There have reportedly been explosions along the Kerch Bridge in Crimea, which connects Russia with the occupied area.
Russian-appointed officials assert that they shot down two drones in the vicinity and that no bridge damage has occurred, despite the temporary suspension of traffic.
Smoke can be seen erupting from the bridge in a video of it.
The report was released after Russian troops overnight destroyed 20 drones over Crimea.
The ministry announced in a Telegram message that 14 drones were shot down by Russian air defences and an additional six were electronically jammed. There were no reported injuries or damage.
The drone strikes on Moscow, the capital of Russia, lasted three days in a row before the nocturnal attacks.
Drone attacks on Russia have little clear military benefit for Ukraine after more than 17 months of hostilities, but the tactic has succeeded in unsettling Russians and making the war’s repercussions real to them.
Drone strikes on Moscow and Crimea, which Russia took from Ukraine in 2014 and which the majority of the world viewed as illegitimate, have risen in recent weeks.
Officials in Kiev have not acknowledged or denied any involvement by Ukraine in the attempted strikes.
In a separate incident, Russia asserted that a nighttime counterattack had allowed it to retake control of the town of Urozhaine in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk area.
According to Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor, a 73-year-old woman was killed early on Saturday morning during Russian shelling of Ukraine’s north-eastern Kharkiv area.
Ihor Klymenko, the minister of internal affairs for Ukraine, reported that a guided Russian aerial bomb struck the city of Orikhiv in the country’s partially controlled southern Zaporizhzhia region, killing one police officer and injuring 12 others.
He claimed that four of the injured also included police officers.
Since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, the city of Odesa on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast has opened a number of beaches.
Six beaches, according to Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper, are open, but he emphasised that it is not permitted to enter beaches when there is an air raid alert.
Since Moscow cancelled a historic grain deal last month amid Kyiv’s relentless efforts to retake its occupied territories, the strategic port and major hub for grain exports has been repeatedly targeted by missile and drone attacks, and Russian mines have frequently washed up on the city’s beaches.
Chinese representatives attending a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last weekend gave European diplomats some little solace. The goal of the gathering was to settle the Ukrainian issue peacefully.
Although Beijing maintained its posture of neutrality, some sources contend that Beijing’s mere attendance at a meeting to which Russia claims it was not invited sent a signal to the world that it was unwilling to publicly align with Russia against the West.
Putin, the president of Russia, may not have gotten everything he wanted, but even a little success in the zero-sum game of diplomacy is cause for celebration.
A senior EU source told CNN, “We never anticipated China to go totally to the Western stance, but sponsoring this conference will be a significant disappointment to Russia.
“In our opinion, China is actively interacting with the West, speaking with the Ukrainians, and rebuffing Russia. The official said, “We truly appreciate that. This opinion is shared by other European sources.
Even if China’s involvement in world affairs may be a setback for Russia, Western allies continue to be wary of China, in part because the two nations continue to have close economic, diplomatic, and security relations.
Beijing hasn’t given the impression that it is cutting back on relations with Russia, despite the delegation’s attendance in Jeddah. A day after the Jeddah negotiations ended, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, called his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and reiterated Beijing’s “impartiality” in the crisis.
Throughout the conflict, the military of the two nations have continued to train together. Last week, a naval patrol was conducted off the coast of Alaska. According to Russian media, Putin will also travel to China in October after accepting Xi Jinping’s invitation in March.
The same senior EU source recognised that Beijing has few reasons to want to end the war outside of its relationships with trading partners. “From their viewpoint, the US, its main opponent, is preoccupied, and Russia has grown even more into a subordinate partner. The only drawback is how it influences others’ perceptions of China.
It’s no secret that China and Europe have a strained relationship. That, according to officials, is problematic for Chinese leaders who see European countries as targets in Beijing and Washington’s struggle for global supremacy.
It’s also no secret that China’s tight ties to Russia, along with Beijing’s unwillingness to denounce Moscow’s full-scale invasion, have unnerved a number of European nations, particularly those that are geographically close to Russia, and caused them to reevaluate how Europe should interact with China.
According to a European security source, “China’s main goal is to maintain ambiguity in the European position so they don’t go as far as the US would like.” “Retaining economic ties makes it more difficult for hawks to distance Europe from China. Jeddah may have been a response to Russia’s efforts to bring Europe closer to the US. China will feel compelled to get involved in Ukraine again.
Policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations Alicja Bachulska concurs:
“China’s recent actions unquestionably involve PR damage management. China is waiting to act, and it will do so as long as it can. Attending this kind of meeting fits in very well with this plan, especially if Russia is not present. For everyone who still has the foolish belief that China can make a difference, it makes for fantastic headlines.
In short, the EU’s most challenging but crucial international relationship hasn’t changed in Brussels as a result of China coming to the table.
According to several officials who spoke with CNN, the relationship with China is currently in a state of stasis as it tries to strike a balance between what Europe needs and what Europe wants.
Despite its dependence on China, Europe still imports far more from that country than it does. The trade imbalance increased significantly from 2020 to 2022, reaching €396 billion ($436 billion).
This has occurred despite Europe’s reluctance to ratify official treaties and agreements. Because China has penalised members of the European Parliament for criticising China’s human rights record, the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, which was negotiated for nearly ten years before a basic agreement was reached, is on hold.
The official position of Europe towards China has likewise altered, and as of 2019, it officially recognises Beijing as a “systemic rival.” In an effort to counter China’s hegemony in Eurasia, Brussels has launched distinct strategic actions since 2019.
According to a CNN interview with an EU official, Brussels has not yet “solidified” its stance on China. “A Jeddah-style declaration is nice, but it won’t change the rules of the game. Since the beginning of the war, we have wished for China to act in this manner.
The official emphasised that even positive actions like these are eventually judged in light of other actions like Beijing’s regard for human rights, its aggressive posture towards Taiwan, and its purported involvement in corporate espionage. In that sense, Brussels’ varied complaints against Beijing can be seen through yet another lens when it comes to China’s actions or inactivity in regard to Ukraine.
It’s this conflicting reality—China is needed by Europe for some things, but it’s also seen as a security danger and a bad actor on the international stage—that makes things so difficult.
In fact, despite the tense nature of their relations, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, as well as the leaders of France, Germany, and Spain, have all recently visited China.
In areas like climate change, setting the pace for emerging technology, and establishing a free-standing foreign policy, Brussels has set itself lofty goals. The EU chose a third option in which the US would continue to be its principal ally but closer commercial connections with China were established because it did not want to choose between the two major powers of the East and West.
In doing so, it intended to persuade China to adopt European viewpoints on a variety of issues, including human rights, the rules-based international order, and climate change.
European leaders in 2023 are aware of China’s significant security risks and the dangers of becoming unduly dependent on China. But they also acknowledge that they could need China’s assistance to accomplish their grandiose goals.
Future society will be heavily dependent on items like inexpensive electric cars, solar panels, and steel for wind farms. Sam Goodman from the China Strategic Risks Institute argues that China can create these items at a low cost and already has a good start in terms of being a significant supplier for the global market.
Additionally, Goodman points out that given the current economic situation for Europe, smaller governments may be more susceptible to the allure of Chinese funding for significant infrastructure projects.
“China has historically been keen to buy up or heavily invest in European infrastructure projects, be they nuclear power stations, roads, or water companies,” he said. “European nations have recently become less enthusiastic about this, but it might be tempting for countries with weak economies to accept some money as a temporary fix.”
Wide-ranging security issues have been raised by officials on numerous occasions. Senior EU security officials told CNN that China continues to be the main source of cyberattacks, with the majority of them concentrating on business espionage.
Others say that Europe doesn’t want to end up in the same position it did with Russia in terms of relying on one provider so heavily for energy or other resources, especially in the event China becomes even more forceful in its own backyard and goes from systemic rival to full-blown international pariah, as seen with Putin’s Moscow.
Between these fears over security, Europe’s international ambitions and China’s global ambitions, it might seem hard to pin down exactly what either side want from their future relationship.
“I don’t believe China has given up on Europe just yet. According to Charles Parton, a former first counsellor to the EU delegation in Beijing, “it hopes it can still influence the decisions of enough European nations to prevent America from fleeing in the struggle over new technology.”
“They have recently lost on things like Huawei and will be desperate to remain competitive on semiconductors, AI, and all the things that will matter a lot in the coming years,” the author continues.
More challenges arise for Europe. According to officials, Brussels is steadfast in defying Washington’s demands to entirely cut off relations with China while treading the fine line of the US remaining its closest partner. They assert that it will collaborate with China on some of the most significant global challenges at the same time as aiming to achieve its global goals without becoming unduly dependent on China.
It’s an ambitious strategy, but one that mostly leaves its own destiny up to chance. Or, at the very least, in the control of a nation that has seen its standing as a partner with Europe considerably decline over the past ten years.
As Russia intensifies its attacks, Ukraine has mandated the evacuation of all inhabitants from 37 communities in the region’s northeast.
The Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region’s administration claimed they were forced to take action due to “constant Russian shelling” in the region.
According to Ukraine, bombardment in the area on Thursday resulted in the death of a woman.
According to Russia, its troops have made some progress in the region. According to Ukraine, Russian strikes have been repelled.
The two opposing sides’ statements have not been independently verified.
The Kupiansk district administration issued a statement announcing the evacuation of 35 villages and two towns.
The authorities warned, “Don’t disregard your safety and the safety of your loved ones!”
People were being evacuated to “safe regions” of Ukraine, they claimed.
A local of one of the evacuated settlements, Kivsharivka, claimed she was getting ready to leave with her kids but her husband preferred to stay to look after his old mother.
“It’s hard to leave them behind,” 36-year-old Anna Koresh told the AFP news agency. However, she continued, “it’s important to take the kids to a safe place because it’s getting dangerous.”
The Russian defence ministry stated in its most recent briefing that its assault forces moving in the direction of Kupiansk had “improved their position along the front line during offensive operations.”
The military of Ukraine claimed that its troops “successfully repelled” Russian assaults.
However, a Russian shell that struck a house in the village of Podoly, Kupiansk region, on Thursday night resulted in the deaths of a woman and an injury to a man, according to Ukrainian officials.
For residents of Kupiansk, this is not the first order to evacuate.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Kupiansk, a crucial regional hub for transportation and supplies, has seen heavy warfare.
In a matter of days, Russian forces took over the city, but a quick counterattack by Ukrainian forces in September restored Ukrainian authority.
These developments, along with the liberation of Kherson in southern Ukraine, represented the biggest shifts on the front lines since Russia withdrew from regions near Kyiv’s capital in April.
Local authorities in Zaporizhzhia city, in southern Ukraine, said that one person was killed in a Russia
Russia successfully launched Luna 25, the nation’s first lunar lander in 47 years.
The unmanned spacecraft took launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Amur Oblast. At 7:10 p.m. ET on Thursday, Luna 25 launched into space on a Soyuz-2 Fregat rocket at 8:10 a.m. local time on Friday.
According to Reuters, there is a “one in a million chance” that one of Luna 25’s rocket stages may land there, thus residents of a Russian village were temporarily evacuated on Friday morning.
The spacecraft is anticipated to first enter an orbit around Earth before changing to a lunar orbit and eventually dropping to the moon’s surface. On August 18, 1976, Luna 24, Russia‘s final lunar lander, touched down there.
According to Reuters, there is a race to see which nation will arrive first when India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission and Luna 25 both intend to touch down at the lunar south pole on August 23. However, Roscomos stated that because their exact landing zones differ, it is not anticipated that the two missions will interfere with one another, according to Reuters.
For one year, Luna 25, also known as the Luna-Glob-Lander, will investigate the elements that make up the lunar polar soil as well as the plasma and particles that make up the moon’s meagre atmosphere.
According to NASA, the four-legged lander is equipped with landing rockets, fuel tanks, solar panels, computers, a robotic arm with a scoop to gather lunar samples, as well as a variety of equipment to analyse the samples and the exosphere.
Initially, Luna 25, Luna 26, Luna 27, and the ExoMars rover were all going to be jointly developed by Roscosmos and the European Space Agency.
But after Russia invaded Ukraine in April 2022, this collaboration came to an end, and the ESA Council decided to “discontinue cooperative activities with Russia.”
Chandrayaan-3, which launched on July 14 and entered lunar orbit over the weekend, consists of a lander, rover, and propulsion module.
India’s effort to make a landing at the lunar south pole follows Chandrayaan-2’s moon crash in September 2019. If the new mission is successful, India would become just the fourth nation, after the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China, to accomplish the challenging accomplishment. Chandrayaan-3 will spend a few weeks on the moon’s surface performing a number of scientific investigations to find out more about the moon’s makeup.
In late 2025, during the Artemis III mission, NASA intends to place a woman and a person of colour on the moon for the first time at the lunar south pole.
Due to its prospective riches, this region of the moon has been the subject of numerous missions. A crucial factor to take into account as organisations like NASA look to stably study the moon for extended lengths of time in the future is the possibility that deep, permanently shadowed craters in the lunar south pole contain ice that might be utilised for fuel, oxygen, and drinking water.
“We’re going to see several spacecraft, some perhaps from other nations, that are going to be landing on the south pole in the near future,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a news conference on Tuesday. “There is a resurgence of interest in the moon, which is naturally due to the possibility of water. To prepare for a trip to Mars and a safe return, we’re travelling back to Earth to study how to survive in a deep space environment for extended periods of time.
Nelson responded, “We wish them well,” when questioned about the forthcoming Luna 25 launch, stating that NASA and its Russian counterpart had been working together since 1975, going back to the Soviet era.
Officials report that a Russian missile attack on homes in the eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk has resulted in at least seven fatalities.
As rescuers were looking for victims of the first rocket, two missiles struck the town.
Police officers and rescuers were among the numerous injured. Over 30 individuals, including two children, were injured.
Rescue efforts are still going on.
Pokrovsk is located around 70 kilometres (43 miles) north-west of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk. It had a population of about 60,000 before the war.
The leader of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Krylenko, said that a member of the emergency services was killed in the second strike and that five people were murdered in the first strike. Additionally, a military employee perished.
He said, “High-rise buildings, private houses, administrative buildings, catering establishments, [and] a hotel” were among the “destroyed and damaged” structures.
“Russia is a state that sponsors terrorism. And she ought to pay for her sins!” he continued in a Telegram post.
Other Ukrainian officials claim that the second missile, which landed 40 minutes after the first, killed and injured rescuers who were looking for survivors in the rubble of what Mr Zelensky called a “ordinary residential building,” killing and injuring them in the process.
He released a video showing the top floor of a five-story building being destroyed.
It showed individuals helping one another into ambulances and clearing away debris amidst scenes of general mayhem and uncertainty.
A local who was hurt in the initial strike, Kateryna, told the news agency Reuters that she was at home when the missile struck.
“My eyes were filled with flame. I stumbled and hit the ground and floor. Only the shrapnel in my neck is hurting me; otherwise, I’m fine.
At least two civilians were also killed, according to Andriy Yermak, chief of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, when Russian guided bombs struck “private houses” in the Kharkiv Region on Monday night.
He said that five persons were hurt in the attacks.
The bombing of a Russian tanker in the Black Sea, according to Putin’s spokesperson, “will not go unanswered.”
Late on Friday, 450 kg of TNT-filled Ukrainian drones fired on the ship near the Crimean peninsula.
It came after similar attacks on Novorossiysk, the first time a Russian port has been hit throughout the conflict’s 18-month duration.
The ‘terrorist attack’ on a supposedly civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait was termed as such by Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The author and perpetrators of such horrific acts will undoubtedly face punishment, she stated on Telegram, and there can be no justification for them.
According to Vladimir Rogov, a Russian officer stationed in the occupied Ukrainian province of Zaporizhzhia, numerous crew members on the tanker had suffered glass injuries.
The attack on the ship, which is believed to have been carrying fuel for Russian forces, has been informally confirmed by a member of the Ukrainian Security Service, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not licenced to make public statements.
Following the drone attacks in the Black Sea, a multi-wave offensive against Ukraine was launched on Saturday night, with over 70 air-assault weapons being used against Ukrainian sites.
According to Kiev’s Air Force, all 27 of the Iranian Shahed drones that were launched overnight and 30 of the 40 cruise missiles were destroyed by Ukrainian air defence. Currently, there is no information available regarding the 10 missiles that were not destroyed.
In recent weeks, the battle between Ukraine and Russia has moved closer to the Black Sea.
The Kremlin pulled out of an agreement for Ukraine to ship millions of tonnes of grain for sale on the world market earlier in July, and since then Ukrainian ports have been repeatedly attacked.
Dmitry Medvedev, a former leader of Russia and the country’s deputy chair of the Security Council, wrote on Telegram on Saturday that Moscow would keep attacking these targets in retribution for the recent tanker attack.
He said: ‘Apparently, the strikes on Odesa, Izmail, and other places were not enough for them.’
A two-day summit to discuss potential terms for peace between the warring states has begun in Saudi Arabia in the meanwhile.
Senior government officials from over 40 nations will discuss fundamental ideas for resolving the conflict, but Russia has not sent any representatives.
At the beginning of the negotiations, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated: “It is very important because the fate of millions of people in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world directly depends on how quickly the world will implement the Peace Formula.”
Ms. Zakahorva has recently stated to Russian state media that it is ‘absurd’ to consider resolutions to the conflict without Moscow’s involvement.
As reported by Ukrainian officials, missile strikes overnight that are believed to have been carried out in response for drone attacks against a Russian tanker in the Black Sea resulted in the deaths of six individuals.
On Saturday night, more than 70 air assault weapons were deployed by the Kremlin against sites in western Ukraine in a volley of missile attacks as retaliation.
In spite of Kyiv’s Air Force initially claiming to have destroyed 30 of 40 missiles and 27 of the Iranian-made Shahed drones, the air force has subsequently revealed that at least six people have died as a result of the ten missiles that managed to escape.
Just hours after similar attacks against the Russian port of Novorssiysk, Ukrainian drones flying over the Black Sea on Friday hit a Russian fuel ship with more than 450 kilogrammes of explosives.
Following the attacks, Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, declared: “There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered, and they will inevitably be punished.”
The retaliatory attacks, according to Serhiy Tyurin, deputy commander of the Khmelnytsky region military administration in Western Ukraine, arrived in three waves, damaging many structures and starting a warehouse fire.
They may have had Starokostyantyniv’s airstrip as their intended destination, he continued.
Four more people were injured in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, where two of the fatalities happened, while two more people died in Donetsk.
According to reports, a guided bomb also struck a blood transfusion facility in Kharkiv earlier in the day, and shelling in the village of Podoly resulted in the deaths of one 58-year-old lady and one 66-year-old male.
A woman in her eighties was allegedly killed by Ukrainian shelling, and the main building of a nearby university was set on fire and collapsed without any known injuries, according to Donetsk officials nominated by the Kremlin.
A drone was shot down from the nearby airspace on Sunday morning, briefly halting flights from Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, located about nine miles southwest of the city.
Despite failing, it was the fourth attack on the Russian capital in the past month; on July 30, two drones crashed into Moscow’s financial sector after being disabled by local air defences.
African countries emerged from the second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg with a mix of benefits. For vulnerable nations like Somalia, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Mali, and the Central African Republic, they can expect 50,000 tonnes of free grain soon.
In a significant move, Russia declared its forgiveness of more than $20 billion worth of debt owed by African countries. This debt relief includes countries such as Ethiopia ($5.7 billion), Libya ($4.5 billion), Angola ($3.5 billion), and Somalia ($684 million).
During the summit, Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, representing his country, engaged in fruitful discussions with senior executives from four Russian companies, exploring potential trade and business opportunities.
Majaliwa emphasized that Tanzania is banking on the fast-growing regional markets shared with neighboring countries like Kenya, Uganda, Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique. To meet the rising demand of over 800,000 tonnes of fertilizers per year, Tanzania seeks to establish fertilizer factories with the help of Russian companies, as the country can currently only meet 200,000 tonnes of that demand.
Russia’s post-summit announcement highlighted its objective to boost trade with Africa, especially in light of Western sanctions.
“We are planning to build up our trade in quality and quantity and improve its pattern. We are also going to gradually switch to national currencies, including the ruble, in making financial payments on commercial deals,” Russian leader Vladmir Putin told a press conference in St Petersburg.
“We will be removing trade barriers by aligning integration processes in the Eurasian Economic Union and the African Union and its free trade area. We intend to increase exports to Africa of Russian industrial products that have earned a good reputation on the continent, including machinery, automobiles, equipment, chemicals and fertilisers.”
Neocolonialism
Putin used the occasion to trumpet what he called a fight against neocolonialism and unilateralism in international order.
Comorian President and chair of the African Union Azali Assoumani was more diplomatic, indicating that Africa is banking on mutual victories in the fight for global justice.
“If Russia wins, Africa wins,” Assoumani said.
The St Petersburg Declaration, the common document agreed between the two sides, said they had agreed to “work together to counter manifestations of neo-colonial policies that aim to undermine the sovereignty of states, deprive them of the freedom to make their own decisions, and plunder their natural resources.”
Despite the fact that there were less participants than in 2019 (17 heads of state and government showed up), many believe the time of the summit was favorable for Russia to demonstrate its significance on the international scene.
“Unlike the West, Russia is the only power appearing to give solutions to food challenges in Africa, and it has coincided with a coup crisis in Africa, putting Russia at the centre of global security governance,” said Dr Nasong’o Muliro, a foreign policy and security specialist at the Global Centre for Policy and Strategy in Nairobi.
“The summit may have appeared low-key, but it was timely in improving global perceptions about Russia,” said Dr Nasong’o Muliro, a foreign policy and security specialist at the Global Centre for Policy and Strategy in Nairobi.
They will also “oppose the application of illegitimate unilateral restrictive measures, including secondary ones, as well as the practice of freezing sovereign foreign exchange reserves. Reaffirm the unacceptability of using political blackmail to bring leaders of third countries to implement such measures or influence the political and economic policies of states.”
African countries, however, will not be getting free lunch. In 2019, the Summit decided that Russia will invest $40 billion over five years. This year, Russia promised specialised programmes for healthcare, including the 1.2 billion rubles ($130 million) to prepare African countries to fight new infections. It runs until 2026.
But, as in the past, Russia won over African countries to side with it in fighting the “injustices’ in the world, including what it called unfair sanctions by the West.
Senior officials from around 40 nations, except Russia, will gather for a weekend meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with the goal of formulating fundamental guidelines for ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, hailed the diversity of nations participating in the negotiations, which got underway on Saturday. This included developing nations that were particularly severely impacted by the rise in food prices brought on by the conflict.
“This is very important because, on issues such as food security, the fate of millions of people in Africa, Asia and other parts of the world directly depends on how fast the world moves to implement the peace formula,” he said.
Last month, Russia took the decision to suspend its involvement in a United Nations-mediated grain agreement, which facilitated the transport of Ukrainian agricultural products through the Black Sea to regions facing food shortages.
President Zelenskyy expressed his aspiration that this move would pave the way for a global gathering of leaders during the upcoming autumn, dedicated to endorsing the principles outlined in Ukraine’s 10-point formula for conflict resolution.
Among the crucial components of Ukraine’s formula are demands for the acknowledgment of its territorial integrity and the removal of Russian forces from areas that Moscow claims to have annexed.
The forum excludes Russia, which has rejected Ukraine’s peace formula. The Kremlin said it will “keep an eye” on the meeting.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that Russia would “need to understand what goals are set and what will be discussed”.
“Any attempt to promote a peaceful settlement deserves a positive evaluation,” he said.
Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from Kyiv, said the summit was important for Ukraine as it presented an opportunity to reach out to nations that have remained neutral, including India and Brazil.
The participation of China, a steadfast ally of Russia, was particularly noteworthy. Vaessen continued, “What Ukraine truly hopes is that China will support Zelenskyy’s peace plan.
China, which claims to be a third party to the war but has come under fire from Western capitals for delaying to denounce the invasion of Ukraine, announced on Friday that it would send Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui to the Jeddah talks.
“We have many disagreements and we have heard different positions, but it is important that our principles are shared,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Chinese ministry, Wang Wenbin, stated that China is committed to collaborating with the international community to actively contribute to finding a political resolution to the crisis in Ukraine.
China and Russia have repeatedly emphasized their strong relationship, particularly after Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin declared an extensive partnership in February 2022 during Putin’s visit to Beijing.
However, tensions arose when China’s embassy in Russia criticized the treatment of five Chinese citizens denied entry into Russia, stating that it was inconsistent with the overall amicable relations between the two nations.
Saudi Arabia also played a significant role in the recent talks, expressing its readiness to use its influence to help achieve a lasting peace. As the world’s largest crude exporter and closely aligned with both Russia and Ukraine on oil policy, Saudi Arabia has positioned itself as a potential mediator in the conflict.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s rehabilitation on the global stage was facilitated in part by the energy crisis stemming from the Ukraine war. Although isolated following the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia’s stance against Russia’s invasion and annexation in Ukraine has bolstered its international significance.
The recent meeting between key parties follows informal talks organized by Ukraine in Copenhagen in June, which did not yield an official statement.
In May, Saudi Arabia hosted Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at an Arab League summit in Jeddah, where he called out some Arab leaders for turning a blind eye to the atrocities of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine.
Russian authorities have reported that a Russian tanker carrying 11 crew members suffered damage in an attack within the Black Sea, allegedly carried out by Ukrainian forces.
The incident, which occurred in the Kerch Strait, resulted in damage to the vessel’s engine room during an overnight strike. Fortunately, no injuries were reported among the crew.
While Ukraine has not made a public statement regarding the incident, a source from the Ukrainian security service informed the BBC that a sea drone was utilized in the attack.
This marks the second consecutive day featuring an assault involving similar weaponry. However, Russia has not confirmed any destruction resulting from the previous day’s attack.
Sea drones, also known as naval drones, are unmanned, compact vessels designed to operate either on or beneath the water’s surface.
The Kerch Strait serves as the link between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, effectively dividing Crimea – a peninsula seized by Moscow in 2014 – and Russia’s Taman peninsula.
Ukraine’s SBU security service revealed that the operation on Saturday was conducted in collaboration with the Ukrainian navy, involving the use of 450kg of TNT explosive. Notably, the targeted tanker was laden with fuel, causing the resulting explosion to be visible from a considerable distance.
As per Russia’s maritime transport agency, the Sig tanker was positioned 17 miles (27km) south of the Crimean Bridge at the time of the attack.
An official from Russia’s regional Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) reported to the state-run Tass news agency that two tugboats had already arrived at the scene of the assault, situated just south of the Kerch Strait.
“The engine room was damaged. Not much, but it was damaged,” the official said.
Russia’s maritime transport agency RosMorRechFlot later said the vessel had a hole “in the area of [the] engine room near the waterline from the starboard side, presumably as a result of an attack by a sea drone”.
“The ship is afloat,” it added.
Reports from Russian state-run media indicate that the Crimean Bridge’s lights, located to the north, were deactivated and traffic was halted due to warnings of an impending attack.
On Friday, Ukrainian security sources informed the BBC that a Ukrainian naval drone had executed a substantial strike on a Russian naval vessel near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Allegedly, footage emerged depicting the drone hitting the Olenegorsky Gornyak large landing ship. Another video, yet to be verified, displayed a prominently tilting vessel being towed to port.
In contrast, Russia’s defense ministry asserted that it had successfully thwarted a Ukrainian attack on its naval base in Novorossiysk, involving two sea drones, without acknowledging any resulting damage.
Situated southeast of the Kerch Strait, Novorossiysk stands as a significant conduit for Russian exports.
Recent weeks have witnessed escalated clashes at sea, coinciding with Russia’s abandonment of a pivotal UN agreement that ensured secure grain exports across the Black Sea.
Russian drones and missiles have targeted Ukrainian ports, prompting Kyiv to issue threats of retaliation.
In a distinct development, Saudi Arabia is scheduled to convene talks aimed at resolving the Ukrainian conflict later on Saturday. Invitations have been dispatched to approximately 30 nations, excluding Russia, for the meeting to be held in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.
Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a comprehensive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukrainian sources, has stated that a Russian naval ship in the Black Sea was damaged in a drone attack conducted by the Ukrainian navy. The incident reportedly took place near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, a major hub for Russian exports.
Russia’s defense ministry claimed to have repelled the Ukrainian attack on its naval base using two sea drones but did not acknowledge any damage to its vessel. However, Ukrainian security service sources revealed that the ship, Olenegorsky Gornyak, was struck and suffered a serious breach. They stated that a sea drone carrying 450kg (992lb) of dynamite hit the ship.
Russia’s official report did not mention any damage resulting from the attack. Sea drones are unmanned vessels that operate either on or below the water’s surface.
A video provided to the BBC by a source with Ukraine’s security service appears to show the drone approaching a ship, believed to be the Olenegorsky Gornyak. The footage depicts the vessel coming close to the ship’s side before the feed abruptly cuts off, presumably due to the impact. An unverified video also shows the ship listing to one side.
The Olenegorsky Gornyak is a landing ship designed for launching amphibious forces close to shore for beach landings and efficiently unloading cargo at ports. Any damage to this vessel could disrupt Russia’s efforts to resupply its forces fighting in occupied southern Ukraine.
In response to the attack, the Novorossiysk port temporarily suspended ship movements, as stated by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which handles oil loading onto tankers at the port.
Research conducted by BBC Verify indicates that Ukraine has carried out at least ten attacks using sea drones, targeting military ships, Russia’s naval base in Sevastopol, and Novorossiysk harbor in a previous assault. Ukrainian defense sources also disclosed that sea drones were employed in an attack on the Kerch Bridge in Crimea in July.
Ukraine’s attempts to target the Novorossiysk port are not new, and the reasons behind their actions are apparent.
The port plays a crucial role in exporting approximately 1.8 million barrels of oil per day, accounting for about 2% of the global supply. Additionally, Novorossiysk serves as a significant naval base for Moscow.
Recent weeks have witnessed an escalation in sea clashes following Russia’s decision to abandon a UN deal that allowed safe grain exports between Russia and Ukraine across the water. As a result, Ukrainian ports have faced attacks from Russian drones, prompting Kyiv to respond actively.
Interestingly, Ukraine appears more forthcoming in acknowledging its involvement in strikes using sea drones, in contrast to attacks deeper within Russian territory.
The defense ministry of Russia reported that it successfully thwarted Ukrainian attacks on the Novorossiysk naval base in the Black Sea overnight.
In response to the situation, Russia’s defense minister, Sergey Shoigu, visited Russian troops on the front line in Ukraine.
Additionally, Russia claimed to have shot down at least 13 Ukrainian drones over the Crimean Peninsula.
Amid the escalating costs of the conflict in Ukraine, Russia has reportedly revised its 2023 defense spending goal to exceed $100 billion, constituting around one-third of its total public expenditure. A government document examined by Reuters reveals this updated budget allocation, as specific financial data concerning the conflict is no longer publicly disclosed.
The disclosed figures provide insight into Russia’s financial commitment to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Notably, during the initial half of 2023, Russia’s defense spending surpassed its original target by 12 percent, amounting to 600 billion roubles ($6.4 billion) more than the initially allocated 4.98 trillion roubles ($53 billion) for the year.
These revelations highlight the substantial allocation of resources to defense, with the first half of 2023 witnessing defense expenditures of 5.59 trillion roubles ($58 billion) out of a total expenditure of 14.97 trillion roubles ($159 billion). The document indicates that Russia’s budget aims to allocate 17.1 percent of total funds to “national defense.”
Despite these disclosures, neither Russia’s government nor its finance ministry has responded to Reuters’ requests for commentary on the provided numbers.
In a furious retaliation to the head of MI6, Russia is now urging Britons to spy for Putin.
UK citizens and other members of the Nato “axis of evil” were invited to provide information with their intelligence agency by Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry.
When he claimed last month that individuals upset by Putin’s invasion could aid his British agents in putting an end to the carnage, Sir Richard Moore infuriated Moscow.
‘Many’ Russian citizens have already committed this act of treason during the previous 18 months, he added.
Two weeks later, in a statement, Putin’s spokesperson described the attack as “Russophobic” and compared it to Nazi propaganda.
Moore urged people to betray the Motherland and work with British intelligence, completely disregarding the gentleman’s code, Zakharova claimed.
‘In my opinion, a mirror-image response is required.
Such appeals should be made to residents of the British Isles and the other nations that make up the Nato axis of evil, enticing them to assist Russian intelligence.
I believe it’s a fantastic idea to provide UK citizens, the majority of whom are currently in incredibly precarious situations, the possibility to work with the Russian secret services, she continued.
MI6 head calls on Russians to “join hands with us” to put an end to the killing in Ukraine
What’s the big deal, anyway? London believes it to be normal, hence. I don’t understand why we should forgo it, so let’s wait and see.
Following the US foreign intelligence service’s rare publishing of a recruitment video explaining how Russians might contact them on Telegram, the MI6 director made a rare intervention.
Sir Richard stated in his speech in Prague that “many Russians are silently appalled by the sight of their armed forces pulverising Ukrainian cities, evicting innocent families from their homes, and kidnapping thousands of children.”
They are witnessing their warriors wreak havoc on a neighbouring nation with terror.
“They know in their hearts that Putin’s justification for attacking a fellow Slavic country is fraudulent, a miasma of lies and fantasy,” the author writes.
In 1968, after the Soviet tanks repressed the Prague spring revolutions, he emphasised that “many Russians are wrestling with the same dilemmas and the same tugs of conscience.”
“I invite them to join hands with us, just like others have done over the past 18 months.” We welcome you at any time,’ the seasoned spy said.
We’ll handle their offers of assistance in the discreet and expert manner for which my service is renowned.
“With us, their secrets will always be safe.” And together, we’ll try to put an end to the slaughter.
In the coming weeks, Vladimir Putin will travel on a diplomatic mission to Turkey, his first trip to a nation that is a member of NATO since the conflict in Ukraine began.
Erdogan emphasised the significance of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which he called a “bridge for peace,” and told Putin that “no steps should be taken that will escalate tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war.” Erdogan also confirmed the visit.
But as Russia intensifies its use of force to stop Ukraine from exporting grain, it today assaulted Ukraine‘s biggest inland port, which is located across the Danube River from Romania. As a result, food prices around the world have increased.
As ships prepared to arrive at the port of Izmail to load up with Ukrainian grain in violation of a de facto blockade Russia reimposed in mid-July, the attacks destroyed buildings there and prevented them from doing so.
Oleksandr Kubrakov, the deputy prime minister of Ukraine, claimed that about 40,000 tonnes of grain that were bound for China, Israel, and nations in Africa were damaged by Russian drone assaults.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted on Telegram that “Russian terrorists have once again attacked ports, grain, and global food security.”
One of the major exporters of grains worldwide is Ukraine. After declining to renew a deal that had eased its wartime blockade of Ukrainian ports last year, Russia began attacking Ukraine’s agricultural and port infrastructure and has continued to do so for more than two weeks.
Since Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports in mid-July, the port, which is across the river from NATO member Romania, has served as the primary alternate route for grain exports out of Ukraine.
After speaking with Erdogan, the Kremlin reaffirmed Russia’s need for rejoining the grain agreement: the implementation of a parallel agreement that would improve the terms for its own food and fertiliser exports.
These shipments are now immune from sanctions, which the West claims Moscow is attempting to thwart by endangering the world’s food supply.
Putin and Erdogan, according to Erdogan’s staff, decided that he will visit Turkey soon.
Putin, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, has made no official trips outside of the country this year and has only travelled outside of the former Soviet Union once since beginning his invasion, on a day trip to Tehran more than a year ago. Erdogan has long expressed the desire to welcome Putin and persuade him to resume the grain agreement.
Recent assaults on Ukraine’s grain infrastructure have been characterised by Moscow as reprisal for a Ukrainian attack on a Kerch Strait bridge to Crimea that was being used to supply Russian forces in southern Ukraine.
In a statement, American ambassador Bridget Brink denounced the strikes and listed recent Russian targets, including “Homes. Ports. cereal silos. historic structures. Men, women, and kids.
Round-the-clock and escalating Russian attacks on Kryvyi Rih, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Kherson once again demonstrate Russia’s lack of interest in peace, disregard for the safety of civilians, and disregard for people across the world who depend on Ukrainian food.
According to Kyiv, the purpose of the strikes is to convince shippers and their insurance firms that Ukrainian ports are hazardous to resume exports, hence reinstating Russia’s blockade.
Before Russia withdrew from the Black Sea agreement, grain was exported mostly via Ukraine’s Danube river ports like Izmail, which have subsequently become the principal exit point. Grain is loaded onto barges and transported to Romania’s Constanta Black Sea port for further shipment.
While Moscow claims it will treat ships bound for Ukrainian seaports as potential military targets, Kiev wants international ships to arrive right there and load up.
Russia’s decision to renege on the agreement, mediated by the U.N. and Turkey, has prompted a warning from the United Nations about a potential food catastrophe in the world’s poorest nations.
According to Ukrainian officials, in nine days of strikes following the termination of the grain agreement, Moscow has attacked 26 port facilities, five civilian vessels, and 180,000 tonnes of grain.
Former president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, has returned from Russia where he was undergoing medical care.
“The check-up and observations went well,” his foundation said in a statement.
Following his loss in a case at the Constitutional Court last month, where he attempted to overturn a ruling to return to prison, former South African President Jacob Zuma traveled to Russia.
The Constitutional Court found that Zuma had been unlawfully granted medical parole.
The prisons department has now given the 81-year-old until Friday to provide reasons why he should not serve the remainder of his 15-month sentence.
Zuma was released in September 2021, serving less than eight weeks, after being granted parole by the former head of the prison service, Arthur Fraser, who is considered an ally of Zuma.
The former president was convicted of contempt for failing to cooperate with an anti-corruption investigation during his time in office.
Additionally, Zuma faces a separate trial on corruption and fraud charges related to an arms deal in the late 1990s.
According to the Jacob G Zuma Foundation, his return from Russia was also due to the upcoming private prosecution matter, scheduled to be heard in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Friday.
The first documented death in police custody in Russia occurred to Anatoly Berezikov, who had been imprisoned for distributing anti-Ukraine war pamphlets.
The circumstances surrounding his death while incarcerated at Rostov-on-Don’s jail are still unknown, however the cause given by officials is suicide, which his family and friends dispute.
The 40-year-old showed his attorney little red marks on his chest that appeared to be the result of an electro-shocker before his body was discovered in a cell on June 14.
There are allegations that the activist was killed as a result of torture, which is a widespread practise in the nation’s prison system.
Anatoly confided in friends that he was terrified of “disappearing” and that the police would “kill” him after his arrest.
He revealed to Tatyana Sporysheva, a local activist who also served as his public defender, that he had received threats of torture, rape, and a life sentence.
She described the FSB’s horrible tactics for persecuting activists like Anatoly by saying: “People can be repressed without a trial or an investigation.”
They have the power to abduct, torture, kill, imprison, search, and intimidate people.
Following the start of the war, Anatoly was well-known in Rostov-on-Don as an opponent of President Vladimir Putin.
He was one of thousands of Russians who opposed the invasion and were later threatened, fined, or imprisoned.
Additionally, he was a proponent of the anti-corruption campaign founded by Alexei Navalny, Putin’s top rival.
On May 10, cops arrested Anatoly and immediately searched his flat.
614 Russians were prosecuted with crimes related to opposing the war up to June, according to the human rights advocacy group OVD-Info.
Bogdan Ziza, a performance artist from Crimea, was given a 15-year prison term in June after he threw a Molotov cocktail at the front of the Yevpatoria city administration building and poured yellow and blue paint on it.
He began a hunger strike the day before the verdict, calling for the release of political prisoners.
A short distance from NATO member Romania, in Izmail on the Danube, a Russian drone strike struck Ukrainian port facilities.
Damage has been done to a grain elevator, a passenger facility and a grain warehouse.
After pulling out of a UN agreement that allowed both countries to move grain securely across the Black Sea, Russia started attacking Ukrainian ports.
Early on Wednesday, a sizable fire erupted from Izmail’s port area.
The size of the fire could be seen in video taken from the Romanian bank of the Danube, which was around 3 km (1.9 miles) distant.
The ongoing Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure “close to Romania,” according to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, are unacceptable.
Russian drones were reportedly moving towards the Danube river, where Ukraine has two ports, Izmail and Reni, according to the air force of Ukraine.
According to Ukraine’s military command in the south, air defences have been in operation for about three hours.
Oleh Kiper, the regional governor of Odesa, reported that emergency personnel were on the scene of the most recent Russian attack and that no casualties had been reported.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president, stated that “unfortunately there has been damage,” and the regional administrator shared several pictures on social media that showed that multiple buildings had been affected.
The Izmail prosecutor has opened an investigation into a freight terminal, a warehouse and a lift that were all destroyed, without specifying precisely where in the Odesa region, according to officials and the Ukrainian army ministry.
Russian drones also targeted grain storage facilities in Reni, which is located further up the Danube and close to Romanian territory, last week.
The attacks that were so close to Romania, according to President Iohannis, were war crimes that further harmed Ukraine’s “ability to transfer their food products towards those in need in the world.”
Earlier, Russia bombed the significant Black Sea ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk, destroying 60,000 tonnes of grain, according to the authorities.
Russia effectively imposed a naval blockade when it abandoned the grain agreement in July by threatening to strike any ships en route to Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.
Ukraine’s ports on the Danube have continued to be reached by ships travelling through the Black Sea, albeit this alternate route has gained prominence.
Wheat and maize are two commodities that Ukraine exports in large quantities to other countries, and the majority of the shipments had been coming from ports along the Black Sea. For Ukraine’s exports, the Danube becomes crucial if the Black Sea is closed to ships.
In the immediate aftermath of Russia’s withdrawal from the grain agreement, wheat prices skyrocketed on global markets.
Global food security is becoming a worry, particularly for underdeveloped Asian and African countries.
According to local officials, Russia also launched more than 10 drones overnight on Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
Anti-aircraft systems destroyed all of the projectiles, but according to the officials, falling debris damaged a number of non-residential buildings.
Russia has not made any official comments about the alleged strikes to date.
He mocked the notion that the struggle might last for decades like some of the Kremlin’s earlier wars, saying Russian forces know “deep down in their hearts” they cannot win in Ukraine.
Zelensky told Brazil’s TV Globo, “It can’t.” Putin won’t survive for that long. At the rate he is battling us, he did not fight in Syria. He will not last for 30 years because of this.
He will pass away and cease to exist. This is unquestionably absolute.
Putin “won’t survive even 10 years,” said Zelensky, adding, “He is not that figure.”
He claimed that Russia’s military operations demonstrate that they are “unable to completely occupy Ukraine and destroy us.”
The president said, “They were capable at the beginning of it.” “They believed they would.” And we took action both from within the state and from without, which allowed us to surpass them in strength.
He vowed to thwart any attempt by Russia to reorganise and conquer his nation, saying, “As long as we are alive, we will not let them become as strong as they were.”
During the time when Zelensky made his remarks, Russian missiles struck his community in central Ukraine once more, killing six people, including a 10-year-old girl and her mother.
The attack took place the day after the president of Ukraine issued a warning that war will soon return to Russia.
After a drone strike on Moscow, he claimed that attacks on “symbolic centres and military bases” were a “inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process.”
Last week, the current Ukrainian counteroffensive—which is using weapons provided by Western allies and aims to drive Russian forces out of occupied territory—got more intense.
At the same time, Kiev reportedly used drones to attack sites as far away as the Russian capital in an effort to extend the war into that country.
A few kilometres from the Kremlin, two office buildings were destroyed in the most recent strike on Sunday. The attack was not acknowledged by Ukrainian government.
Following that incident, Russia strengthened security, according to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, who called the assault a “act of desperation.”
The counteroffensive is not going as anticipated, thus the Kyiv regime is in a very, very bad situation, Peskov added.
It is clear that the numerous billions of dollars in resources that NATO nations have given the Kyiv regime are being used inefficiently.
“This raises important questions in Western capitals and significant unease among Western taxpayers.”
According to analysts, Putin is banking that as the war drags on and costs rise, Western support for Ukraine will decline.
France is making preparations to evacuate its citizens from Niger, a West African nation, due to rising anti-French sentiment following a recent coup.
In addition to assisting its own citizens, France has also announced its intention to help other European nationals leave the country.
The coup has triggered protests against France, the former colonial power, with even the French embassy coming under attack.
This development coincides with warnings from the neighboring countries of Burkina Faso and Mali.
The juntas in these countries have cautioned that any attempt to forcefully reinstate the ousted president in Niger would be considered a declaration of war.
Burkina Faso and Mali, both former French colonies, have moved away from France and aligned themselves with Russia after experiencing their own coups.
This situation adds complexity to an already volatile region grappling with an Islamist militant insurgency.
Niger, being rich in uranium, has been a vital ally for Western nations, including France and the US, in their efforts to combat jihadist extremism in the Sahel.
France had previously shifted its counter-terror operations to Niger following Mali’s partnership with Russian Wagner mercenaries in 2021.
Protests outside the French embassy in Niamey, Niger’s capital, saw demonstrators expressing support for Russia and President Putin while expressing disdain for France. They also set fire to the embassy compound walls.
Due to the closure of Niger’s airspace, French citizens were unable to leave the country independently, leading to the decision to conduct evacuations starting on Tuesday. Italy’s foreign minister also confirmed that Italian citizens were being offered special flights to leave Niamey for Italy.
Earlier, France had welcomed an ultimatum from the West African bloc Ecowas, which demanded that Niger’s junta reinstate the elected President Mohamed Bazoum within a week.
Chad’s President Mahamat Idris Déby mediated efforts on behalf of Ecowas and was pictured with Mr. Bazoum.
Burkina Faso and Mali responded to the possibility of Ecowas military intervention by threatening to withdraw from the bloc and defend their eastern neighbor.
They believe such intervention would be disastrous and destabilizing. These countries are already suspended from Ecowas due to previous coups.
Niger’s junta has not yet commented on the demand from Ecowas but asserted its commitment to defending the country from any aggression by regional or Western powers, accusing France of planning military intervention.
However, the French Foreign Minister refuted this allegation.
The situation in Niamey appears calm as preparations for evacuations begin, and a crisis meeting is underway at the French foreign ministry in coordination with the embassy in Niamey.
Despite the evacuations, French nuclear fuel company Orano’s operations in Niger are not expected to be significantly affected, as most of its staff consists of Nigerien nationals.
After Putin approved plans for a vast network of private militias on domestic turf, the leader of the Wagner mercenary company halted recruiting.
The creation of “specialised companies” to “ensure public safety” and defend Russia’s borders is now permitted thanks to new rules that the Kremlin discreetly approved last week.
Officials have not specified what responsibilities specifically will be assigned to mercenaries or why they are required in addition to Russia‘s territorial army and national guard.
However, the Russian president recently made a suggestion that he wants to alter the status of the numerous private military firms that operate in Russia but are not “legally existing.”
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner who led thousands of his men on a failed mutiny march against Moscow last month, has not publicly replied to the proposals.
However, he seemed to go out of his way in an audio message shared on Telegram to make it clear that Wagner is not beefing up its soldiers in the wake of the incident.
The 62-year-old oligarch acknowledged that the majority of the Wagner forces are currently “on vacation” and that the remainder will train in Belarus or participate in ongoing projects in Africa.
He emphasised that Wagner is moving on to its “next tasks,” which are “becoming more and more clearly drawn,” although he made no mention of any new contracts.
Prigozhin continued, “We do not want to conduct a new recruiting as long as we do not have a shortfall in employees.
However, if you stay in touch with us, we’ll be very thankful, and we’ll start recruiting as soon as the Motherland needs to form a new (extra) group to be able to defend our nation’s interests.
The greatness of Russia “will be upheld” in the execution of any future Wagner missions, he continued.
Wagner’s military skill and Prigozhin’s popularity among his men have provided Putin, who is often ruthless in putting down dissent, with a difficult issue.
The remarks made by Prigozhin might have been an attempt to reassure Putin that he is no longer a danger.
However, they could also be a subliminal attempt to signal to Moscow that he still has the support of both his troops and the Russian people more than the president.
Only a few of his soldiers chose to enlist in the regular Russian army, a choice that was provided to them as part of the agreement to put an end to the coup, according to Prigozhin.
He described the situation as “unfortunate,” although this may have been little more than lip service to avoid upsetting the Kremlin.
According to reports, the mutineers were motivated by a string of military gaffes attributed to inept Russian generals, including rumours of unintentional friendly-fire missile strikes against Wagner outposts close to the front line.
After Russia’s military leaders’ progress in Ukraine stalled, Prigozhin criticised them more and more harshly.
He made the ouster of Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the military staff, and Sergei Shoigu, the minister of defence, the centrepiece of his uprising.
Prigozhin may be implying that Wagner still rules the mercenary world in Russia by publicly stating that Wagner warriors are still averse to fighting for Putin’s generals.
Putin claimed earlier this month that because Russia lacks a legislation governing private military enterprises, Wagner “does not exist” legally. He made this claim to a reporter for the Russian newspaper Kommersant on Thursday.
His ministries and the Duma, the Russian parliament, would discuss new legislation on the subject.
The Duma’s defence committee said on Tuesday that new regulations raising the military service age include “amendments” that “provide for a legal mechanism” on private military firms controlled by state officials.
The action is intended to strengthen Russia’s domestic security without producing another Wagner, claims Karolina Hird, a Russia researcher at the Institute for the Study of War.
According to Ms. Hird, “They’re trying to balance these two competing but extremely crucial security requirements.”
And that’s why it’s necessary to develop a militarised entity similar to Wagner but architecturally extremely different from Wagner, as Wagner’s design was essentially a byproduct of the security threat it ultimately posed to the Russian state.
However, these organisations cannot be so centralised and strong that they develop into their own Wagner organisation and then represent a threat to the Russian state similar to what Wagner did during the uprising. “They need these kinds of entities to fill certain law enforcement and security roles in Russian regions.”
Experts have warned that if the Kremlin tries to enlist additional reserve soldiers or civilians for its invasion, the new armed organisations may also put an end to protests by regular Russian citizens.
In order to help reduce Africa’s debt burden, the Russian government pledged more than US$90 million during the Second Summit of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum.
This aid is intended to support the continent in addressing its debt issues.
A significant portion of African countries’ debt issues with the East European giant has already been settled, with Moscow writing off their indebtedness amounting to US$23 billion.
In his address at the Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that African states continue to face challenges related to displays of colonialism, particularly in the economy.
“The main thing is that the Summit has again confirmed the firm resolve of both Russia and Africa to continue developing mutually beneficial partnerships and seeking new forms and areas.
“We appreciate this and are convinced of the successful future of Russia-Africa relations.
“They rest on the traditions of time-tested friendship, and historical experience of multifaceted productive interaction dating back to the early period in African states’ formation,” he noted.
The adoption of the St Petersburg Declaration emerged as one of the key highlights of the Summit.
Through this declaration, the participating parties have committed to creating a fair and democratic multi-polar world order based on the universally recognized principles of international law and the United Nations Charter.
Africa, with its 1.3 billion people and 54 nations, forming the largest voting bloc at the UN, has successfully convinced an increasing number of powers, including the United States (US), to organize such gatherings.
The Summit extensively discussed the prospects for further developing relations between Africa and Russia, with a specific focus on supporting the continent’s national sovereign development.
The primary objectives emphasized were ensuring equitable access to food, fertilizers, modern technologies, and energy resources, as highlighted by Yuri Ushakov, the Kremlin Foreign Policy Advisor.
The growing role of Africa was acknowledged, and there was a rising demand for an African stance on global affairs.
Additionally, on the sidelines of the Summit, the 2023-2026 Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan was signed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and AU Director of Peace and Security Division of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, Mr. Siraj Tagesa Shurafa.
Comoros President and Chairman of the African Union, Mr. Azali Assouman, expressed his observations during a joint press conference, where he highlighted Russia’s consistent support to the continent during challenging times.
“It was one of the first countries to help with fighting colonialism, apartheid and slavery.
“So, for many centuries, we have had good relations, but this time we need a new impetus to the relationship to take it forward,” said Mr Assouman.
He expressed gratitude to Russia for committing to support Africa by providing training for professionals and supplying grain.
Regarding the Russia-Ukraine political crisis, the AU Chair advocated for peace between the two countries, stating, “What we need is a ceasefire because war is always unpredictable. The longer it lasts, the more unpredictable it becomes.”
Numerous other African leaders also called for peaceful resolutions to the conflict.
South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, emphasized the importance of negotiations, dialogue, and commitment to the UN Charter for achieving peaceful and fair resolutions to conflicts.
President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, emphasized the significance of the African initiative, urging an end to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
The African Union Commission Chairman, Moussa Faki Mahamat, stressed that the conflict is having a negative impact on the entire world, expressing concern over the grain supply issue. He emphasized the urgent need to resolve the problem of food shipments to countries in need.
Russia is utilising games like Minecraft to instill pro-Kremlin beliefs in the minds of unknowing players while at war with Ukraine.
Nearly the entire video game industry unequivocally declared support for Ukraine when the Russia-Ukraine war broke out. Russian teams were removed from EA’s sports games, and major publishers like Sony and Nintendo completely shut down their operations there.
President Vladimir Putin is promoting Russia’s own “cyberchampionship” gaming competition as a result of the country’s attempt to develop its own gaming sector.
According to reports, Russia is reportedly using video games, particularly Minecraft and Roblox, to disseminate information on its invasion of Ukraine.
Both games allow players to produce and edit their own content, making them undoubtedly the best options for guaranteeing that pro-Russian messaging can be spread to a large audience.
Not to mention, young kids who are perhaps less conversant with the specifics of the conflict are particularly fond of Minecraft and Roblox.
According to The New York Times, user-made environments like Roblox and Minecraft show Russian parades and have Russian flags flying over Ukrainian territory.
Even a Russian government official whose mother is a close ally of Putin sponsored and streamed one in-game Minecraft performance held to commemorate Russia Day.
Video games can be used to promote education, according to Putin, “within the framework of universal human values and within the framework of patriotism.”
A 2021 report by Wired claims that Roblox in particular has grown immensely popular in Russia in recent years, maybe as a result of the exodus of so many other games, and that it has turned into a haven for racists and anti-Semites.
Both Roblox Corporation and Microsoft, the company that owns Minecraft, have made no comments regarding the propagandistic usage of their products.
At the recently concluded Russia-Africa summit held in St. Petersburg from 28th to 29th March, an undisclosed member of Ghana’s delegation experienced a loss of money from their hotel room.
The summit saw the gathering of various African leaders and government representatives who engaged with the Russian president and other high-ranking officials.
Ukrainian journalist Igor Suskho reported that several guests at the event had incidents of burglary recorded in their hotel rooms.
“Russia: 3 attendees of the Russia-Africa Summit from Ghana, Burundi, and Argentina found their hotel rooms burglarized in St. Petersburg. $500 and €590 in cash stolen from the hotel room of an executive from Ghana’s gas company,” his tweet read.
Ghana participated in the summit, but GhanaWeb’s verification revealed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was not present in the family photo taken at the conclusion of the event.
The leader of the Ghanaian delegation remains unidentified, despite GhanaWeb obtaining documents indicating the presence of a substantial delegation consisting of government officials and private sector representatives.
This 2023 edition of the Russia-Africa summit marks the second occurrence following the initial summit in Sochi in 2019.
Russia: 3 attendees of the Russia-Africa Summit from Ghana, Burundi, and Argentina found their hotel rooms burglarized in St. Petersburg. $500 and €590 in cash stolen from the hotel room of an executive from Ghana's gas company. pic.twitter.com/6Rnrxgwa1z
Brazil’s government has turned down a US request to extradite a suspected Russian spy, arguing that Russia would eventually receive him instead.
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov is accused of entering the country using a false name in order to spy on Americans.
According to a statement released by Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security on Thursday, Cherkasov’s extradition request to Russia, where he is accused of “drug trafficking,” was authorised on March 17 by Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court.
The Brazilian statement emphasised that the request from Russia came before the one from the US for extradition.
The US Justice Department claims that Cherkasov entered the country in 2018 under the pretence of enrolling in graduate school in Washington, DC.
The case is being handled by US authorities, who claim that after creating the false identity in Brazil, he began using the alias Victor Muller Ferreira. In 2022, when he returned to Brazil, officials there detained him on charges of fraud and identity theft.
Cherkasov’s extradition to Russia has been accepted, but he cannot be sent there until his Brazilian prison sentence for forgery has been served.
According to TASS, Cherkasov was given a 15-year prison term for the fraud by a Brazilian court in July 2022, although this was later reduced to five years and two months after an appeal.
According to three sources familiar with the situation, CNN previously reported in May that the Biden administration has been looking for high-value Russian nationals that could persuade Moscow to free two Americans, Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, who the White House believes are being held unlawfully.
Cherkasov was charged by the DOJ with working for the military intelligence service of Russia. He might be a good candidate for a prisoner swap with Russia if kept in US custody, it’s possible.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner, was recently spotted in St. Petersburg during the Africa-Russia summit.
A photograph captured him shaking hands with Ambassador Freddy Mapouka, a high-ranking official from the Central African Republic (CAR). The image was shared on Facebook by Dmitri Syty, who is believed to manage Wagner’s operations in CAR.
This sighting marks the first confirmed appearance of Mr. Prigozhin in Russia since Wagner’s unsuccessful mutiny in June. The meeting between Prigozhin and Mapouka occurred at the Trezzini Palace hotel in St. Petersburg, which was verified by BBC using facial recognition software and matching details from the background of the photo. The hotel is reportedly owned by Prigozhin.
Mr. Mapouka’s lanyard in the photo perfectly matches the official lanyards worn by delegates at the summit, further supporting the authenticity of the image. Notably, this photograph has only recently surfaced online, as no earlier copies were found during searches.
Wagner, a mercenary group, has a presence of several hundred fighters in the diamond-rich CAR, assisting the government in its fight against rebel groups. Recently, the UK imposed sanctions on two heads of Wagner’s operations in CAR, accusing them of committing atrocities against civilians.
Additionally, Mr. Prigozhin made an appearance in Belarus last week, where he was seen welcoming fighters and discussing developments on the frontline in Ukraine. He hinted that Wagner might rejoin the war at a later date.
During the Africa-Russia Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed readiness to replace Ukrainian grain exports to Africa both commercially and as aid to prevent a potential “global food crisis.”
“We will be ready to provide Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic and Eritrea with 25-50,000 tonnes of free grain each in the next three to four months,” Putin said. These are all Russian allies, except Somalia which is suffering a severe humanitarian crisis.
Russia recently withdrew from a deal under which Ukrainian grain exports passed through the Black Sea to reach global markets, including Africa.
The EU said it believes Mr Putin is misleading African countries over his promise to send free grain to the continent. The European Commission said Russia was unlikely to honour its pledge.
President Putin is set to convene a special summit in St. Petersburg with African leaders. However, the number of participants is significantly lower than expected, partly due to concerns surrounding Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and its withdrawal from a UN-brokered deal that facilitated safe grain shipments from Ukraine’s southern ports.
Given the critical issue of food security following the Russian invasion, the agreement had played a crucial role in stabilizing global food prices.
During the first Russia-Africa summit in 2019, 43 leaders attended, whereas this time, only 17 are expected to participate.
The defence minister of Russia has arrived in North Korea to’strengthen’ military ties with the ‘friendly’ regime of Kim Jong-Un.
The group arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday night under the leadership of Sergei Shoigu, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Shoigu is seen in images provided by official media being welcomed at the airport by Kang Sun Nam, the North Korean counterpart.
‘I am certain that today’s talks will assist strengthen cooperation between our defence departments,’ he said during a meeting with ministers.
The Kremlin said the visit will help to enhance relations and mark “an important stage” in the development of their bilateral cooperation when it first announced it yesterday morning.
The Russian ministry posted on Telegram that this visit “will contribute to bolstering Russian-North Korean military ties and will be a crucial step in the development of cooperation between the two countries.”
A member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo named Li Hongzhong was in charge of a group from his country.
The two delegations will be present at the 70th commemoration of “Victory Day” on Thursday in Pyongyang, which, according to official media, would be marked in a “grand manner that will go down in history.”
A military parade in the capital is set to top off North Korea’s extensive anniversaries celebrations, which have been planned in great detail.
Some observers believe that it may increase its weapons testing in the lead-up to the occasion.
Beginning in 2020, North Korea closed its border to all commerce and diplomatic interactions, including those with its two key trading and political partners, China and Russia.
Volodymyr Zelensky warned earlier this month that Russian forces had there placed items “resembling explosives” on the roofs of houses to “simulate an attack,” citing Ukrainian intelligence.
Shortly after the conflict began, the largest nuclear plant in Europe was captured by the enemy. Since then, Kiev and Moscow have accused one another of plotting a false flag operation at the plant.
Rafael Grossy, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed experts ‘saw some mines located in a buffer zone between the site’s internal and external perimeter barriers’.
In a statement on Monday, he added: ‘The IAEA has been aware of the placement of mines outside the site perimeter and also at particular places inside.
‘Our team has raised this specific finding with the plant and they have been told it is a military decision, and in an area controlled by military.
‘Having such explosives on the site is inconsistent with the IAEA safety standards and nuclear security guidance and creates additional psychological pressure on plant staff…’
‘The team will continue its interactions with the plant.’
His statement did not detail how many mines were found or the precise positions, but stressed they were located at the periphery of the site.
IAEA experts said these were anti-personnel mines, which are normally placed under, on or near the ground.
They are ‘victim-activated’ and designed to detonate when someone steps on, handles or comes near them.
But the agency’s initial assessment was that any detonation ‘should not affect the site’s nuclear safety and security systems’.
Grossi has visited the plant three times since it was taken over but has been unable to clinch an agreement with Russian and Ukrainian authorities to set up a safety regime to prevent accidents.
A new law in Russia that outlaws gender-affirming medical operations has been signed by the president.
Vladimir Putin’s efforts to defend “traditional values” have dealt yet another devastating blow to Russia’s LGBTQ+ population with the passage of the new measure, which was unanimously passed by both houses of parliament.
It prohibits changing one’s gender on official documents or in the public record, as well as any “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person.”
The only exception to the ban would be medical intervention to treat congenital anomalies, and only licenced clinics linked to the Russian Health Ministry can make decisions about these treatments.
The bill also annuls marriages where one person has changed gender, and bans transgender people from fostering or adopting children.
Legislators say the legislation is to safeguard Russia against ‘Western anti-family ideology’, with some describing gender transitioning as ‘pure satanism’.
When the ban passed through Russia’s lower house of parliament earlier this month, Badma Bashenkaev, chair of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection, said: ‘We have our Russian families, and the liberalization of such phenomena can be the first step on the road to hell.’
Putin has been cracking down on the LGBTQ+ community for a decade. His declaration to focus on ‘traditional family values’ was supported by the Russian Orthodox Church.
In 2013 the Kremlin adopted a new law which banned public endorsement of ‘nontraditional sexual relations’ between minors.
Same-sex marriage was banned in 2020, and last year Putin signed a law banning ‘propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations’ among adults.
More than 2,000 people legally changed their sex in Russia while the practice was legal between 2018 and 2022, the country’s deputy health minister said.
In the early hours of Monday morning, a strike caused a tower next to Russia’s Defence Ministry to catch fire.
Authorities in Moscow claim that Ukraine launched a “terrorist attack” after drones struck two non-residential facilities there.
Video showed a high-rise’s top blazing, with grey smoke rising into the sky.
Mayor of the capital Sergei Sobyanin confirmed no one was injured in the incident as the military jammed both drones, forcing them to crash.
One fell on Komsomolsky Prospekt near the city centre, close to the main defence ministry building, Russian media reported.
Another hit an office building in southern Moscow, gutting its upper floors, with residents nearby awoken by ‘everything shaking’.
But it is unclear if the drones hit the buildings when they were brought down, or whether they were targeting the buildings.
‘On the morning of July 24, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to launch a terrorist attack using two unmanned aerial vehicles against facilities on the territory of the city of Moscow was thwarted,’ the ministry said on Telegram.
‘Two Ukrainian UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) were suppressed by electronic warfare means and crashed.’
Christo Grozev, Bulgarian investigator at Bellingcat, stressed that if Ukraine hit the building, the ‘symbolic damage to MoD/GRU will be very significant’.
He shared a video on Twitter showing the defence building had suffered at least some damage, with windows appearing to be shot out.
Ukrainian authorities did not immediately claim responsibility for the strike, which was the second drone attack on the Russian capital this month.
In reaction to what Moscow described as London’s “hostile actions,” they will be compelled to give five days’ notice if they want to travel more than 75 miles away.
This occurs shortly after the charge d’affaires, Tom Dodd, was called into the foreign ministry.
He received criticism for the UK’s backing of the ‘terrorist activities‘ of Ukraine and for impeding Russian diplomatic efforts.
‘The British side was also informed of the decision to introduce a notification procedure for the movement of employees of British diplomatic missions on the territory of our country as a response to London’s hostile actions,’ the ministry said.
Restrictions will not apply to the ambassador and three other senior diplomats.
Other officials will have to send notification of any plans to travel beyond this ‘free movement zone’.
‘Such a document should contain information about the timing, purpose, type of trip, planned business contacts, accompanying persons, type of transport, places of visit and accommodation, as well as the route of the trip,’ the ministry said.
‘We reiterated to the British side that any of its efforts aimed at continuing the destructive line in international and bilateral affairs, attempts to demonize our country, complicate the work of Russian foreign agencies will inevitably receive a decisive response.’
It was a unique occasion when the Kremlin‘s outward appearance and the truth behind its doors coincided.
According to the head of the British intelligence agency Mi6, who revealed this in a rare speech in Prague, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the private military company Wagner, did indeed strike a deal with Putin to halt his advance on Moscow during the foiled uprising of June 24. And it appeared that he had been welcomed into the Kremlin days later when he met with Putin.
The Mi6 chief, identified only as C, also voiced some perplexity at the tremors that shook the Kremlin that weekend and the quickness with which allegiances were discarded and won back.
“If you look at Putin’s behaviors on that day”, Richard Moore said of June 24, “Prigozhin started off I think, as a traitor at breakfast. He had been pardoned by supper and then a few days later, he was invited for tea. So, there are some things and even the chief of MI6 finds that a little bit difficult to try and interpret, in terms of who’s in and who’s out.”
Moore also gave a rare indication of the continued health and whereabouts of Prigozhin himself, whose characteristically profane and frequent audio messages published on Telegram have recently stopped. Asked by CNN if Prigozhin was “alive and healthy”, Moore replied the Wagner leader was still: “floating around”, per his agency’s understanding.
Western intelligence agencies have been reticent to comment on the failed rebellion, for fear of providing a false backbone to Russia’s familiar excuse for internal dissent – that it is arranged and fueled by western spies. Yet the on-camera speech provided an opportunity for Moore’s expression to convey how shocking the weakness betrayed by Putin that weekend had been.
“He really didn’t fight back against Prigozhin”, Moore said. “He cut a deal to save his skin, using the good offices of the leader of Belarus”, he said, referring to the intervention of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko who struck the deal. “So even I can’t see inside Putin’s head”, he added. “He has to have realized, I am sure that something that is deeply rotten in the state of Denmark – to quote Hamlet – and he had to cut this deal.”
Moore added it was difficult to make “firm judgments” about the fate of Wagner itself, as a mercenary group, but they “do not appear to be engaged in Ukraine”, and that there “appears to be elements of them in Belarus.”
Moore chose the city of Prague, which he remarked as the last European capital to have Russian tanks roll into it before Ukraine, as a venue for a speech. He began with an unusually open appeal to Russians “silently appalled by the sight of their armed forces pulverizing Ukrainian cities, expelling innocent families from their homes, and kidnapping thousands of children” to spy for the United Kingdom.
“I invite them to do what others have already done this past 18 months and join hands with us. …Their secrets will always be safe with us, and together we will work to bring the bloodshed to an end.”
It was an abnormally public appeal that fit the upended global geopolitics forged by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While Moore maintained that China is “absolutely complicit in the invasion” because of its continued support of the Kremlin head, he added that Iran’s support for Russia has caused division in its most senior officials. “Iran is clearly keen to make as much cash as it can out of this situation”, he said. And while Iran is notably selling drones that usually hit civilian targets, he added: “It will sell anything it can spare and it thinks it can get away with.”
President Vladimir Putin will not attend an upcoming summit in South Africa. This decision comes in response to South Africa’s leader stating that any attempt to arrest Putin would be considered a declaration of war against Russia.
If Putin were to leave Russian territory, he would be subject to an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant. As a signatory to the ICC, South Africa would be expected to assist in his arrest.
Instead, Russia will be represented by its Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, at the two-day summit. However, Putin will participate in the Brics conference, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, through a video link.
The Brics conference is often viewed as an alternative to the G7 group of advanced economies.
In a statement, South Africa’s presidency described the agreement for Mr Putin not to attend as “mutual” and said it had come about following a “number of consultations” on the summit.
The decision by South Africa not to arrest Vladimir Putin has faced criticism from supporters of Russia, who argue that the country should have asserted its sovereignty and defended its friendship with Russia. The invitation extended to Putin prior to the ICC’s accusations of war crimes in Ukraine has sparked controversy both domestically and internationally.
This move was seen by some as a departure from South Africa’s traditionally neutral stance, aligned with other African nations, in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. However, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government faced increasing pressure to arrest Putin, leading to a sense of urgency.
The Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party in South Africa, took the matter to court in an attempt to compel the authorities to arrest Putin if he visited the country. International human rights organization Amnesty International also joined the legal challenge.
Court documents revealed that President Ramaphosa opposed the arrest, citing national security concerns as the primary reason for his stance.
“Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting president would be a declaration of war. It would be inconsistent with our constitution to risk engaging in war with Russia,” he said in an affidavit.
Mr Peskov denied Moscow had told South Africa that arresting its president would mean an act of war, but said it was “clear to everyone what [that kind of] infringement against the head of the Russian state would mean”.
Russia has consistently described the ICC arrest warrant as outrageous and legally void, because the country is not a member of the organisation.
The African continent remains split over the war between Russia and Ukraine, with some countries showing reluctance to back United Nations’ resolutions condemning Russia for its actions in Ukraine.
The reasons for this vary from country to country, but experts say one factor is the economic ties that some, including South Africa, have with Moscow.
A sanctioned Russian oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg, is said to be one of the biggest donors to South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress (ANC).
Officials report that 60,000 tonnes of grain have been destroyed, and storage infrastructure has been damaged following Russian missile attacks on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.
Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister, Mykola Solskyi, stated that a significant portion of export infrastructure is now out of operation.
Russia’s withdrawal from an international grain deal, which ensured safe passage for exports across the Black Sea, has contributed to the escalation of the situation.
The Kremlin claimed that its export demands were not being met, leading to its decision to withdraw from the agreement.
Shortly after the withdrawal, Russia launched missile strikes on the southern port cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv, causing significant damage.
Subsequent attacks targeted grain terminals and port infrastructure in Odesa and Chornomorsk, extending further along the Black Sea coast.
The impact of these attacks poses a serious threat to Ukraine’s grain exports and agricultural sector.
Odesa military spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk called it a “truly massive attack”. The agriculture minister said the 60,000 tonnes destroyed in the strike were “supposed to be loaded on a large-tonnage ship and sent through the grain corridor 60 days ago”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said each missile strike was a blow not just to Ukraine, but to “everyone in the world striving for a normal and safe life”.
France and Germany also condemned the attack. Germany Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that by covering Odesa with a hail of bombs, Russian President Vladimir Putin was robbing the world of any hope of Ukrainian grain and “hitting the world’s poorest”.
The infrastructure ministry published a series of photos showing damage to silos and other grain facilities. Officials said there had been damage to wharves and reservoirs, but it was international Ukrainian traders and carriers that had suffered the most.
Russian war commentators said the damage proved that Kyiv was unable to shoot down the majority of Russian missiles and drones.
Officials said the co-ordinated attack involved Kalibr cruise missiles, Onyx supersonic and Kh-22 anti-ship missiles as well as kamikaze drones, fired from the Black Sea, Crimea and southern Russia. Although 37 Russian missiles and drones were shot down, a number did penetrate Ukrainian defences, they said.
“I saw a red flash in the window and reacted immediately,” one resident told the Reuters news agency.
“I went downstairs, it was noisy and filled with smoke outside, people were in panic, some were crying, glass shards were scattered all over. It was impossible to remain in the area.”
Russia referred to its initial attack on Odesa as a “retaliatory strike” in response to an alleged attack on the Russian-built bridge over the Kerch Strait, which connects occupied Crimea to Russia. The bridge was targeted by seaborne drones, resulting in the destruction of a section and the death of a Russian couple.
On Wednesday, further disruptions occurred in Crimea as a fire triggered explosions at an ammunition depot near a military training range. As a precautionary measure, approximately 2,200 residents from four nearby villages were evacuated.
Russian-appointed officials also closed a 12-km section of the Tavrida motorway, which connects Simferopol and Sevastopol in southern Crimea to the Kerch Strait bridge. The construction of this road began in 2017 under Russia’s occupation authorities.
Multiple explosions were heard in the area starting at around 04:30 on Wednesday. The cause of the fire near the city of Staryi Krim is under investigation, although unconfirmed reports on social media suggested Ukrainian involvement in the incident.
The Kremlin confirmed that President Putin had been briefed on the situation. Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed leader in Crimea, stated that the cause of the fire at the military range was being investigated and that no injuries were reported.
The president of Ukraine has issued a warning that the withdrawal of Russia from the grain deal in the Black Sea will lead to future international crises.
“Last year, we were able to stop a price catastrophe in the global food market thanks to our Black Sea Grain Initiative,” President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in his evening address on Tuesday that political and migration crises would have unavoidably followed a price explosion, especially in African and Asian nations.
Numerous nations will be affected, he claimed, and Ukraine is “working without partners to prevent this.” On Monday, Russia backed out of the agreement.
Ukraine is developing options for action and agreements “to preserve Ukraine’s global role as a guarantor of food security, our maritime access to the global market, and jobs for Ukrainians in ports and the agricultural industry,” he said, adding Kyiv is “fighting for global security and for our Ukrainian farmers.”
Former President Donald Trump has disclosed his precise strategy, months after boasting he could put an end to Russia’s assault on Ukraine in a single day after retaking the White House.
In an appearance with Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Trump described how he thinks he could resolve the dispute. In his opening remarks, Trump said that international leaders are smart and that his replacement, President Joe Biden, is ill-equipped to cope with them.
These are intelligent people, including French President Emmanuel Macron. I could mention everyone on the list, including (Vladimir) Putin… These individuals are nasty, tough, and generally savage. Trump then attacked Biden, saying, “They’re vicious, and they’re at the top of their game.”
‘We have a man that has no clue what’s happening. It’s the most dangerous time in the history of our country.’
Ex-President Donald Trump said that President Joe Biden ‘has no clue what’s happening’ (Picture: Fox News)
Host Maria Bartiromo pressed Trump on his prior claim.
‘So what should be the response?’ she said. ‘You said you could end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. How would you do that?’
Trump replied that he knows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ‘very well’. He added that Zelensky was ‘very honorable’ because ‘he didn’t even know what they were talking about’ when ‘they asked him about the perfect phone call’.
He was referring to a July 2019 call between himself and Zelensky, in which Trump offered a ‘quid pro quo’ agreement to pressure Zelensky into pushing conspiracy theories about his 2020 opponent Biden in exchange for aid from the US.
Bartiromo cut Trump off and said, ‘Well, that’s not going to be enough for Putin to stop bombing Ukraine.’
Trump proceeded to elaborate on his plan.
‘No, no, no. No, I’m not saying that. I… what I’m saying is that I know Zelensky very well, and I know Putin very well, even better. And I had a good relationship, very good, with both of them,’ Trump said.
‘I would tell Zelensky: No more. You got to make a deal. I would tell Putin: If you don’t make a deal, we’re going to give them a lot. We’re going to give them more than they ever got, if we have to.’
He reiterated his claim: ‘I will have the deal done in one day, one day.’
Trump in May told GB News, ‘If I were president, and I say this, I will end that war in one day, it would take 24 hours.
Some Republicans interpreted Trump’s remarks as him favoring possibly sending even more aid to Ukraine than Biden has. His comments ‘commenced an all-out freakout among the GOP’s Ukraine funding skeptics’, noted Washington Post writer Aaron Blake.
In his analysis, Blake wrote that Trump is actually ‘talking about playing hardball. The idea is that he’s going to bluff to both sides – or at least one side (you pick which) – until they reach a deal’.
‘Credit to Bartiromo for actually getting Trump to offer something more about a promise that had been, up to this point, a platitude without a plan,’ wrote Blake. ‘What she revealed was nothing amounting to a thoroughly considered course of action – just a bluff that she, deliberately or not, called.
It is feared that Russia is preparing to utilise Wagner fighters in Belarus to annex a crucial stretch of land between Poland and Lithuania, which might start a third world war.
The Suwalki Corridor, also known as the Suwalki Gap, is a 60-mile stretch of terrain that separates Poland and Lithuania. It is estimated that “a few hundred” mercenaries are congregating there.
The strategically important region, known as NATO’s “weakest link” and “Achilles heel,” has been dubbed the “most dangerous place on earth” because it might be the first point of contact in a global conflict.
Taking control of the corridor would create a land bridge linking the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad – the main base of President Vladimir Putin’s Baltic fleet – and Kremlin ally Belarus.
Wagner troops are poised to launch an invasion attempt ‘in a matter of hours’, a senior Putin ally claimed on state television.
Reservist Colonel General Andrey Kartapolov, who chairs the Russian parliament’s defence committee, said: ‘It is clear that Wagner went to Belarus to train the Belarusian armed forces.
‘There is such a place as the Suwalki Corridor.
‘Should anything happen, we need this Suwalki Corridor very much.
‘A strike force is ready to take this corridor in a matter of hours.’
Poland’s intelligence service said it was monitoring the threat from the Wagner group, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Deputy head of Poland’s special services, Stanislaw Zaryn, said: ‘There may be several hundred of them now.’
He added: ‘The Polish services are monitoring the situation to find out how many Wagnerites will end up in Belarus.’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last year warned Putin could push further into Eastern Europe in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Lithuania has also called on NATO to strengthen forces along its border – with Germany set to deploy 4,000 troops to the region.
Fears of escalating tensions come as two people were killed and one injured in an ‘attack’ on the bridge linking Crimea to the Russia’s Krasnodar region this morning.
Traffic was halted on the 12-mile (19km) bridge in response to an ‘emergency’.
A Telegram channel linked to the Wagner group reported there were two strikes on the bridge in the early hours of Monday morning.
The attack is said to have been carried out as a ‘special operation’ by Ukraine’s naval forces and Security Service.
Russian-installed governor Sergei Aksyonov said there was an emergency involving involving the 145th pillar of the bridge in a post on Telegram but did not provide further information.
Krasnodar’s health ministry said a mother and father died in the incident, with their daughter wounded.
The Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly has today, July 17, announced 14 new sanctions in response to Russia’s attempts to destroy Ukrainian national identity, including 11 against those involved in the forced deportation of Ukrainian children.
Today’s announcement comes ahead of the Foreign Secretary’s speech at the UN Security Council (UNSC), where he will highlight the far-reaching implications of Russia’s war, call on Russia to renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative, and outline the need for a just, lasting peace in Ukraine.
Among the designations announced today are Russian officials Ksenia Mishonova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Moscow Region, and Sergey Kravtsov, Minister of Education of Russia.
These individuals have played an insidious role in Russia’s calculated programme of deportation, designed to erase Ukrainian cultural and national identity. Over 19,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Russia or temporarily Russian controlled territory by Russian authorities.
Many deported children are relocated to a network of re-education camps in illegally annexed Crimea and mainland Russia, where they are exposed to Russia-centric academic, cultural, patriotic, and military education.
This latest package of designations follows the UK’s sanctioning of Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in June 2022 for her alleged involvement in the forced transfer and adoption of Ukrainian children.
Also sanctioned today are 2 Russian propagandists responsible for spreading abhorrent propaganda designed to incite violence and hatred towards Ukraine and its people, including Anton Krasovsky, a former Russia Today presenter, who claimed live on air that Ukrainian children should be drowned and burned.
Olga Lyubimova, the Russian Culture Minister, is additionally targeted for using her position to support the Russian state’s damaging anti-Ukrainian policies.
Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, said:
“In his chilling programme of forced child deportation, and the hate-filled propaganda spewed by his lackeys, we see Putin’s true intention – to wipe Ukraine from the map.
“Today’s sanctions hold those who prop up Putin’s regime to account, including those who would see Ukraine destroyed, its national identity dissolved, and its future erased.”
The UK and international partners have implemented the most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on a major economy.
Over 1,600 individuals and entities have been sanctioned since the start of the invasion, including 29 banks with global assets worth £1 trillion, over 130 oligarchs with a combined net worth of over £145 billion, and over £20 billion worth of UK-Russia trade.
Later today, in New York, the Foreign Secretary will use his speech during a UK-chaired session of the UNSC to call for a just, lasting peace in Ukraine and highlight Russia’s barbaric forced deportation of Ukrainian children.
He is expected to say:
Ukraine wants peace. We want peace. The whole world wants peace.
Peace will bring home Ukraine’s lost children – and feed the hungry of the world.
The devastating effects of Putin’s aggression can be felt in every corner of the globe. Vital grain supplies from Ukraine will be cut off and millions will face exacerbated food insecurity if Russia does not agree to a renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative today.
Russian security firm Wagner confirmed on Sunday that hundreds of its fighters had arrived in the Central African Republic (CAR) in a statement on the messaging app Telegram.
This development comes amidst ongoing uncertainty surrounding the future of Wagner following a brief mutiny in June.
Since 2018, at least 1,000 Wagner mercenaries have been stationed in the CAR. However, recent reports suggest that approximately 600 mercenaries have departed from the country.
A company connected to the Wagner group has stated that the newly arrived fighters will assist in providing security during a forthcoming referendum in the CAR.
The referendum, scheduled for later this month, will determine whether President Faustin-Archange Touadéra can seek a third term in office.
In an incident that destroyed the main bridge connecting Crimea to Russia‘s mainland, the Ukrainian Security Service apparently claimed responsibility.
Early this morning, after what they called a “emergency,” officials shuttered the 12-mile (19-km) bridge.
At the eastern end of the Kerch Bridge in the Krasnodar area, the health ministry reported two fatalities on the bridge, along with a daughter who was also hurt.
Sources told BBC Russian and Ukrainian news site censor.net that the attack was carried out as a ‘special operation’ by Ukraine’s naval forces and Security Service.
Separately, the Russian-installed head of the Crimean parliament Vladimir Konstantinov also said Ukraine was responsible, blaming it on the ‘terrorist regime in Kyiv’.
The incident prompted immediate speculation on messaging app Telegram, with pro-Kremlin channel Readovka suggesting ‘a missile attack was carried out on the Crimean bridge, as a result of which the 145th support pillar collapsed’.
There has been no confirmation that any of the 600 pillars on the bridge have collapsed, and Russia’s transport ministry said only the road surface was affected.
A video believed to be filmed this morning shows a large gap between sections of road.
Governor Sergei Aksyonov said he expected rail traffic on the bridge to resume within a matter of hours, though no such assurances were given for road traffic.
A low-quality image reportedly captures a significant explosion on the bridge last night (Credits: Romanov92/e2w)
On Telegram, he wrote: ‘An emergency occurred in the area of the 145th support from the [Russian side of the bridge].
‘Measures are being taken to restore the situation. I ask residents and guests of the peninsula to refrain from traveling through the Crimean bridge and, for security reasons, choose an alternative land route through new regions.’
The Kerch Bridge is a vital supply route for the war in Ukraine, providing rail and road links to the rest of Russia through the region it annexed in 2014.
Opened in 2018, it has been described as Vladimir Putin’s flagship infrastructure project and a major feat of engineering.
It was damaged in October by a truck bomb on its roadway, and only fully reopened in February.
Several question remain about who carried out last year’s attack and how, but it was celebrated by the Ukrainian government and the country’s postal service released a stamp to commemorate the event.
Oleksiy Danilov, who leads Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, posted a video of Marilyn Monroe singing ‘Happy Birthday, Mr President’ alongside a clip of the explosion, which happened the day after Putin turned 70.
Several Telegram channels reported strikes on the bridge, and a local authority verified at least two fatalities. On Monday, Russia’s Transport Ministry announced that the spans of the Crimean Bridge, the only connection between the annexed peninsula and Russia, had been damaged.
The Transport Ministry posted on Telegram that the roadway on some of the spans of the Crimean Bridge had been damaged.
The distances between the piers that support a bridge are known as its spans.
The bridge was partially damaged and collapsed last October as a result of a large explosion.
Sergey Aksenov, the Russia-appointed head of Crimea, said an “emergency incident” had been reported, halting traffic on the bridge, which serves as a vital logistical node for Moscow’s military in its war against Ukraine.
Two strikes were allegedly carried out on the bridge around 3 a.m. local time, damaging part of the bridge, according to the Telegram channel Grey Zone, which supports the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Explosions were heard around 3:04 a.m. and 3:20 a.m. local time, Grey Zone and popular Crimean blogger ‘TalipoV Online Z’ said on Telegram.
CNN is unable to verify the reports.
Videos posted on Telegram by Baza, Grey Zone and other Crimean news outlets appeared to show part of the bridge collapsed and a vehicle damaged in the latest incident.
The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, confirmed that two people were killed and a third person was injured in the incident.
Gladkov said a girl was injured and her parents were killed while traveling in the car that was damaged in the incident.
Emergency responders and law enforcement have been dispatched to the scene, said Aksenov, the head of Crimea. The Transport Ministry said an inspection of the bridge was underway.
Aksenov urged residents and those traveling to and from Crimea to choose an alternative land route.
The nearly 12-mile bridge, also known as the Kerch Bridge, is the longest in Europe and carries both road and rail traffic.
The bridge was severely damaged on October 8 when a fuel tanker exploded and destroyed a large section of the road.
It holds huge strategic and symbolic importance for Russia, which built the 19-kilometer bridge at a cost of around $3.7 billion after Moscow illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014. It was the physical expression of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s objective to take over Ukraine and bind it to Russia forever.
It is a critical artery for supplying Crimea with both its daily needs and supplies for the military, in addition to fuel and goods for civilians.
A Russian-backed official of the peninsula, Elena Elekchyan, said Crimea is well supplied with fuel, food and industrial goods.
After the October 8 blast, Russia quickly set about repairs to the span. It was fully reopened to traffic in February.
Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar made what appeared to be the clearest admission yet that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the October attack.
Without Russia’s consent, a critical agreement authorising the sale of grain from Ukraine is likely to expire on Monday.
According to Reuters, the last ship to travel as part of the Black Sea Agreement departed the port of Odesa early on Sunday.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin informed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa over the phone that the deal had not achieved its goals.
According to a Kremlin readout of the conversation, “[Putin] stressed that the obligations set out in the pertinent Russia-UN memorandum to remove barriers to the export of Russian food and fertilisers still remain unfulfilled.”
“Moreover, the main goal of the deal, namely the supply of grain to countries in need, including those on the African continent, has not been realized,” it said.
Putin has previously complained about restrictions over its own exports but has agreed to previous extensions.
The deal, which was first brokered by Turkey and the United Nations following the outbreak of Russia’s war on Ukraine in July 2022, creates procedures to ensure the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports.
Under the deal, grain ships are able to navigate through a safe corridor in the Black Sea under the direction of Ukrainian pilots, and then pass through the Bosphorus Strait – an important shipping corridor in north-west Turkey – in order to reach global markets.
It has proven vital for stabilizing global food prices and bringing relief to the developing countries who rely on Ukrainian exports.
The deal’s survival continues to rest in Russia’s hands, and Moscow has repeatedly threatened to quit the pact.
Prior to its third renewal in May, the Kremlin had remained elusive as to whether it would remain in the deal, before agreeing to a last-minute extension.
Russia also suspended its participation for a few days in late October and early November 2022, citing drone attacks on the city of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea.
Moscow later announced that it would reverse course and rejoin the agreement for a further 120 days, following mediation.
Former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, who was removed from office in 2018 due to corruption allegations and faced multiple legal cases, is presently in Moscow for medical treatment, according to his spokesperson. This revelation comes just a day after a court ruling that upheld his imprisonment.
Mr. Zuma, 81, “went to Russia last week for health reasons and he will return to the country when his doctors have completed his treatment,” Mzwanele Manyi said in a statement.
This trip, aboard a commercial flight, “is private, but not secret” , defends the spokesperson, in the wake of leaks in the local press on this trip by Mr Zuma, who was still on the 7 July in Zimbabwe , where he represented a group from Belarus at a conference on carbon credits.
On Thursday, South Africa’s highest court reiterated that Mr Zuma should return to prison to finish serving a 15-month sentence for contempt, rejecting an appeal asking that he be spared.
This decision should not have immediate effect: the penitentiary services affirmed that they were going to study this judgment and seek a legal opinion before expressing themselves on this file.
Mr. Zuma was sentenced in June 2021 for stubbornly refusing to respond to a commission investigating corruption under his presidency (2009-2018). His imprisonment a few days later sparked several days of riots, killing more than 350 people.
He had been released on parole after two months for medical reasons, without further details on his state of health.
Mr. Zuma, when he was president, had close ties with Moscow. More generally, relations between South Africa and Russia date back to the apartheid era, with the Kremlin providing support to the ANC in the fight against the racist regime.
Mr. Zuma, feared intelligence chief at the time of the ANC in exile, whose middle name Gedleyihlekisa means in Zulu “he who laughs while crushing his enemies”, spent ten years in Robben Island penitentiary alongside Nelson Mandela.
The foundation of South Africa’s ex-President Jacob Zuma has stated that he is currently in Moscow, the capital of Russia, for reasons related to his health.
“He will be returning to [South Africa] once his doctors have completed their treatment,” a statement from the Jacob G Zuma foundation continued.
Zuma departed for Russia on a commercial flight last week, according to Mzwanele Manyi, the spokesperson for his foundation. This is not the first time Zuma has sought medical treatment in Russia, as he previously visited in 2014 after an alleged poisoning incident.
On Thursday, the Constitutional Court declared that Zuma’s medical parole had been granted unlawfully.
The parole had been authorized by Arthur Fraser, the former head of the prison service, who is considered an ally of Zuma.
In September 2021, Zuma was released after serving less than eight weeks of a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court, stemming from his refusal to cooperate with an anti-corruption investigation during his presidency.
The Department of Correctional Services has indicated that it is reviewing the Constitutional Court’s ruling and will provide further comments after seeking legal advice.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), the main opposition party, has expressed support for the court’s decision, asserting that it confirms Zuma’s rightful place in jail.
Senior Russian General has been dismissed from post in Ukraine for revealing the truth about frontline situation.
Maj Gen Ivan Popov was the commander of the 58th Army, which has been fighting in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
In a voice message, Maj Gen Popov said he raised questions about high casualty rate and lack of artillery support.
“It was necessary either to keep quiet and be a coward or to say it the way it is,” he said.
“I had no right to lie in the name of you, in the name of my fallen comrades in arms, so I outlined all the problems which exist.”
The voice message was posted to telegram by Russian MP Andrei Gurulyov, who is a former military commander and frequent commentator on state TV. It is unclear when the message was recorded.
Among the issues Maj Gen Popov said he highlighted to his superiors were the lack of proper counter battery systems to help repel Ukrainian artillery attacks, as well as a lack of military intelligence.
The commander said his dismissal was demanded by senior commanders – who he accused of treason – and approved by the Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu.
Russian military bloggers – often the most insightful form of information in the absence of official comment from Moscow – reported that the order to dismiss Maj Gen Popov had come from the head of Russia’s armed forces, Gen Valery Gerasimov.
They said Gen Gerasimov accused Maj Gen Popov of “alarmism and blackmailing senior management” after he highlighted the need to rotate soldiers who had been in the front line for a sustained period of time and had suffered significant losses.
“The senior chiefs apparently sensed some kind of danger from me and quickly concocted an order from the defence minister in just one day and got rid of me,” Maj Gen Popov said.
“The Ukrainian army could not break through our ranks at the front but our senior chief hit us from the rear, viciously beheading the army at the most difficult and intense moment.”
The Russian defence ministry has yet to comment on the dismissal.
However, a senior official of the pro-government United Russia party, of which Mr Gurulyov is a member, criticised the MP for making a “political show” out of Maj Gen Popov’s remarks.
“General Popov’s statement was not public and was posted on closed chats of the commanders and troops of the 58th Army,” Andrei Turchak wrote on telegram.
“Let the fact that… Gurulyov somehow got hold of this and made a political show out of it remain on his conscience,” he said, adding that Maj Gen Popov’s conscience was clear and the country could be proud of commanders like him.
Zaporizhzhia and the eastern Donetsk region have become the focus of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which was launched over a month ago, but has struggled to penetrate well established Russian defensive lines.
On Wednesday, another Russian MP said former Russian commander Gen Sergei Surovikin, who has not been seen in public since the Wagner mutiny, was “resting”.
Gen Surovikin was said to enjoy close relations with the former Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and there had been media reports that he had been arrested following the brief revolt.
There has been no official confirmation or comment about his whereabouts.
Meanwhile, another senior Russian general – Lt Gen Oleg Tsokov – is said to have been killed in a strike in Ukraine’s occupied south coast this week, although his death has not been officially confirmed by Russia’s defence ministry.
One of Vladimir Putin‘s closest supporters has warned the ‘totally crazy West’ that its ongoing support for Ukraine puts Russia and the West at risk of going to war.
Former Russian President and current vice-chairman of the influential Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, declared that “World War Three is drawing near.”
A new “long-term” security plan for Kyiv is about to be unveiled by the G7 in an effort to “end the war and deter and respond to any future attack.”
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the biggest risk is Vladimir Putin winning the war, which he described as being ‘a tragedy for Ukraine’ but ‘a danger to us’.
Russia, which says NATO’s eastward expansion is an existential threat to its own security, swiftly lashed out at the proposals.
Writing on the Telegram messaging app, Mr Medvedev said: ‘The completely crazy West could not come up with anything else… In fact, it’s a dead end. World War Three is getting closer.
‘What does all this mean for us? Everything is obvious. The special military operation will continue with the same goals.’
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that security assurances for Ukraine would be a dangerous mistake that would expose Europe to greater risks for years ahead.
Commenting on the proposed security assurances, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said ‘We consider this to be badly mistaken and potentially very dangerous.
‘Because by providing any kind of security guarantees for Ukraine, these countries would be ignoring the international principle on the indivisibility of security.
‘By providing guarantees to Ukraine, they would be impinging on the security of the Russian Federation.’
It was impossible for Moscow to tolerate anything that threatened its own security, Mr Peskov added, saying he hoped that politicians in the West would realise the risks attached to providing Ukraine with such assurances, a move he said would carry ‘highly negative consequences’.
‘By taking such a decision, these countries will make Europe much more dangerous for many, many years to come. And, of course they will do a disservice to us, something we will take into account.’
Some pro-Kremlin figures gloated at the fact that NATO a day earlier had told Ukraine that it could join ‘when conditions are met’ while stopping short of naming a date or specifying the conditions.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it was a lesson for Kyiv which she said proved the West made up its own rules of the game to fit its agenda.
‘This is the “rules-based order” invented by Westerners,’ she wrote on Telegram.
‘Smarter people don’t take part in it, since there are no rules – they are invented on the go, and they change if the game doesn’t bring the desired result,’ she said.
Konstantin Kosachyov, deputy chairman of Russia’s upper house of parliament, said the outcome was a humiliation for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He claimed NATO was exploiting Kyiv to wage war on Russia while keeping it out because of the risk of nuclear confrontation.
‘In the end, Kyiv was shown its place: to serve as expendable material, to destroy its soldiers for NATO without guarantees of membership in it, and in general to keep its distance from the alliance for now because Ukraine clearly “smells” of a nuclear war in which “real” Europeans will die,’ Kosachyov wrote on Telegram.
The transfer of F-16 fighter jets from NATO to Ukraine, according to Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister, poses a “direct nuclear threat” to Russia.
In response to Nato’s promise to begin training Ukrainian pilots to operate the fighter jets in August, Sergey Lavrov spoke out.
The Kremlin asserts that it forewarned the US, UK, and France about the dangers of giving Ukraine the jets.
Lavrov said: ‘Just one example of an extremely dangerous turn of events is the United States plans to transfer F-16 fighter jets to the Kiev regime.
‘We have informed the nuclear powers, the United States, Britain and France, that Russia cannot ignore the ability of these aircraft to carry nuclear weapons.
‘No amount of assurances will help here.’
Lavrov continued: ‘In the course of combat operations, our servicemen are not going to sort out whether each particular aircraft of this type is equipped to deliver nuclear weapons or not.
‘We will regard the very fact that the Ukrainian armed forces have such systems as a threat from the West in the nuclear sphere.’
He also warned: ‘The United States and its Nato satellites are creating risks of a direct armed clash with Russia, and this is fraught with catastrophic consequences.
‘The conditions for Russia’s use of nuclear weapons are clearly defined in our military doctrine.
‘They are well known, and I will not repeat them once again.’
He also accused countries at the Nato summit which was held in Vilnius, Lithuania, of ‘consistently lowering the threshold for the use of force and building up the nuclear capability in military planning’.
A key theme of this year’s summit was Volodymyr Zelensky’s wish for Ukraine to join Nato.
But defence secretary Ben Wallace said Zelensky needed to be mindful about keeping ‘doubting politicians’ on side following his complaints.
Mr Wallace said he needed to show more ‘gratitude’ to western allies for arming Ukraine and said ‘we’re not Amazon’.
In other news, Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who staged a coup against Vladimir Putin, is likely dead or in jail, a former US military leader said.
The mercenary leader ordered his soldiers to travel towards Moscow in a failed rebellion against the Kremlin in late June.
The Russian president said his former caterer’s actions amounted to ‘armed mutiny’, and Prigozhin is now feared dead by experts.
On the second day of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Volodymyr Zelensky, Rishi Sunak, and Joe Biden appeared to the cameras to be longtime friends.
The group, who were seated side by side, were seen laughing before starting work.
The Ukrainian president has displayed diplomatic skill throughout the war, beguiling world leaders as both guests and hosts to win their support against Russia.
Like a rock star, he received huge support from the crowds, and was seen shaking hands with politicians.
Zelensky said it was ‘good news’ that they could advance discussions on security guarantees for his nation.
The PM has consistently stated that he sees Ukraine’s place as being in Nato but its pathway to entry has proved tricky for allies in Vilnius.
Behind the scenes, he has been working on a non-Nato multilateral defence and economic agreement for Ukraine to give it long-term support against current and future Russian aggression.
All members of the G7 – made up of the UK, the US, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada – are set to sign the pact, which has the potential to ‘return peace to Europe’.
Little detail has been published about what the G7 pact entails but No 10 said it would lead to increased intelligence sharing, further training of Ukraine’s forces and plans to boost the country’s own defence industry.
Some eastern European experts have warned that Zelensky’s position has only got ‘weaker’ after the summit despite his positive messages to his people.
Sergej Sumlenny said in a retweet to the president’s comment about the Nato-Ukraine council: ‘Don’t fool yourself: it is not a sign of happiness.
‘Zelensky is trying to calm down his domestic critics and sweeten the pill for the Ukrainians. His positions got weaker after the Nato summit.
‘One of multiple bad consequences of the weak and short-sighted Nato summit decision.’
The largest nuclear reactor in Europe is one of the targets that Russia will strike because it has “no red lines,” according to Ukraine.
The purported assault on the Kakhovka dam by Moscow in May, according to energy minister Herman Halushchenko, demonstrates just how far Vladimir Putin will go.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mr. Halushchenko alerted authorities that the Russians may have planted explosives to blow up the dam in October, he said.
He added: ‘For many, many people it sounded ridiculous… and when it happened everybody understood that there are no red lines for them.
‘And of course, it’s all connected to the counter-offensive operation, and after Kakhovka, the one tool which they still have is Zaporizhzhia.’
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was seized in March 2022, during the first weeks of the war, and fears about a catastrophic incident akin to the Chernobyl disaster have circulated ever since.
Both Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused the other of shelling the site, but Mr Zelensky said last week Kyiv has new evidence about an ‘upcoming attack’.
Citing intelligence reports, Mr Zelensky alleged Russian troops had placed ‘objects resembling explosives’ atop several power units to ‘simulate’ an attack.
The Associated Press looked into drone and satellite images which showed white objects on the roof of the plant’s fourth power unit, but image experts could not identify them.
Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute who specialises in satellite images, said if the objects do turn out to be a bomb, it is unlikely to cause serious damage to the reactor.
Ukraine started accusing the Kremlin of plotting a ‘large-scale provocation’ at the nuclear power plant, in the southeast Kherson region, around the time it launched its counter-offensive last month.
Russia has always denied the attack on the Kakhovka dam, a disaster which triggered a humanitarian disaster after intense flooding left villages and towns almost completely submerged in water.
Experts compared it to Chernobyl, with one telling the Financial Times: ‘The consequences are different, but the long-term effect on the population and the territory is the same.’
At the time, Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister also said the dam explosion was ‘the worst environmental disaster’ in Europe since the disaster in 1986.
He added: ‘Only this time Moscow deliberately used this weapon of mass destruction against the Ukrainians. Who else wants to negotiate with Putin?’
Putin claimed Ukraine had blown up the dam to restrict water supplies to Crimea and distract the world from a ‘faltering offensive’.
Over the weekend, a Ukrainian missile attack forced a major crossing linking Russia to annexed Crimea to close temporarily.
Traffic was halted in both directions of the Kerch Bridge after Russian air forces said they had shot down a rocket in the area.
The bridge is largely seen as a vanity project for Putin, who ordered the £3 billion crossing to be built after he illegally invaded Crimea in 2014.
It was severely damaged last October when a ‘truck bomb’ blew up and killed at least three people, Russian investigators said at the time.
Russia has warned that if the conflict in Ukraine worsens, there would be “catastrophic consequences” for Europe.
The military alliance’s chiefs are getting ready to send Kyiv a “positive message” on its potential future membership.
However, the Kremlin claimed that one of the main reasons for its decision to invade Ukraine 17 months ago was NATO’s eastern expansion and that Moscow would respond forcefully and openly if Ukraine opted to join the organisation.
Konstantin Gavrilov, a Vienna-based senior Russian security negotiator, accused the United States of fuelling the conflict by pouring arms into Ukraine ahead of the NATO summit.
He said Europe would be the first to face ‘catastrophic consequences’ if the war escalated – but he did not say what these consequences would be.
Gavrilov also accused the United States of seeking to ‘undermine’ Russia.
He said: ‘Let’s look at the facts – the fate of Europe is of little interest to the United States.’
Earlier, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, made a similar criticism of what he called Washington’s ‘anti-Russian’ stance at the summit in Vilnius.
‘Everything is being done to prepare local public opinion for the approval of any anti-Russian decisions that will be made in Vilnius in the coming days,’ Antonov said in a post on the embassy’s Telegram channel.
NATO leaders are set to approve the alliance’s first comprehensive plans since the end of the Cold War to defend against any attack by Moscow at the summit in Lithuania.
Russia’s ambassador to Belgium, Alexander Tokovinin, in comments cited by RIA, said those plans would make NATO’s confrontation with Moscow more tense and prolonged.
Diplomats said differences were narrowing among the allies over Ukraine’s push for NATO membership, though it will not be invited to join the alliance while the war still rages.
‘Both the United States and NATO understand that time is not working for them. They are losing in Ukraine,’Gavrilov said.
Kyiv’s counteroffensive, which began last month, has been proceeding more slowly than hoped, but Ukraine’s military said on Monday its forces had caught occupying Russian troops ‘in a trap’ in the shattered eastern city of Bakhmut.
