to the terminal of Reni-Odesa, the data showed.

There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian authorities.

Insurance industry sources have said war risk cover for Ukraine‘s ports that were part of the previous grain deal had been suspended. On Monday, three sources said some providers were also reviewing whether to continue to provide cover for Danube ports.

“The premiums for those that are still quoting is going to go up,” one source said.

Putin ally accuses U.S. of planning cyberattacks on Russia

Monday 24 July 2023 15:02 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev accused the United States on Monday of planning cyberattacks against Russia‘s “critical information infrastructure”, state media reported on Monday.

Patrushev was quoted as saying that the U.S. Cyber Command, National Security Agency (NSA) and NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence based in Estonia were planning and directing the attacks “under the Ukrainian flag”.

Reuters could not immediately verify Patrushev’s allegations, which were published by the government’s Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper.

Russian defence industry producing more munitions per month than all of 2022, minister claims

Monday 24 July 2023 14:23 , Andy Gregory

Russia’s industry minister Denis Manturov has claimed that the defence industry is now producing more munitions per month than it did in the entirety of 2022, according to the state-backed RIA news agency.

Video shows Moscow high-rise damaged as Kremlin reports drone attack in Russian capital

Monday 24 July 2023 14:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Windows have been smashed on a high-rise building in Moscow in what the Kremlin has called a drone strike on Monday, 24 July.

Russia’s defence ministry accused Ukraine of a “terrorist” attack on the capital city.

Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that two non-residential buildings were hit at around 4am (10am GMT). (0100 GMT), adding that there was no “serious damage or casualties.”

Sobyanin added that there was no “serious damage or casualties.”

Further footage shows smashed windows on a building close to the Russian Defence Ministry.

Video shows Moscow high-rise damaged as Kremlin reports drone attack

Russia threatens revenge after drone attacks on Moscow and Crimea

Monday 24 July 2023 13:43 , Andy Gregory

Russia reserves the right to take “tough retaliatory measures”, its foreign ministry has said, after accusing Ukraine of attacking Moscow and Crimea with combat drones.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed that Ukraine fired 17 drones at Crimea overnight, while a drone strike on Moscow damaged buildings.

Russia offers BRICS partners a module on its planned space station

Monday 24 July 2023 13:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The head of Russia‘s space agency on Monday suggested Moscow’s partners in the BRICS group - Brazil, India, China and South Africa - could build a module for its planned orbital station, the Interfax news agency reported.

Reporting from a BRICS meeting on space cooperation in Hermanus, South Africa, Interfax said it was “assumed” that the first module of the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) would be launched in 2027, with construction completed by 2032.

By then, the International Space Station - one of the last forums of cooperation between Washington and Moscow as Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine sent relations to a post-Cold War low - is likely to have been decommissioned.

“I would like to invite BRICS partners to ... create a fully-fledged module that, being part of the ROS, would allow the BRICS countries to use the possibilities of low-Earth orbit to implement their national space programmes,” Interfax quoted Roscosmos Director-General Yuri Borisov as telling the meeting.

Roskosmos said last August that its new space station would consist of six modules and a service platform, to accommodate up to four cosmonauts, and be built in two phases. It gave no dates.

In September, Borisov said the station would orbit Earth around the poles, enabling it to look down on far more of Russia‘s vast territory and gather new data on cosmic radiation.

Russia threatens tough retaliation after drone attacks

Monday 24 July 2023 13:05 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia reserves the right to take “tough retaliatory measures”, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday, after it accused Ukraine of attacking Moscow and the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula with drones.

Russia‘s Defence Ministry said earlier that Ukraine fired 17 drones at Crimea overnight, while a drone strike on Moscow damaged buildings.

Historic cathedral badly damaged after Russian missile strike in Odesa

Monday 24 July 2023 12:50 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The historical Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa, Ukraine has been badly damaged by Russian strikes, the city council said.

Footage shows debris scattered across the floor of the site after missiles hit the port city overnight, which killed at least one person and injured 19 more.

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko visited the damaged cathedral on Sunday 23 July and shared a video calling for more protection.

“Again Russia used all types of missiles to destroy our city,” he said.

“I address the world, Odesa needs more protection.”

The cathedral was founded in 1794.

Historic cathedral badly damaged after Russian missile strike in Odesa

Russian attacks aim to fully block Ukrainian grain exports - Odesa governor

Monday 24 July 2023 12:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The governor of Ukraine‘s Odesa region said on Monday Russia was trying to completely block exports of Ukrainian grain to global markets after the latest in a series of Russian air attacks struck grain infrastructure on the Danube River.

“Russia is trying to fully block the export of our grain and make the world starve,” governor Oleh Kiper told Ukrainian television.

Crimea hit by drone attack

Monday 24 July 2023 11:01 , Chris Stevenson

A drone attack has hit an ammunition depot in Crimea and forced a halt in traffic on a major motorway and a railway crossing the Black Sea peninsula that was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.

The Moscow-appointed head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said the authorities also ordered the evacuation of several villages within a three-mile radius of the depot that was hit.

Ukraine forces advance

Monday 24 July 2023 10:18 , Chris Stevenson

The Ukrainian military has retaken more than 4.6 square miles (12 square km) of territory in the south of the country over the last week, its deputy defence minister has said.

To give you a sense of scale, that is more than 2,000 football pitches.

The latest advances means Ukraine has recaptured more than 192 square km in the southern sector since its counteroffensive started last month, Hanna Maliar said.

In the east, the main focus of fighting continues to be around Bakhmut – a city that has seen some of the war's fiercest battles.

Russian schoolchildren to be taught about combat drones

Monday 24 July 2023 09:56 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

In there latest intelligence briefing, Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has flagged that Russian schoolchildren will be taught the basics of operating combat drones – including ways to counter Ukrainian uncrewed drones.

The lessons will be joined by assault rifle training, hand grenade skills and combat first aid. They'll come under a revised "Basics of Life Safety syllabus" for year 10 and 11 students, the ministry said, citing an announcement by Russian senator Artem Sheikin.

The lessons will begin in September.

The military says the renewed push on military skills for children is largely an effort to "cultivate a culture of militarised patriotism" instead of created "genuine capability".

Ukraine accused of launching drone attack on Moscow

Monday 24 July 2023 09:12 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine has been accused of launching a drone attack on Moscow - while Russia launched new strikes on port infrastructure in southern Ukraine.

Sergei Sobyanin, mayor of the Russian capital, said no one was hurt when the drones hit two non-residential buildings.

Russia‘s defence ministry claimed the military jammed both drones, forcing them to crash.

One fell on the Komsomolsky motorway near the centre of Moscow, close to the main defence ministry building, Russian media reported.

Another hit an office building in southern Moscow, gutting its upper floors.

Ukrainian authorities did not immediately claim responsibility for the strike, which was the second drone attack on Moscow this month.

In the previous attack, on July 4, the Russian military said four of the five drones were downed by air defences on the outskirts of Moscow and the fifth was jammed by electronic warfare means and forced down.

The raid prompted authorities to temporarily restrict flights at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport and divert flights to two other Moscow airports.

Russia says Ukraine fired 17 drones at Crimea

Monday 24 July 2023 09:08 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday that Ukraine tried to attack Crimea overnight using 17 drones, but that the attack was foiled and that there were no casualties.

It said eleven of the drones crashed into the Black Sea after being repressed by anti-drone equipment, three fell on Crimean territory and three were destroyed by air-defences.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the report.

Why Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s ports matter for us all

Monday 24 July 2023 08:36 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

First Moscow ended a pivotal deal allowing Ukraine to export grain, now it is repeatedly attacking the country’s ports, writes Bel Trew. The consequences will be felt from the poorest in Egypt to kitchens across Britain:

When Russia hits Ukraine’s farmers, it lashes out at the world.

This has been the resounding message I’ve heard over the last year of Moscow’s invasion by Ukrainian farmers from Donbas to Dnipro.

Most recently that warning was relayed near the southern city of Nikopol. “We are just one farm, there are thousands like us,” Vitaly, 29, told me in a crumbling field. “If we cannot produce food, there will be a problem for the world,” he added.

Why the Russian attacks on Ukraine’s ports matter for us all | Bel Trew

Russian teaching drone combat operations to school kids – UK MoD

Monday 24 July 2023 07:51 , Arpan Rai

All Russian school children are to be taught the basics of operating combat drones, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said today.

The ministry cited Russian senator Artem Sheikin’s announcement that the lessons will include how to conduct terrain reconnaissance and ways to counter enemy uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).

“The UAV lessons join assault rifle training, hand grenade skills and combat first aid in the revised ‘Basics of Life Safety’ syllabus for year 10 and 11 students, due to be mandated from 1 September 2023,” it added.

The British MoD said Russia’s “renewed emphasis on military induction for children is largely an effort to cultivate a culture of militarised patriotism rather than develop genuine capability”.

“However, the addition of UAV skills does highlight how Russia has identified the use of tactical UAVs in Ukraine as an enduring component of contemporary war,” the ministry said.

Russia's FSB says traces of explosives found on foreign grain ship

Monday 24 July 2023 07:45 , Arpan Rai

Traces of explosives have been found on a ship travelling from Turkey to the port of Rostov-on-Don in Russia to pick up grain, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said today.

It claimed that the ship had been docked in the Ukrainian port of Kiliia in May, and that it may have been used to deliver explosives to Ukraine.

The FSB, Russia’s security agency, said the ship had changed its name while in the Turkish port of Tuzla earlier this month and replaced its crew, which had consisted of 12 Ukrainian nationals.

“These circumstances may indicate the possibility of using the foreign civilian ship to deliver explosives to the territory of Ukraine,” it said.

While it did not name the vessel, the FSB Said it had been inspected in the Kerch Strait and was banned from continuing its journey, after which it left Russian waters.

The charges come one week after Russia pulled out of an agreement that had enabled Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports, with ships undergoing security inspections.

Four injured as Russian attack on Odesa destroys grains depot, says Ukraine

Monday 24 July 2023 06:58 , Arpan Rai

At least four employees were injured in a Russian overnight drone attack on the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa which destroyed a grains depot, Ukraine’s southern military command said today.

Based on preliminary information, three drones were destroyed in the attacks, the command said.

Russian ammunition depot hit in drone attack in Crimea, says official

Monday 24 July 2023 06:39 , Arpan Rai

An ammunition depot was struck in a Ukrainian drone attack on Dzhankoi in Crimea early today, with Russian air defence forces intercepting or suppressing 11 drones over the area, a Russian-installed official said.

Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-installed governor of the Crimean Peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, also said that a residential building was damaged in the area.

It was not immediately clear whether the ammunition depot was directly hit by a drone or if it was damaged by falling drone debris.

Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine, but has been saying in recent months that destroying Russia’s military infrastructure helps Kyiv’s counteroffensive.

The Russian military air base near Dzhankoi has been a sensitive target in the continuing war as Ukrainian officials have long said the city and surrounding areas have been turned into Moscow’s largest military base in Crimea.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the alleged attack.

Ukraine confirms Crimea drone strike

Monday 24 July 2023 06:28 , Arpan Rai

The Ukrainian military seemed to confirm it had launched the drone strike, after it claimed that it had destroyed an oil depot and Russian arms warehouses in the Krasnohvardiiske region of Crimea, the Ukrainian territory that Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the bridge linking Crimea to Russia was a legitimate target as it was used by Moscow “to feed the war with ammunition.”

Russia blames Ukraine for drone ‘terrorist attack’

Monday 24 July 2023 05:35 , Arpan Rai

The Russian Defence Ministry has accused Ukraine of launching a “terrorist attack” after Moscow’s air defence intercepted and destroyed two drones in the early hours today.

Fragments of the drone, likely shot down in the thwarting attempt, were found 2km (1.2 miles) away from the Russian defence ministry building, the state news agencies reported.

Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on his Telegram channel that two non-residential buildings were struck during the attack, which happened around 4am (0100 GMT).

It was unclear whether the drones hit the buildings when they were downed, or whether they deliberately targeted the buildings.

Drone fragments found near Russia's defence ministry building

Monday 24 July 2023 03:58 , Arpan Rai

Fragments of a drone were found in central Moscow today, some 2km (1.2 miles) away from the defence ministry’s main building, Russian emergency services said.

Komsomolsky Avenue from the centre of Moscow towards the outskirts of the city was closed, said RIA news agency, citing Moscow’s Department of Transport.

At least two loud explosions were heard by witnesses before the drone fragments were found, according to the reports.

No casualties have been reported so far, the emergency services said.

Residents of several districts in Moscow’s southwest and south reported the sounds of explosions, according to the messages on Russia’s FSB-linked Telegram channels.

Russia says Ukraine drone attack on Moscow thwarted

Monday 24 July 2023 03:49 , Arpan Rai

Russia’s air-defence forces thwarted a Ukraine drone attack on Moscow early early today, Russia’s defence ministry said.

Two drones were intercepted and destroyed in a non-residential area, officials said earlier.

The drones struck two non-residential buildings in Moscow at around 4am (0100 GMT), Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.

“There was no serious damage or injuries,” he said.

NATO-Ukraine Council will meet on Wednesday, says Zelenskiy

Monday 24 July 2023 03:30 , Nick Ferris

The NATO-Ukraine Council is set to meet on wedneday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on Sunday.

It is expected that Black Sea security will be top of the agenda, following Russia’s with withdrawal from a year-old deal overseeing grain exports from Ukrainian ports, and the recent bombing of Odesa.

The meeting was first requested by Zelenskiy in a telephone conversation with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Saturday.

Zelenskiy said on Sunday the meeting was among several events Ukraine was preparing for in the coming week that would strengthen the country’s defense.

He said new support packages were being prepared, which will include more air defense, artillery, and long-range weapons.

Meloni: Italy ready to assist with the Transfiguration Cathedral rebuild

Monday 24 July 2023 02:30 , Nick Ferris

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said that Italy is ready to assist Ukraine with the reconstruction of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa.

In a statement, Meloni said: “The attacks on Odesa, the deaths of innocent people, and the destruction of the Transfiguration Cathedral deeply sadden us.

“Italy, with its unique experience in restoration in the world, is ready to join the reconstruction of the cathedral and other treasures of Ukraine’s cultural heritage.”

Right-wing Prime Minister Meloni has emerged as a staunch supporter of Kyiv, despite some of her conservative coalition allies previously maintaining close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine says Odesa cathedral has been “destroyed twice”: By Putin and Stalin

Monday 24 July 2023 01:30 , Nick Ferris

Odesa’s Transfiguration Cathedral has now been “destroyed twice,” said Ukraine‘s defence ministry: By Russian President Vladimir Putin and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

The original early 19th-century cathedral was demolished in 1936 as part of Stalin’s anti-religious campaigns, and rebuilt when Ukraine gained independence from Moscow in 1991.

The most recent attack has seen parts of the building were destroyed, with floors covered in rubble and chunks were ripped off the cathedral’s ornate walls.

Russia has attacked Odesa with missiles and drones several times since it withdrew on Monday from a year-old deal that had allowed for safe exports of Ukraine‘s grain from Black Sea ports.

Odesa’s ports were the departure point for grain leaving Ukraine in the Turkey and UN-brokered agreement.

ICYMI: Blinken says Ukraine has taken back 50% of territory that Russia seized

Monday 24 July 2023 00:30 , Nick Ferris

U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken said Ukraine has taken back about 50% of the territory that Russia seized, although Kyiv’s counteroffensive will extend several months.

“It’s already taken back about 50% of what was initially seized,” Blinken said in an interview to CNN on Sunday.

“These are still relatively early days of the counteroffensive. It is tough,” he said, adding: “It will not play out over the next week or two. We’re still looking I think at several months.”

Ukraine has recaptured some villages in the south and territory around the ruined city of Bakhmut in the east, but has not had a major breakthrough against heavily defended Russian lines.

When asked if Ukraine will get U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, Blinken said he believed it would. “And the important focus is on making sure that when they do, they’re properly trained, they’re able to maintain the planes, and use them in a smart way.”

New video: The outdoor service held at the Transfiguration Cathedral following today’s bombing

Sunday 23 July 2023 23:30 , Nick Ferris

New video footage is circulating on social media of an outdoor service held at the Transfiguration Cathedral, after it was bombed in the early hours of Sunday.

Crowds of people are seen to light candles in front of the cracked edifice of the bombed-out cathedral.

Archdeacon Andrii Palchuk held the service after volunteers helped put out fires and clear rubble inside.

The congregation gathered outside in front of a sacred icon that had “miraculously survived”, Palchuk said.

Sunday 23 July 2023 22:30 , Nick Ferris

Ukraine’s President Zelenskiy has called for more air defence systems, following the latest attack on Odesa.

“Ukraine needs a full-fledged sky shield – this is the only way to defeat Russian missile terror”, the Ukrainian president said in a Tweet.

“Thanks to the help of our partners and the air defense systems provided to Ukraine, our defenders of the sky have saved thousands of lives.

“But we need more air defense systems for our entire territory, for all our cities and communities.”

Putin’s troops unleash missile strikes on Odesa as Orthodox cathedral damaged

Sunday 23 July 2023 21:30 , Nick Ferris

At least one person was killed and 22 others wounded in early morning missile strikes on the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odesa, according to officials.

Four children were among those wounded, while blasts also severely damaged 25 landmarks across the city, including the historic Transfiguration Cathedral.

Read our latest report on what has happened in Ukraine today below.

Putin’s troops unleash missile strikes on Odesa as Orthodox cathedral damaged

UK ambassador to Ukraine says there are no military installations in central Odesa

Sunday 23 July 2023 20:30 , Nick Ferris

The UK’s ambassador to Ukraine has said that there are no military installations in central Odesa, after the city’s Transfiguration Cathedral was damaged by Russian air strikes on Sunday morning.

“This is just a beautiful Ukrainian city, a Unesco World Heritage Site, whose ports export vital food products around the world,” said ambassador Melinda Simmons, reported the BBC.

According to UNESCO, the site represents “an outstanding example of intercultural exchanges and the growth of multicultural and multi-ethnic Eastern European cities of the 19th century.”

The site includes theatres, religious buildings, schools, private palaces, tenement houses and commercial buildings, mostly deigned by Italian architects.

UNESCO will “fields a mission” to assess Odesa cathedral damage in the coming days

Sunday 23 July 2023 19:30 , Nick Ferris

UNESCO has said it will “field a mission to Odesa to conduct a preliminary assessment of damages” in the coming days, following early morning missile strikes that severely damaged the city’s cathedral.

In response to Russia’s most recent strikes on the Ukrainian Port City, the UN body in charge of world heritage sites said: “UNESCO is deeply dismayed and condemns in the strongest terms the brazen attack carried out by the Russian forces, which hit several cultural sites in the city center of Odesa, home to the World Heritage property ‘The Historic Centre of Odesa’.”

“The attack took the lives of at least two people, according to preliminary reports, and damaged a number of significant cultural sites, including the Transfiguration Cathedral, the first and foremost Orthodox church in Odesa founded in 1794.”

Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s Director-General, added: “This outrageous destruction marks an escalation of violence against cultural heritage of Ukraine.

“I strongly condemn this attack against culture, and I urge the Russian Federation to take meaningful action to comply with its obligations under international law”.

This historic centre of Odesa has been designated a World Heritage in Danger site since January 2023.