Ukraine

Jun 19, 2023

Ukraine’s security service has warned that Russia is planning a false flag attack on an oil refinery in Belarus, in a bid to draw Minsk into the war.

The warning came as a Kyiv intelligence source claimed that a Russian naval ship had been damaged in a drone attack on a Black Sea port which serves as a major hub for Moscow’s exports.

While Russia’s regional governor in Novorossiysk – near Crimea – insisted no damage was inflicted, the source told Reuters that the Olenegorsky Gornyak warship “received a serious breach and currently cannot conduct its combat missions”.

A source also told the Ukrainian Interfax news agency that the security service drone was “saturated with 450 kilograms of TNT” and blew a “serious hole” in the ship manned by 100 crew members, in what marks the first attack on a major Russian commercial port since the war began last February.

It comes after Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, Uissued an emotional plea for the world not to lose interest in the fight against Russia, in a rare interview with Independent TV.

Russia planning ‘false flag’ attack in Belarus, Ukraine warns

Blasts and gunfire reported near Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk

Exclusive: Olena Zelenska’s urgent plea to help her nation as war rages around her

Explosions and drone debris hit Kyiv in overnight attacks

Poland rushes troops to border with Belarus

15:46 , Sam Rkaina

The world’s top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, which has maintained contacts with both sides since Russia invaded Ukraine last February, has played a role in convening countries that did not join earlier meetings, Western diplomats have said.

China, which did not attend a previous round of talks in Copenhagen, is sending Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui, Beijing said on Saturday. China has kept close economic and diplomatic ties with Russia since the conflict began and has rejected calls to condemn Moscow.

“We have many disagreements and we have heard different positions, but it is important that our principles are shared,” he said.

Indian National Security Adviser Shri Ajit Doval has also arrived in Jeddah for the talks, the Indian embassy in Riyadh said on social media on Saturday. Like China, India has kept close ties with Russia and refused to condemn it for the war. It has ramped up imports of Russian oil.

15:08 , Sam Rkaina

Senior officials from some 40 countries including the United States, China and India have begun talks in Saudi Arabia that Kyiv and its allies hope will lead to agreement on key principles for a peaceful end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The two-day meeting is part of a diplomatic push by Ukraine to build support beyond its core Western backers by reaching out to Global South countries that have been reluctant to take sides in a conflict that has hit the global economy.

It is not clear whether the talks are aimed at producing a joint statement however, and the Ukrainian envoy to the meeting said the conversation “will be difficult”.

“But behind us is truth, behind us - goodness,” said envoy Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, in a television interview published late on Friday.

Saudi state television reported on Saturday afternoon that the talks had begun.

Russia is not attending, though the Kremlin has said it will keep an eye on the talks. Ukrainian, Russian and international officials say there is no prospect of direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia at present, with the war raging.

Zelensky has said he hopes the talks will lead to a peace summit of global leaders to endorse principles in his plan for a settlement, which demands Russia’s return of all Ukrainian territory and withdrawal of all its troops.

14:18 , Sam Rkaina

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has suggested Moscow would launch more strikes against Ukrainian ports in response to Kyiv’s attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea, and threatened to hand Ukraine “an ecological catastrophe”.

Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, a body chaired by President Vladimir Putin, spoke after Ukrainian sea drone attacks on a Russian warship in the port of Novorossiysk, and against a tanker near Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Putin chaired a meeting of the Security Council on Friday which Medvedev attended following the attack on Novorossiysk, in which the Olenegorsky Gornyak, a Russian Navy landing ship, was reported to have been badly damaged.

“Scumbags and freaks understand only cruelty and force. Apparently, the strikes on Odesa, Izmail, and other places were not enough for them,” Medvedev said in a post on his official social media accounts.

13:30 , Sam Rkaina

Vasyl Malyuk, head of Ukraine’s SBU security service, did not directly confirm the latest attack but said any incident with Russian ships or the Crimean bridge was “an absolutely logical and efficient step towards the enemy”.

“Moreover, such special operations are conducted in the territorial waters of Ukraine and are completely legal,” Malyuk said on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia’s Novorossiysk Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying there was no fuel spill from the SIG, as the ship had been carrying only technical ballast. Recovery work was underway with two tugboats nearby.

Rogov posted an audio clip on Telegram in which the SIG requested a tow. He also posted pictures of what he described as shattered fixtures and equipment inside the vessel.

“The SIG tanker ... received a hole in the engine room near the waterline on the starboard side, preliminarily as a result of a sea drone attack,” Russia’s Federal Marine and River Transport agency said in a statement on Telegram.

The Moscow-installed authorities in Crimea said the bridge, which was completed by Russia in 2018 and has come under serious attack twice in the war, was not targeted.

12:57 , Sam Rkaina

A Ukrainian sea drone full of explosives struck a Russian fuel tanker overnight near a bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea, the second such attack in 24 hours, both sides said on Saturday.

No one was hurt, but the Crimean Bridge and ferry transport were suspended for several hours, according to Russian-installed officials in Crimea, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014.

A Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters that the drone with 450 kg of explosives hit the SIG vessel as it transported fuel for the Russian military in Ukrainian territorial waters.

“The tanker was well loaded with fuel, so the ‘fireworks’ were seen from afar,” the source said, of the joint operation by Ukraine’s navy and security service.

Kyiv says destroying Russia’s military infrastructure inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine is crucial to its counteroffensive after the February 2022 invasion.

Another sea drone attack on Russia’s navy base at Novorossiysk damaged a warship on Friday, the first time the Ukrainian navy had projected its power so far from its shores.

The SIG tanker had been supplying oil to Russian troops in Syria, according to Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-appointed official in Ukraine’s southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia.

The United States imposed sanctions on the tanker and its owner, St. Petersburg-based Transpetrochart, in 2019 for helping provide jet fuel in Syria.

12:13 , Sam Rkaina

12:01 , Sam Rkaina

The Russian oil tanker attacked in the Black Sea on Saturday was hit by a Ukrainian maritime drone carrying 450 kg of explosives and was struck as it transported fuel for the Russian military, a Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters on Saturday.

The source said the attack on the SIG vessel was a joint operation by the Security Service of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Navy, and had been conducted in Ukrainian territorial waters.

11:30 , Sam Rkaina

Harrowing new accounts of Ukrainians being tortured during Russia’s eight-month occupation of Kherson are “just the tip of the iceberg”, an international team investigating the alleged war crimes has warned.

The acts described by those detained in dozens of makeshift detention centres – including the use of sexual violence as a common tactic among Russian guards, and genital electrocution – are “evocative of genocide”, the team of lawyers and prosecutors said this week.

The UN’s special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, told The Independent that similarities in the accounts of victims across several different regions of Ukraine “expose a deeper concern that torture and intimidation are a policy and strategy of the Russian state”.

Click here for the full story.

10:44 , Sam Rkaina

Niger’s new military junta has asked for help from the Russian mercenary group Wagner as the deadline nears for it to release the country’s ousted president or face possible military intervention by the West African regional bloc, according to an analyst.

The request came during a visit by one of the coup leaders, Gen. Salifou Mody, to neighboring Mali, where he made contact with someone from Wagner, Wassim Nasr, a journalist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, told The Associated Press.

He said three Malian sources and a French diplomat confirmed the meeting first reported by France 24.

“They need (Wagner) because they will become their guarantee to hold onto power,” he said, adding that the group is considering the request.

08:21 , Sam Rkaina

A U.S.-sanctioned Russian tanker near the strategic bridge linking Russia to Crimea was damaged by a sea drone attack, Russian maritime officials said early on Saturday.

No one was hurt in the attack on the SIG tanker, but the Crimean Bridge and ferry transport were suspended for several hours, said Russia-installed officials in Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

The United States sanctioned the chemical tanker and its owner, St. Petersburg-based Transpetrochart, in 2019 for helping provide jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria.

“The SIG tanker... received a hole in the engine room near the waterline on the starboard side, preliminarily as a result of a sea drone attack,” Russia’s Federal Marine and River Transport agency said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Russian media said the tanker, approaching the Kerch Strait that links the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, was hit by Ukrainian drones.

Ukraine’s Interfax agency, citing an unnamed Ukrainian security service source, said the attack was conducted by Ukraine’s security and naval forces in its territorial waters, using sea drones.

Reuters could not immediately verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

07:12 , Arpan Rai

The Russian Navy landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak almost certainly suffered serious damage after being struck while near the Black Sea Fleet’s (BSF) Novorossiysk base, the British Ministry of Defence said today.

“Images of the vessel listing at 30-40 degrees suggest that several watertight compartments were breached, or that the crew’s damage control efforts were ineffectual,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update.

“This is a significant blow to the BSF, which previously relocated most of its units to Novorossiysk due to the high threat to Sevastopol,” the ministry said.

It added that the vessel, routinely assigned to Russia’s Northern Fleet, has “augmented the BSF since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has often ferried military and civilian traffic between Russia and occupied Crimea when the Kerch Bridge has been disrupted due to attacks”.

“The 3600 tonne, 113 metre long Olenegorsky Gornyak represents the largest Russian naval vessel seriously damaged or destroyed since the sinking of the cruiser Moskva on 13 April 2022,” the MoD said.

06:30 , Eleanor Noyce

In a span of a decade, Alexei Navalny has gone from the Kremlin’s biggest foe to Russia’s most prominent political prisoner.

Already serving two convictions that have landed him in prison for at least nine years, he stands a new trial that could keep him behind bars for two more decades.

The verdict in the trial is due to be announced Friday in a makeshift courtroom in the Penal Colony No. 6, where Navalny is being held and where the trial took place behind closed doors, in the town of Melekhovo, about 230 kilometres (over 140 miles) east of Moscow.

Read more:

Protests, poisoning and prison: The life of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny

06:26 , Arpan Rai

Ukraine has accused Russia of planning a “false flag” attack on an oil refinery in Belarus in an attempt to draw Minsk into the war, as tensions rise on Nato’s eastern border.

While Alexander Lukashenko has so far avoided being dragged into the full-scale conflict by his close ally Vladimir Putin, the Belarusian president allowed Moscow’s troops to use Belarus as a staging ground for their invasion last February, and has agreed to host Russian nuclear weapons.

Concerns have been brewing in the West since Mr Lukashenko agreed to take in Wagner mercenaries exiled from Russia after their shortlived mutiny, with Nato member Poland warning this week of the threat posed by the “extremely dangerous” fighters, as it scrambled troops to their shared border.

Andy Gregory reports here:

Ukraine accuses Russia of planning ‘false flag’ attack in Belarus

06:09 , Arpan Rai

The engine room of SIG tanker deployed by Russia near Crimea was damaged as a result of a sea drone attack, Russia’s Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport confirmed today.

“The SIG tanker... received a hole in the engine room near the waterline on the starboard side, preliminarily as a result of a sea drone attack,” the agency said in a statement.

No immediate casualties have been reported.

05:30 , Eleanor Noyce

The UK’s support for Ukraine is tireless, the defence secretary has pledged, after Ukraine’s first lady issued an emotional plea for the world not to lose interest in the fight against Russia.

Britain will back Ukraine “every way we can” until the war is over, Ben Wallace said.

His comments follow a heartfelt call from Olena Zelenska, in an exclusive interview with Independent TV, to other nations, in which she said: “Please don’t get fatigued, because we as Ukrainians have no right to get tired.”

Kate Devlin reports:

‘Until the end’: Ben Wallace’s dramatic pledge to Ukraine after first lady’s plea

04:30 , Eleanor Noyce

The Royal Air Force has delivered a powerful message of unity to Russian president Vladimir Putin with the interception of dozens of Russian aircraft during its leadership of a Nato air policing mission in Estonia, Ben Wallace has said.

The defence secretary praised the RAF’s success, emphasising the unwavering commitment of the UK and its allies in safeguarding European airspace and standing against any potential threat to their borders.

His comments come as RAF personnel have returned to the UK after leading the air policing mission in Eastern Europe for four months, during which pilots intercepted 50 Russian aircraft and flew for a combined total of more than 500 hours.

Martina Bet reports:

‘We stand united’: RAF interception of Russian jets ‘sends strong message’ to Putin

04:25 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian forces are persistently working to retake land near the shattered eastern city of Bakhmut and fighting off Russian forces who are pouring in additional troops in a bid to stop Kyiv’s advances, the war-hit nation’s military officials said.

“The Russians are throwing huge numbers of forces into the Bakhmut area,” Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar told national television. “It has been important for us to establish ourselves on dominant heights in these areas.”

She added that Ukrainian forces were advancing “slowly but confidently” south of Bakhmut while securing control of positions north of the city.

“An extremely fierce battle is going on there.”

In Moscow, several accounts said Russian troops have repelled several Ukrainian attempts to advance in the east and inflicted defeat on Ukrainian troops near Bakhmut, consistent with Kyiv’s statements about heavy fighting.

“The enemy is desperately trying to stop our offensive,” Ms Maliar said.

Ukrainian forces, she said, were also working to contain intensified Russian attacks on areas farther north in Donestsk region, around Kupiansk and Lyman.

04:13 , Arpan Rai

A Russian warship was seriously damaged in a Ukrainian naval drone attack on Russia’s navy base at Novorossiysk overnight, the first time the Ukrainian navy has projected its military might so far from the country’s shores.

Russia-installed officials in the Crimea peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, said the latest explosions had nothing to do with the bridge, which has come under serious attacks twice in the 17-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine, which rarely comments on attacks on Russian targets, made no official statement on the incident.

04:03 , Arpan Rai

Traffic was halted for a time on the bridge, the third such stop in the past 24 hours, but later resumed, officials said.

“Once again, there was no direct attack on the Crimea bridge and there was no explosion in the immediate vicinity,” Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the Russia-installed governor of Crimea, was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

At least three explosions had been reported in the area, said Ukraine’s UNIAN news agency.

Ukrainian news reports and pro-Russian officials in occupied parts of Ukraine said Ukrainian drones had attacked a tanker vessel in the Kerch Strait operating under a Russian flag and identified as the SIG.

One Russian-appointed official in Ukraine’s southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, Vladimir Rogov, posted an audio clip in which the vessel had requested a tow from tugboats.

Mr Rogov posted pictures of what he described as shattered fixtures and equipment inside the vessels.

The ship, he said, had been supplying oil to Russian troops in Syria.

The bridge, completed by Russia in 2018, four years after Moscow annexed the peninsula from Ukraine, has been subjected to two major attacks in the 17-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the most recent one occurring last month.

Ukraine has never claimed responsibility for the attacks on Russia or Russia-held territories but alluded to being accountable for them in indirect references.*

03:45 , Arpan Rai

Explosions rocked the area near Kerch bridge, linking Russian-occupied Crimea to the Russian mainland, in the early hours today, Russian-appointed officials said.

The Moscow-backed officials claimed that the blasts were linked to a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian tanker.

Russia’s sea rescue service in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk said tugboats were dispatched to help the tanker, which was damaged and unable to operate on its own.

“We can say that the tanker is damaged in the (Kerch) strait, only on the south side,” the rescue centre said, reported Russia’s TASS news agency.

“They will deal with it now on whether to take it under tow or not. It is standing at anchor for the moment. The machine room suffered some damage, not too badly.”

Ukraine, which rarely comments on attacks on Russian targets, made no official statement on the incident.

03:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has become the second 2024 Republican presidential hopeful to visit Ukraine, meeting Friday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, touring ravaged villages and saying what he saw further impressed to him that the U.S. should continue to help the country fend off Russia’s attack.

“I feel the cruelty, and you feel the inhumanity,” Christie said during his trip, which included stops in the villages of Bucha and Moshchun, both on the outskirts of Kyiv. “And you look at this, and I don’t think there’s anyone in our country who would come here and see this and not feel as if these are the things that America needs to stand up to prevent.”

Vasilisa Stepanenko and Meg Kinnard have the full story:

GOP presidential hopeful Chris Christie says 'inhumanity' of war is palpable during visit to Ukraine

02:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia accused Ukraine early Friday of attacking its Black Sea navy base in the port of Novorossiysk with sea drones.

The attack on Novorossiysk is the first time a commercial Russian port has been targeted in the 18-month war. The city is a major port on the Black Sea and hosts a naval base, shipbuilding yards and an oil terminal. It is a key port for Russian exports.

Novorossiysk is just across the water from Crimea, where Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it thwarted another attack by Ukraine overnight, taking down 13 drones.

Read more:

Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking Black Sea navy base and Crimea with drones

01:30 , Eleanor Noyce

A Ukranian mother who lost an eye in a suspected assassination attempt has appeared as the cover star on the first Playboy printed since the Russian invasion.

Iryna Bilotserkovets, whose husband is an aide to Kyiv‘s mayor Vitali Klitschko, posed with an eye mask and metal bikini after being caught in a gun attack just three days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.

Rachel Flynn reports:

Ukrainian mother who lost an eye in ‘attempted assassination’ is Playboy cover star

00:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Commodity prices have been falling since hitting record highs last year in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Disrupted supplies from the two countries exacerbated a global food crisis because they’re leading suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products, especially to nations in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia where millions are struggling with hunger.

The world is still rebounding from those price shocks, which have increased inflation, poverty and food insecurity in developing nations that rely on imports.

Read the full story here:

Global food prices rise after Russia ends grain deal and India restricts rice exports

23:30 , Eleanor Noyce

The ruble dropped against the United States dollar in trading Friday in Moscow to its lowest level since the first month of the war in Ukraine.

The decline to 95 rubles against the dollar continued the Russian currency’s consistent fall since the beginning of the year, when it traded at around 65 — a drop of about 30%.

Friday’s value was the lowest point since March 28, 2022, state news agency Tass reported.

Read more:

Ruble hits lowest value against USD since early in Ukraine war

22:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia accused Ukraine early Friday of attacking its Black Sea navy base in the port of Novorossiysk with sea drones.

The attack on Novorossiysk is the first time a commercial Russian port has been targeted in the 18-month war. The city is a major port on the Black Sea and hosts a naval base, shipbuilding yards and an oil terminal. It is a key port for Russian exports.

Novorossiysk is just across the water from Crimea, where Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it thwarted another attack by Ukraine overnight, taking down 13 drones.

Read more:

Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking Black Sea navy base and Crimea with drones

21:30 , Eleanor Noyce

In a rare interview the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, has spoken to Independent TV about her work rebuilding Ukraine in the middle of war, the pressures on her family and concerns for the future of her country.

From the presidential palace, she told The Independent’s Bel Trew about the need to reconstruct cities despite the fighting raging on, about building cutting-edge facilities to treat the country’s’ war-wounded and fighting stigma on trauma around the country.

Watch the full interview on Independent TV, across mobile and connected TV from Monday 7 August.

What Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know

20:33 , Eleanor Noyce

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday and underscored strong U.S. support for its fight against Russia.

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

Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence in June became the first Republican candidate to meet Zelensky during the campaign.

Christie visited Ukraine a day after Trump returned to Washington to plead not guilty to federal charges he orchestrated a plot to try to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Former New Jersey governor Christie met with Zelensky at the presidential palace after visiting a mass grave in Bucha, a town where Ukraine accuses Russian troops of having committed atrocities soon after their February 2022 invasion. He also saw damage in Irpin near Kyiv. Both places were retaken by Ukrainian forces.

Christie said he came to Ukraine to give Americans a view of the war and its toll and he emphasized that he wanted U.S. support to continue. The United States has provided billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine to defend itself.

“I am an advocate for there being more aid to Ukraine, more significant aid to Ukraine, broader aid for Ukraine,” Christie told Zelensky.

“It’s really important to hear all these words from you,” Zelensky replied.

Christie’s stance sets him apart from some of the other Republican candidates including Trump.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a distant second in public opinion polls, this year suggested that the war was simply a “territorial dispute” before backtracking.

Trump, who left office in 2021 after one four-year term, was impeached in 2019 on allegations he pressured Ukraine to investigate Biden. Senate Republicans acquitted him of those charges.

19:30 , Katy Clifton

18:48 , Andy Gregory

Ukraine has accused Russia of planning a "false flag" attack on an oil refinery in Belarus in an attempt to draw Minsk into the war, as tensions rise on Nato's eastern border.

While Alexander Lukashenko has so far avoided being dragged into the full-scale conflict by his close ally Vladimir Putin, the Belarusian president allowed Moscow’s troops to use Belarus as a staging ground for their invasion last February, and has agreed to host Russian nuclear weapons.

Concerns have been brewing in the West since Mr Lukashenko agreed to take in Wagner mercenaries exiled from Russia after their shortlived mutiny, with Nato member Poland warning this week of the threat posed by the “extremely dangerous” fighters, as it scrambled troops to their shared border.

Read more about the allegations below:

Ukraine accuses Russia of planning ‘false flag’ attack in Belarus

16:57 , Andy Gregory

Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has had an extra 19 years added to his jail term, on charges widely viewed as bogus.

He was tried at a court at his IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo, situated some 145 miles east of Moscow, on six separate charges, including inciting and financing extremist activity and creating an extremist organisation.

Journalists were not let into the courtroom but able to watch proceedings on CCTV from a special media room nearby, although the feed was cut almost as soon as the sentence was pronounced.

Mr Navalny’s team said the judge had added 19 years to his existing terms. State prosecutors had asked for 20.

16:23 , Andy Gregory

15:42 , Andy Gregory

China has announced that it would send a senior official to Jeddah for weekend talks on finding a peace deal for Ukraine, in a diplomatic coup for Kyiv, the West and Saudi Arabia.

Ukrainian and Western diplomats hope the meeting in Jeddah of national security advisers and other senior officials from some 40 countries – which excludes Russia – will agree on key principles for a future peace settlement to end Moscow’s war.

China’s special envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui will visit Jeddah for the talks, Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Friday. “China is willing to work with the international community to continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine,” a spokesperson said.

China was invited to a previous round of talks in Copenhagen in late June but did not attend.

15:14 , Andy Gregory

The direct channel between the Russian Agricultural Bank and JPMorgan, organised by the United Nations as a way to keep Russia in the Black Sea grain deal, was shut on Wednesday, Russia's foreign ministry has said.

Russia refused to extend the deal last month, accusing the West of failing to implement parts of the accord that affect Moscow's own food and fertiliser exports, and has since attacked a number of Ukrainian port facilities and grain silos.

14:30 , Andy Gregory

Viktor Voroncov, a businessman who moved to Lithuania from Russia several years ago, learned Lithuanian and obtained citizenship there, said he agreed with the move by authorities to expel hundreds of Russian and Belarusian citizens.

“I know many Russians who served in the Soviet and later in Putin’s army. They are married to Lithuanian wives, they live here, maintain close contacts with comrades in arms back in Russia and are spreading Kremlin propaganda constantly,” Mr Voroncov said.

“Lithuania is a democratic country and tolerates different views. Even their propaganda was OK until the war started, but things have changed and they must go,” he said.

14:01 , Andy Gregory

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said her party was in touch with Lithuanian authorities after the EU nation revoked the residency permits of more than 1,000 Russian and Belarusian citizens.

The Belarusian opposition was seeking to “prevent a strike on innocent people who are not associated with the regime”, Ms Tsikhanouskaya said.

“I understand that Lithuania’s actions are dictated by national interests and security, because the Lukashenko regime poses a direct threat to our neighbors,” Ms Tsikhanouskaya told the Associated Press, referring to Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko.

“The vast majority of Belarusians do not support Russia’s criminal war against Ukraine and continue to help Ukraine, many are fighting the dictatorship in the underground. It is very important that they can find a safe haven in Europe if they are in danger.”

13:33 , Andy Gregory

Lithuania has stripped more than a thousand Russian and Belarusian citizens of their residency permits, accusing them of being a threat to national security.

The government had asked these residents to answer a questionnaire which asked about their views on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the status of Crimea, the Ukrainian territory which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

Lithuania, which declared its independence from the Soviet Union more than 30 years ago, belongs to Nato and the European Union, and has been a place of refuge for many who have fled repression in Belarus and Russia.

The Migration Department said it had established that 910 Belarusian and 254 Russian citizens residing in Lithuania posed a threat to national security, a decision that was based on an evaluation of public and non-public information.

According to the Migration Department, more than 58,000 Belarusian citizens and 16,000 Russian citizens are currently residing in Lithuania.

13:11 , Andy Gregory

A Ukranian mother who lost an eye in a suspected assassination attempt has appeared as the cover star on the first Playboy printed since the Russian invasion.

Iryna Bilotserkovets, whose husband is an aide to Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko, posed with an eye mask and metal bikini after being caught in a gun attack just three days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.

The mother-of-three was driving home with her children through a neighbourhood in Ukraine when her car was hit by multiple bullets. Speaking to Playboy about life after the attack, she said: “Doctors in Ukraine said I was probably going to die. I didn’t agree.”

My colleague Rachel Flynn has the full story here:

Ukrainian mother who lost an eye in ‘attempted assassination’ is Playboy cover star

12:09 , Andy Gregory

Telegram channel Rybar has shared an image of the sea drone allegedly responsible for the attack claimed to have taken a Russian warship out of action at a major commerical port near Crimea.

11:51 , Andy Gregory

Kyiv has accused Russia of preparing to stage a “false flag” attack at the Mozyr oil refinery in Belarusas part of an effort to draw Belarus into the war in Ukraine.

The Security Service of Ukraine said its assertions were based on information obtained from several sources, including a captured Russian serviceman.

11:13 , AP

In a span of a decade, Alexei Navalny has gone from the Kremlin’s biggest foe to Russia’s most prominent political prisoner.

Already serving two convictions that have landed him in prison for at least nine years, he stands a new trial that could keep him behind bars for two more decades.

The verdict in the trial is due to be announced Friday in a makeshift courtroom in the Penal Colony No. 6, where Navalny is being held and where the trial took place behind closed doors, in the town of Melekhovo, about 230 kilometers (over 140 miles) east of Moscow.

Joanna Kozlowska and Dasha Litvinova have more in this report:

Protests, poisoning and prison: The life of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny

10:21 , Andy Gregory

Ukraine and its allies are aiming to rally global support for a peace blueprint in talks hosted by Saudi Arabia this weekend – but a question mark hangs over whether China will take part.

Reuters now cites a German government official as saying Berlin has received positive signals about some form of Chinese participation in the Jeddah meeting.

Ukrainian and Western diplomats hope the meeting of national security advisers and other senior officials from some 40 countries will agree on key principles that would underpin any peace settlement to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

09:55 , AP

The European Union has imposed sanctions on several Belarus police, justice and prison officials over a crackdown on anti-government activists, and on media personnel and a company accused of supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Travel bans in Europe and asset freezes were slapped on 38 officials, including several judges and prosecutors. The EU also froze the assets of state oil and chemicals giant Belneftekhim.

It said the company “represents a fundamental asset for the Belarusian economy and foreign policy, in particular in relation to the cooperation between Russia and Belarus in developing a common oil market.”

EU imposes sanctions on dozens in Belarus over protest crackdown and support for Russia

09:27 , Andy Gregory

Russia accused Ukraine early Friday of attacking its Black Sea navy base in the port of Novorossiysk with sea drones.

The attack on Novorossiysk is the first time a commercial Russian port has been targeted in the 18-month war. The city is a major port on the Black Sea and hosts a naval base, shipbuilding yards and an oil terminal. It is a key port for Russian exports.

Novorossiysk is just across the water from Crimea, where Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it thwarted another attack by Ukraine overnight, taking down 13 drones.

It comes just days after authorities held a Navy Day parade at the port.

08:58 , Martina Bet

The Royal Air Force has delivered a powerful message of unity to Russian president Vladimir Putin with the interception of dozens of Russian aircraft during its leadership of a Nato air policing mission in Estonia, Ben Wallace has claimed.

The defence secretary praised the RAF’s success, emphasising the unwavering commitment of the UK and its allies in safeguarding European airspace and standing against any potential threat to their borders.

His comments come as RAF personnel have returned to the UK after leading the air policing mission in Eastern Europe for four months, during which pilots intercepted 50 Russian aircraft and flew for a combined total of more than 500 hours.

The members of the 140 Expeditionary Air Wing (140 EAW) had been deployed to Amari Air Base since the start of March, along with a squadron of RAF Typhoon fighter jets, to conduct Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) intercepts of Russian aircraft transiting close to Nato airspace.

‘We stand united’: RAF interception of Russian jets ‘sends strong message’ to Putin

08:34 , Andy Gregory

Ukraine damaged a Russian naval vessel during a sea drone attack at the Russian port of Novorossiysk that was conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Navy on Friday, a Ukrainian intelligence source said.

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

It comes despite Russia’s regional governor insisting that there was no damage caused by the attacks.

08:08 , Andy Gregory

07:48 , Andy Gregory

No casualties or damage have been reported from the Ukrainian sea drone attack on Novorossiysk, Russia’s regional governor has been quoted as saying by state news agency RIA .

07:26 , Andy Gregory

Russia does not believe Washington’s promise that it will help to ensure Moscow can freely export food if it returns to the Black Sea grain deal, the Kremlin has said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Thursday: “In the event of return to the agreement, of course, we’ll continue to do whatever is necessary to make sure that everyone can export their food and food products freely and safely to include Russia.”

Russia last month quit the agreement that had allowed Ukraine to ship food from its Black Sea ports, complaining about obstacles to its own exports of food and fertiliser.

07:00 , Namita Singh

The White House said US intelligence officials have determined that Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu spoke last week to North Korean officials during a visit to Pyongyang about increasing the sale of munitions to Moscow for its war in Ukraine.

Mr Shoigu made the pitch during his visit to North Korea for events marking the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War, according to White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. Russian president Vladimir Putin dispatched Mr Shoigu to lead the Russian delegation for the commemoration.

The Biden administration says Mr Shoigu’s pitch to tighten cooperation with North Korea underscored that the Kremlin has become reliant on the country, as well as Iran, for the arms it needs to fight its war against Ukraine. North Korea and Iran are largely isolated on the international stage for their nuclear programs and human rights records.

“This is yet another example of how desperate Mr Putin has become because his war machine is being affected by the sanctions and the export controls. He is going through a vast amount of inventory to try to subjugate Ukraine, and he’s reaching out to countries like North Korea, like Iran, and certainly he’s been trying to reach out to China to get support for his war machine.”

John Kirby

06:30 , Namita Singh

Ukraine and the United States started talks yesterday aimed at providing security guarantees for Ukraine, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff said, a follow-up to pledges by G7 countries at last month’s Nato summit.

Ukraine was told that the Group of Seven (G7) would draw up and honour security guarantees and help bolster its military in light of Russia’s 17-month-old invasion of Ukraine.

The Kyiv government sees the talks as an interim stage pending its accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance. At the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Nato leaders offered support to Ukraine but ruled out any notion of membership until the war with Russia is resolved.

Presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the agreement reached in Vilnius was “the basis for working out corresponding bilateral agreements”.

“It is symbolic that the United States - our biggest strategic partner - became the first country with which Ukraine has started this process,” Mr Yermak wrote. “Through this process we will create a successful model for other partners.”

06:05 , Namita Singh

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has visited the frontline headquarters of the “Centre” army group involved in the Ukrainian conflict, TASS cited the defence ministry as saying on Friday.

Mr Shoigu was briefed by group commander Andrei Mordvichev, it said, without disclosing the location of the meeting.

05:30 , Namita Singh

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny expects a court to extend his prison sentence by nearly two decades today, in a criminal case which he and his supporters say was trumped up to keep him behind bars and out of politics for even longer.

Navalny, 47, president Vladimir Putin’s fiercest domestic critic, is already serving sentences totalling 11-1/2 years on fraud and other charges that he says are also bogus. His political movement has been outlawed and declared “extremist”.

State prosecutors have asked the court to hand him another 20 years in a penal colony on six separate criminal charges, including inciting and financing extremist activity and creating an extremist organisation.

05:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine’s first lady has warned that Russia winning the war it started is “the worst-case scenario for all humanity”, in a heartfelt plea for the world not to lose interest in her country as its soldiers are fighting for “the democratic balance of the world”.

Speaking exclusively to Independent TV, Olena Zelenska said Ukraine is deeply concerned that the world is underestimating the wider threat from Moscow as the conflict grinds into its 18th month.

Bel Trew reports:

If Russia wins it’s humanity’s worst-case scenario, says Ukraine’s Olena Zelenska

04:30 , Namita Singh

Russian social media users reported hearing explosions and gunfire near the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk this morning.

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

The emergencies department of the city of Novorossiysk, whose port is one of the biggest in the Black Sea, could not be reached for comment.

Clashes in the Black Sea and adjacent ports have escalated since Russia refused last month to extend a deal allowing for the safe exports of grain from Ukrainian ports; Russian drones and missiles have struck several Ukrainian port facilities and grain silos on or near the Black Sea.

Russia has also reported an attack by Ukrainian sea drones on its warships which were escorting a civilian vessel.

04:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has cheered the recent flurry of drone strikes on Moscow as evidence that Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of his country is backfiring and that its consequences are becoming ever clearer to the Russian people.

“Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia – to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process,” he said in a video address from the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk.

Russia’s defence ministry conceded on Sunday (30 July) that a 50-storey building containing the offices of a number of government agencies and a shopping precinct in the capital’s western Moskva-Citi business district were both hit by drone strikes it blamed on Ukraine, claiming to have brought down three more devices.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

Mapped: The latest strikes on Ukraine and Russia as war rages on

03:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Amid the ravages of war, Sergey, a seasoned Wagner mercenary, found himself grappling with the relentless violence that has become a way of life and death on the front line. The savage conflict, the sense of betrayal from the Kremlin, and rumours of plots, all combined to create an atmosphere of uncertainty and dread.

At the end he decided to abandon the Wagner group and the savage, meat-grinding combat of Donbas where corpses piled up, and towns and cities were razed.

With the future of the mercenary group in the balance after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed march on Moscow and fear of future retribution, Sergey cannot forget the terrible things he witnessed in the months of bloody conflict.

Kim Sengupta meets a fighter – a father of two – who has recently left the mercenary group and hears about the daily routine of ‘fight, eat, pray’ on some of the fiercest frontlines in the war:

Face to face with a mercenary: Inside Wagner and its bloody role in the Ukraine war

02:00 , Eleanor Noyce

With Moscow facing a flurry of drone attacks in recent weeks – the latest over the weekend – Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has said the war in his country is “returning to Russia”.

While Kyiv is always very cagey about claiming direct responsibility for attacks on Russian soil, the number of incidents has coincided with the Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake territory occupied by Moscow’s forces. All while the Kremlin is still dealing with the fallout from a mutiny last month by the battle-hardened mercenaries of the Wagner Group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The attempted uprising, which was halted after 24 hours with Prigozhin’s fighters about 125 miles from Moscow, opened the way for a barrage of criticism of Moscow’s top military leadership by some of its own most senior generals commanding Russia’s invasion forces in Ukraine. Kyiv’s aim? To take advantage of this discord, and to increase it. Anything that will help them on the front line.

Askold Krushelnycky speaks to Ukrainian officials about the ongoing counteroffensive and how Kyiv is seeking to exploit the extended fallout from Wagner’s short-lived mutiny:

Drones and discord: Ukraine’s push to spread anxiety in Russia’s ranks

01:30 , Eleanor Noyce

The European Union on Thursday imposed sanctions on several Belarus police, justice and prison officials over a crackdown on anti-government activists, and on media personnel and a company accused of supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Travel bans in Europe and asset freezes were slapped on 38 officials, including several judges and prosecutors. The EU also froze the assets of state oil and chemicals giant Belneftekhim.

It said the company “represents a fundamental asset for the Belarusian economy and foreign policy, in particular in relation to the cooperation between Russia and Belarus in developing a common oil market.”

Read more:

EU imposes sanctions on dozens in Belarus over protest crackdown and support for Russia

01:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has been raging for one year now as the conflict continues to record devastating casualties and force the mass displacement of millions of blameless Ukrainians.

Vladimir Putin began the war by claiming Russia’s neighbour needed to be “demilitarised and de-Nazified”, a baseless pretext on which to launch a landgrab against an independent state that happens to have a Jewish president in Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukraine has fought back courageously against Mr Putin’s warped bid to restore territory lost to Moscow with the collapse of the Soviet Union and has continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid.

Thomas Kingsley and Joe Sommerlad:

Here’s why Putin really invaded Ukraine

Friday 4 August 2023 00:01 , Eleanor Noyce

The Royal Air Force has delivered a powerful message of unity to Russian president Vladimir Putin with the interception of dozens of Russian aircraft during its leadership of a Nato air policing mission in Estonia, Ben Wallace has said.

The defence secretary praised the RAF’s success, emphasising the unwavering commitment of the UK and its allies in safeguarding European airspace and standing against any potential threat to their borders.

His comments come as RAF personnel have returned to the UK after leading the air policing mission in Eastern Europe for four months, during which pilots intercepted 50 Russian aircraft and flew for a combined total of more than 500 hours.

Martina Bet reports:

‘We stand united’: RAF interception of Russian jets ‘sends strong message’ to Putin

Thursday 3 August 2023 23:30 , Eleanor Noyce

The United States remains confident that the Group of Seven’s price cap on Russian oil is working to squeeze Moscow’s revenues and stabilize energy markets despite a recent upturn in prices, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Thursday.

Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Eric Van Nostrand hailed the price cap as a successful part of the multilateral sanctions regime imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and said Washington and its partners were working to thwart any evasion.

“Our approach has struck at the heart of the Kremlin’s most important cash cow. Before the war, oil revenues constituted about a third of the total Russian budget, but in 2023 that number has fallen to just 25%,” he said in remarks prepared for a London conference.

The G7, the European Union and Australia imposed the $60 per barrel cap last December on sea-borne exports of Russian crude in retaliation for Russia’s war on Ukraine. It bans Western companies from providing services such as transportation, insurance and financing for the oil sold above the cap.

Van Nostrand said Russian data showed federal government oil revenues were nearly 50% lower in the first half of 2023 than a year earlier, and Russian oil was trading at “a significant discount” to Brent oil.

Russian officials had also complained about the impact of the price cap, he said, and the Kremlin has been forced to consider raising taxes on oil exporters to boost revenues, which could weaken the long-term outlook for its oil industry.

Van Nostrand said the average reported price for Russian Urals had hovered around $60, the level of the price cap, despite recent price increases as well as widespread expectations that the price would rise in the second half of 2023.

Russia’s Finance Ministry this week said Urals crude oil blend traded at $64.37 per barrel on average in July, up from $55.28 per barrel in June.

Russia will cut exports by 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) in September, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday. Russia, the world’s biggest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, had already pledged to cut oil output by 500,000 bpd, or about 5%, from March until year-end.

Thursday 3 August 2023 23:00 , Eleanor Noyce

It’s front-page news today: the heart of Moscow has been hit by early-morning drone attacks. It makes me think of Tallulah. She’s a frozen embryo I have stored in an IVF clinic in St Petersburg. What if I ever wanted to get her home? Is she safe?

I know it sounds over the top to actually call a frozen embryo by a name – but I’m not alone.

I don’t want another child, writes Charlotte Cripps – but it doesn’t stop me from worrying about my frozen embryo in St Petersburg:

My frozen embryo is trapped in Russia – how do I get it out? | Charlotte Cripps

Thursday 3 August 2023 22:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Amid the ravages of war, Sergey, a seasoned Wagner mercenary, found himself grappling with the relentless violence that has become a way of life and death on the front line. The savage conflict, the sense of betrayal from the Kremlin, and rumours of plots, all combined to create an atmosphere of uncertainty and dread.

At the end he decided to abandon the Wagner group and the savage, meat-grinding combat of Donbas where corpses piled up, and towns and cities were razed.

With the future of the mercenary group in the balance after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed march on Moscow and fear of future retribution, Sergey cannot forget the terrible things he witnessed in the months of bloody conflict.

Kim Sengupta meets a fighter – a father of two – who has recently left the mercenary group and hears about the daily routine of ‘fight, eat, pray’ on some of the fiercest frontlines in the war:

Face to face with a mercenary: Inside Wagner and its bloody role in the Ukraine war

Thursday 3 August 2023 21:30 , Eleanor Noyce

The United States would continue to do “whatever is necessary” to ensure Russia can freely export food if there was a revival of a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.

Russia last month quit the July 2022 deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey aimed at easing a global food crisis after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine five months earlier. Ukraine and Russia are both leading grain exporters.

“In the event of return to the agreement, of course, we’ll continue to do whatever is necessary to make sure that everyone can export their food and food products freely and safely to include Russia,” Blinken told reporters at the United Nations.

“We want to see that food on world markets. We want everyone to benefit from the lower prices,” he said after chairing a U.N. Security Council meeting on food insecurity caused by conflict.

Many countries at the gathering expressed disappointment that Russia had quit the deal and urged them to reconsider.

To convince Russia to agree to the Black Sea deal, another pact was also struck in July 2022 under which U.N. officials agreed to help Russia get its food and fertilizer exports to foreign markets.

While Russian exports of food and fertilizer are not subject to Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has said restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have hindered shipments.

During the Security Council meeting on Thursday, Russia’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy accused Western countries of an “arrogant unwillingness” to help fulfill the U.N. pact with Moscow.

He stressed that Russia held a larger share of the global wheat market than Ukraine and was a key fertilizer exporter.

“Western countries need to focus on ensuring that Russian grain and fertilizers can get to countries in need without hindrance,” Polyanskiy said.

Thursday 3 August 2023 21:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Its balmy beaches have been vacation spots for Russian czars and Soviet general secretaries. It has hosted history-shaking meetings of world leaders and boasts a strategic naval base. And it has been the site of ethnic persecutions, forced deportations and political repression.

Now, as Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its 18th month, the Crimean Peninsula is again both a playground and a battleground, with drone attacks and bombs seeking to dislodge Moscow’s hold on the territory and bring it back under Kyiv’s authority, no matter how loudly the Kremlin proclaims its ownership.

Read more:

The Crimean Peninsula: playground and battleground, coveted by Ukraine and Russia

Thursday 3 August 2023 20:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian guards subjected Ukrainian prisoners to torture and sexual violence – including genital electrocution – according to a team of international experts investigating conditions in makeshift detention centres.

Almost half of Ukrainian prisoners held in Kherson, in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine, said such tactics were frequent, according to the Mobile Justice Team, which was established by international humanitarian law firm Global Rights Compliance and is working with war crimes prosecutors.

Researchers said at least 36 victims described the use of electrocution while being interrogated.

Maya Oppenheim reports:

Russian guards using torture and genital electrocution on Ukrainian prisoners – study

Thursday 3 August 2023 20:24 , Eleanor Noyce

The United States remains concerned that North Korea will send munitions to Russia, White House national security advisor John Kirby told a briefing on Thursday.

“Our information indicates that Russia is seeking to increase military cooperation” with North Korea, he said.

Thursday 3 August 2023 20:15 , Eleanor Noyce

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukraine‘s military faced difficulties on front lines in the east and south of the country, but were dominant in their campaign.

“There is heavy fighting. The occupiers are trying to stop our boys with all their strength. Very fierce attacks,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address, referring to several centres in the east where battles are raging.

“In the south, everything is difficult. But whatever the enemy does, it is Ukrainian strength that dominates.”

Thursday 3 August 2023 20:00 , Eleanor Noyce

In a rare interview the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, has spoken to Independent TV about her work rebuilding Ukraine in the middle of war, the pressures on her family and concerns for the future of her country.

From the presidential palace, she told The Independent’s Bel Trew about the need to reconstruct cities despite the fighting raging on, about building cutting-edge facilities to treat the country’s’ war-wounded and fighting stigma on trauma around the country.

What Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know

Thursday 3 August 2023 19:30 , Eleanor Noyce

As if on cue, the haunting wail of the air-raid siren sifts through the sunshine as we pull up to the checkpoint by the presidential complex in Kyiv. Like swathes of Ukraine, the contours of this heavily guarded compound have been re-carved by President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Instead of a sweeping pedestrian boulevard leading to 10 Bankova – Ukraine’s 10 Downing Street – the complex is a disorientating labyrinth of blast walls, sandbags, and soldiers.

Bel Trew sits down with the first lady in a wide-ranging interview discussing her work rebuilding Ukraine in the middle of war – and the pressures on her family:

From Kyiv, Olena Zelenska’s urgent plea to help her nation as war rages

Thursday 3 August 2023 19:15 , Eleanor Noyce

The Royal Air Force has delivered a powerful message of unity to Russian president Vladimir Putin with the interception of dozens of Russian aircraft during its leadership of a Nato air policing mission in Estonia, Ben Wallace has said.

The defence secretary praised the RAF’s success, emphasising the unwavering commitment of the UK and its allies in safeguarding European airspace and standing against any potential threat to their borders.

His comments come as RAF personnel have returned to the UK after leading the air policing mission in Eastern Europe for four months, during which pilots intercepted 50 Russian aircraft and flew for a combined total of more than 500 hours.

Martina Bet has the full story:

‘We stand united’: RAF interception of Russian jets ‘sends strong message’ to Putin

Thursday 3 August 2023 18:47 , Eleanor Noyce

The United States remains confident that the Group of Seven’s price cap on Russian oil is working to squeeze Moscow’s revenues and stabilize energy markets despite a recent upturn in prices, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Thursday.

Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Eric Van Nostrand hailed the price cap as a successful part of the multilateral sanctions regime imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and said Washington and its partners were working to thwart any evasion.

“Our approach has struck at the heart of the Kremlin’s most important cash cow. Before the war, oil revenues constituted about a third of the total Russian budget, but in 2023 that number has fallen to just 25%,” he said in remarks prepared for a London conference.

The G7, the European Union and Australia imposed the $60 per barrel cap last December on sea-borne exports of Russian crude in retaliation for Russia’s war on Ukraine. It bans Western companies from providing services such as transportation, insurance and financing for the oil sold above the cap.

Van Nostrand said Russian data showed federal government oil revenues were nearly 50% lower in the first half of 2023 than a year earlier, and Russian oil was trading at “a significant discount” to Brent oil.

Russian officials had also complained about the impact of the price cap, he said, and the Kremlin has been forced to consider raising taxes on oil exporters to boost revenues, which could weaken the long-term outlook for its oil industry.

Van Nostrand said the average reported price for Russian Urals had hovered around $60, the level of the price cap, despite recent price increases as well as widespread expectations that the price would rise in the second half of 2023.

Russia’s Finance Ministry this week said Urals crude oil blend traded at $64.37 per barrel on average in July, up from $55.28 per barrel in June.

Russia will cut exports by 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) in September, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday. Russia, the world’s biggest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, had already pledged to cut oil output by 500,000 bpd, or about 5%, from March until year-end.

Thursday 3 August 2023 18:30 , Eleanor Noyce

The UK’s support for Ukraine is tireless, the defence secretary has pledged, after Ukraine’s first lady issued an emotional plea for the world not to lose interest in the fight against Russia.

Britain will back Ukraine “every way we can” until the war is over, Ben Wallace said.

His comments follow a heartfelt call from Olena Zelenska, in an exclusive interview with Independent TV, to other nations, in which she said: “Please don’t get fatigued, because we as Ukrainians have no right to get tired.”

Kate Devlin reports:

‘Until the end’: Ben Wallace’s dramatic pledge to Ukraine after first lady’s plea

Thursday 3 August 2023 18:20 , Eleanor Noyce

The European Union on Thursday imposed sanctions on several Belarus police, justice and prison officials over a crackdown on anti-government activists, and on media personnel and a company accused of supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Travel bans in Europe and asset freezes were slapped on 38 officials, including several judges and prosecutors. The EU also froze the assets of state oil and chemicals giant Belneftekhim.

It said the company “represents a fundamental asset for the Belarusian economy and foreign policy, in particular in relation to the cooperation between Russia and Belarus in developing a common oil market.”

Read more:

EU imposes sanctions on dozens in Belarus over protest crackdown and support for Russia

Thursday 3 August 2023 18:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Russian air strikes this week hit silos and shipping terminals for Ukrainian grain, potentially violating international law, which forbids attacks on resources essential to the civilian population.

Drone attacks wrecked buildings in the port of Izmail and prevented ships on the Danube River from loading grain for export. Around 100,000 metric tons have been destroyed, by Kyiv’s accounts.

Ukraine‘s prosecutors and the International Criminal Court in The Hague were already investigating possible war crimes in the shape of a winter campaign of air strikes on Ukrainian energy and utilities infrastructure as well as the attack on the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric dam in the southern Kherson region.

WHAT DOES INTERNATIONAL LAW SAY?

The 1949 Geneva Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war and their protocols prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians: “In no event shall actions against these objects be taken which may be expected to leave the civilian population with such inadequate food or water as to cause its starvation or force its movement.”

They explicitly prohibit attacks on “objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas for the production of foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works...”

Russia’s has conducted more than 100 attacks on Ukraine‘s grain and port infrastructure since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to Ukraine‘s prosecutor general’s office, which is investigating the strikes as potential war crimes.

Senior lawyer Yousuf Syed Khan at the international humanitarian law firm Global Rights Compliance, which is working with Ukraine to document war crimes, said:

“The ... intent to starve civilians as a method of warfare is quite clear here, and the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare qualifies as a war crime...

“The civilian population affected includes not only Ukrainians but also civilians who would benefit from the exports, including those in African states.”

Thursday 3 August 2023 17:45 , Eleanor Noyce

The United States would make sure that everyone including Russia would be able to export food products safely in the event of a return to the Black Sea grain deal, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at the United Nations on Thursday.

Thursday 3 August 2023 17:31 , Eleanor Noyce

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged all countries at the United Nations on Thursday to tell Russia to stop using the Black Sea as blackmail after Moscow quit a deal that had allowed Ukraine to safely ship its grain to global markets.

“Every member of the United Nations should tell Moscow ‘enough’,” said Blinken as he chaired a U.N. Security Council meeting on famine and food insecurity caused by conflict.

“Enough using the Black Sea as blackmail. Enough treating the world’s most vulnerable people as leverage. Enough of this unjustified unconscionable war,” he told the 15-member body.

Blinken announced that nearly 90 countries had backed a short U.S.-drafted communique in which they commit “to take action to end the use of food as a weapon of war and the starvation of civilians as a tactic of warfare.”

While the United States, the European Union and others have accused Russia of using food as a weapon of war by worsening a global food crisis when it invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. communique does not specifically call out any countries.

Russia last month quit a deal that had allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain for the past year. The pact was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to help ease a global food crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine and Russia are both leading grain exporters.

After Moscow quit, it began targeting Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure on the Black Sea and Danube River, sending global grain prices soaring. Moscow has said it may resurrect the Black Sea agreement if its demands to improve its own exports of grain and fertilizer are met.

Moscow argues that restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have hindered its agricultural exports.

“In reality, sanctions explicitly exclude food and fertilizer,” Blinken said. “At the time it abandoned the initiative, Russia was exporting more grain at higher prices than ever before.”

Blinken added that the United States would provide $362 million in new funding to “tackle the drivers of food insecurity and to enhance resilience” in 11 African countries and Haiti.

Separately, the Security Council in a formal statement adopted on Thursday, said it “strongly condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, which is prohibited by international humanitarian law, and the unlawful denial of humanitarian access.”

Thursday 3 August 2023 17:15 , Eleanor Noyce

Finnish foreign and security policy think-tank chief Mika Aaltola, a political outsider whose profile has been boosted by his role as a TV commentator on the Ukraine war, said on Thursday he would run for president in NATO’s newest member.

Finns will go to the polls on 28 January next year to elect a president to replace Sauli Niinisto, 74, who is required to retire after leading Finland’s foreign policy for two consecutive six-year terms.

“Finland clearly needs vision. New foreign policy has emerged, turbulence has occurred and there’s a lot more to come,” Aaltola, 54, told Reuters in an interview ahead of the announcement, referring to Finland’s swift foreign policy U-turn to join the NATO military alliance following neighbour Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The president is the commander-in-chief of Finland’s defence forces, represents Finland in NATO meetings and leads foreign policy in cooperation with the government.

Aaltola has never been a member of any political party, but began surging in presidential polls - even topping one last year - in a spontaneous response to his rising popularity as a TV analyst of the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We need to unlearn our strategic silence, which I’ve sometimes called strategic haziness. We have a somewhat stoic reputation abroad,” said Aaltola.

Aaltola wants Finland to remain a strong supporter of Ukraine, to bring its defence spending close to, “if not above”, 3% of its gross domestic product, he said.

Thursday 3 August 2023 17:01 , William Mata

Ukraine is looking to rally for support for a “peace blueprint” in talks in Saudi Arabia this weekend - it has been reported - although China’s participation remais in doubt.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday he hoped the initiative will lead to a “peace summit” of leaders from around the world this autumn to endorse the principles, based on his own 10-point formula for a peace settlement, Reuters has said.

Any deal would likely require international intervention with direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia seeming unlikely.

Neither the Jeddah gathering - which is expected to begin on Friday, with the main discussions on Saturday and Sunday - nor the peace summit would involve Russia.

Thursday 3 August 2023 16:48 , William Mata

A Moscow court has reportedly fined Apple around £3,000 for what it described as not deleting “inaccurate” content about Russia’s action in Ukraine.

The RussianTASS news agency said it was the first time the tech giant has been slapped with a fine and that it has not deleted the offending apps or podcasts.

Interfax, another news agency, cited the court as saying that the flagged content included information “aimed at involving minors in illegal activities in order to destabilise the political situation in the Russian Federation”.

Apple did not respond to an emailed request for comment and paused all product sales in Russia invaded Ukraine.

Thursday 3 August 2023 16:34 , William Mata

Rome residents have been surprised and perhaps frightened by a French artist’s statue of Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president is shown to be riding a red tank in James Colomina’s work which sprung up, without warning, next to a children’s play area.

The work is designed to show the childishness of Putin who is in a dangerous positon.

Thursday 3 August 2023 16:27 , William Mata

The European Union has announced sanctions on several Belarus police, justice and prison officials over how Russia’s ally has cracked down on Ukrainian sentiment.

The EU has taken action after what it sees as a crackdown on anti-government activists, and on media personnel.

Chemicals giant Belneftekhim has also seen its assets frozen as it “benefits from the support” provided by Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko’s regime to lessen the impact of Western sanctions, the EU said.

The union has put travel bans and asset freezes upon 38 officials, including several judges and prosecutors.

Thursday 3 August 2023 16:15 , William Mata

A politician who was, until recently, something of an outsider is set to run to be president of Finland after gaining a public profile through his TV commentary on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Finnish foreign and security policy think-tank chief Mika Aaltola announced his candidacy on Thursday and is set to be on the ballot when Finns go to the polls on January 28.

The leader of Finland is the prime minister and, although the president is head of state, he or she only has residual powers. But the president is still commander in chief of defence forces and represents the country at Nato meetings.

Current president Sauli Niinisto, 74, is required to retire after being at the helm for two consecutive six-year terms since 2012.

Mr Aaltola has said he wants Finland to remain a strong supporter of Ukraine, to bring its defence spending close to, “if not above”, 3 per cent of its gross domestic product.

Thursday 3 August 2023 16:03 , William Mata

Ukraine is investigating Russian attacks on its agriculture infrastructure as war crimes, it has been reported.

Kyiv’s presecutor general is wanting the shelling on agriculture installations to be looked at, Reuters has reported, after the attacks intensified since Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative export deal with Ukraine on July 17.

A statement from the prosecutor’s office said: “Overall, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russian forces have conducted more than 100 attacks on Ukraine‘s grain and port infrastructure,” the prosecutor general’s office said in a statement.

“Ukraine is investigating these acts as potential war crimes.”

This will add to the backlog of the reported 97,000 potential war crimes which have been flagged with the International Criminal Court in The Hague

Thursday 3 August 2023 15:54 , William Mata

Poland’s prime minister has raised fears that the Wagner mercenary force is moving to destabilise Nato’s eastern flank.

The Russian-aligned soldiers have been training with the Belarus national army, which has prompted Poland to locate 1,000 troops close to its own border. It follows Poland, on Tuesday, accusing Belarus of violating its airspace with military helicopters.

Prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said: “We need to be aware that the number of provocations will rise.”

He spoke after meeting Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda in eastern Poland.

“The Wagner group is extremely dangerous and they are being moved to the eastern flank to destabilise it.”

The politicians met in the Suwalki Gap, a sparsely populated but strategically important area of Polish territory between Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad that joins the Baltic states to other NATO members.

Thursday 3 August 2023 14:25 , William Mata

The Ukrainian president tweeted that he had met with battalion.

“The warriors of the 45th separate rifle battalion are absolutely heroic. It was an honor for me to visit the defenders in Ivano-Frankivsk who are undergoing treatment there and talk to them. It was an honor to receive a chevron and add it to the chevron board in my office.

“The battalion took part in battles in the north and east of Ukraine. The repulsed enemy attacks and retained positions are a feat, lives saved, Ukraine saved. I am proud of you, warriors! And thank you!”

Thursday 3 August 2023 12:20 , AP

Polish and Lithuanian leaders held an urgent meeting Thursday in a strategically sensitive area where their NATO nations border Belarus and the Russian territory of Kaliningrad, warning that they are bracing for provocations from Moscow and Minsk in the area.

The meeting came two days after two Belarusian helicopters flew briefly at low altitude into Polish air space, in what was viewed as a provocative move. Both nations on NATO’s eastern flank have increased their border security following the arrival of thousands of Russia-linked Wagner group mercenaries just across their borders in Belarus after an aborted mutiny in Russia in June.

“Russia and Belarus are increasing the pressure on the borders, increasing the number of their provocations, and we must be aware that the number of these provocations will grow,” Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a news conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.

The Belarusian foreign ministry denied that its country’s helicopters entered Poland. Local Polish residents posted photos on social media of helicopters with Belarusian insignia flying above.

They met in Suwalki, a town in the Suwalki Gap, a sparsely populated stretch of land running 96 kilometers (60 miles) along the Polish-Lithuanian border. Also known as the Suwalki Corridor, the stretch of territory links the three Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia with the rest of the NATO alliance. It separates Belarus, an ally of Russia, from Kaliningrad, a heavily militarized exclave of Russia located on the Baltic Sea which is separated from the Russian mainland.

Thursday 3 August 2023 12:12 , Reuters

India will participate in Ukraine peace talks to be hosted by Saudi Arabia on August 5 and 6, a foreign ministry spokesperson said during a news briefing on Thursday.

Thursday 3 August 2023 11:43 , Reuters

The European Union executive said on Thursday Poland’s new law on Russian influence “continues to raise serious concerns.”

Despite criticism that it could serve as a tool to persecute political rivals ahead of a national election due this autumn, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda - an ally of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party - signed the law into force on Wednesday.

The law would, among other things, create a special committee to investigate any undue Russian influence in Poland.

A spokeswoman of the European Commission also said that risked putting Poland at odds with EU laws when the panel starts operating.

Thursday 3 August 2023 11:37 , William Mata