Ukrainian self-propelled artillery shoots towards Russian forces at a frontline in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, July 27, 2022. (AP)Russia Ukraine War Live Updates: Russian forces said they have captured the Soviet-era coal-fired Vuhlehirsk power plant, aka Ukraine’s second-biggest power plant, said a Reuters report. Kremlin troops are also conducting a “massive redeployment” of troops to Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in southern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, on the diplomacy front, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he planned a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov — the first between the two diplomats since before the start of the war. Blinken said that the call would not be “a negotiation about Ukraine.” It is reported to be a part of negotiations for the release of US citizens WNBA star Brittney Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan who are currently in Russian custody. A CNN report said that Washington was willing to exchange Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States, as part of a deal.
In other news, Russian space officials have informed US counterparts that Moscow would like to keep flying its cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) until their own orbital outpost is built and operational, a senior NASA official told Reuters on Wednesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to Yuri Borisov, the new CEO of the Russian State Space Corporation "Roscosmos", at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, July 26, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
➡️ Russian forces are undertaking a "massive redeployment" of troops to three southern regions of Ukraine in what appears to be a change of tactics by Moscow, a senior adviser to Zelenskyy said.
➡️ Authorities in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Kherson have shut its only bridge across the Dnipro river after it came under fire from US-supplied high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), an official from the Russian-installed administration said.
➡️ Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces on July 24 had destroyed more than 100 US-made HIMARS rockets in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region. (Reuters)
Russian space officials have informed their US counterparts that Moscow would like to keep flying its cosmonauts on the International Space Station at least until their own orbital outpost is built, a senior NASA official told Reuters.
Yuri Borisov, the newly appointed director-general of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, surprised NASA on Tuesday by announcing that Moscow intended to end the longstanding space station partnership "after 2024."
Kathy Lueders, NASA's space operations chief, said in an interview that Russian officials later on Tuesday told the US space agency that Roscosmos would like to remain in the partnership as Russia works to get its planned orbital outpost, named ROSS, up and running. "We're not getting any indication at any working level that anything's changed," Lueders told Reuters, adding that NASA's relations with Roscosmos remain "business as usual." (Reuters)
Russian forces took over Ukraine's second-biggest power plant and are conducting a "massive redeployment" of troops to three southern regions, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said, amid expectations of a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Russian-backed forces said on Wednesday they had captured the Soviet-era coal-fired Vuhlehirsk power plant intact, in what was Moscow's first significant gain in more than three weeks. (Reuters)
As the Soviet-era melody of the Russian national anthem filled the room, a small group of Ukrainians in this city seized by Russian troops nearly five months ago swore allegiance to Moscow before being handed freshly minted Russian passports.
"I love Russia. Glory to Russia!" said Igor Chaika, 58, one of the three, after pledging to defend the Russian Federation. Another, Alexandra Safronova, 92, wiped tears from her eyes. "I am happy. Thank you," she said after being handed a Russian passport by an armed man wearing a medical mask.
This week's ceremony in the city of Kherson, which took place beneath a portrait of President Vladimir Putin and Russia's coat of arms, a golden double-headed eagle, - is one of many that have taken place in Ukraine's southern Kherson region in recent weeks.
Russian-installed officials say more than 2,300 Russian passports have been handed out and more than 11,000 applications lodged in what Ukraine and the White House say is an illegal effort by Moscow to annex territory it has occupied as part of what they regard as an imperialist Russian land grab. (Reuters)
The fate of Ukraine's second biggest power plant was hanging in the balance on Wednesday after Russian-backed forces claimed to have captured it intact, but Kyiv did not confirm its seizure, saying only that fighting was under way nearby.
Seizing the Soviet-era coal-fired Vuhlehirsk power plant in eastern Ukraine would be Moscow's first strategic gain in more than three weeks in what it calls its "special operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" its neighbour.
Rising energy prices and a global wheat shortage that threatens millions in poorer countries with hunger are among the far-reaching effects of Russia's war in Ukraine. (Reuters)
Russia delivered less gas to Europe on Wednesday in a further escalation of an energy stand-off between Moscow and the European Union that will make it harder, and costlier, for the bloc to fill up storage ahead of the winter heating season.
The cut in supplies, flagged by Gazprom earlier this week, has reduced the capacity of Nord Stream 1 pipeline - the major delivery route to Europe for Russian gas - to a mere fifth of its total capacity.
Nord Stream 1 accounts for around a third of all Russian gas exports to Europe. (Reuters)
Italy would face a potential gas supply crunch at the end of the coming winter if Russia were to totally halt supplies, Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani said on Wednesday. Assuming Russian gas supplies stopped completely at the beginning of winter, storage would be sufficient until February, he told a news conference.
Italy has been striking a series of deals to reduce its reliance on Russian gas after the invasion of Ukraine.
"In the event of a deterioration in other gas supplies we can make a tougher savings plan, but at the moment energy security is guaranteed," Cingolani told a news conference. (Reuters)
Russia's foreign minister on Wednesday denied his country is responsible for the global surge in food prices following its invasion of Ukraine, dismissing the “so-called food crisis" as he completed a visit to several African nations on a continent hit especially hard.
Addressing reporters and African diplomats in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, Sergei Lavrov accused the United States and European countries of driving up prices by pursuing “reckless” green policies and even hoarding food during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The situation in Ukraine did additionally negatively affect food markets, but not due to the Russian special operation, rather due to the absolutely inadequate reaction of the West, which announced sanctions,” Lavrov said. (AP)
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Ukraine's navy confirmed on Wednesday that work had started at three Ukrainian Black Sea ports aimed at preparing for the resumption of grain exports.
"In connection with the signing of the agreement on the unblocking (by Russia) of Ukrainian ports for the export of grain, work has been resumed in the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdeny," the navy said on Facebook.
"The departure and arrival of ships to seaports will be carried out by forming a caravan that will accompany the lead ship." (Reuters)
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar on Wednesday unveiled a centre in Istanbul to oversee the export of Ukrainian grains after a landmark UN deal last week, with the first shipment expected to depart from Black Sea ports within days.
Russia and Ukraine signed the deal, brokered by Ankara and the United Nations, on Friday to reopen grain and fertiliser exports that have been blocked by war to ease an international food crisis.
The joint coordination centre (JCC) in Istanbul will oversee departures from three Ukrainian ports in which ships must circumvent mines, and will conduct inspections of incoming ships for weapons.
All vessels pass through Turkish waters and all parties will appoint representatives at the JCC to monitor the implementation of the plan. A total of 20 personnel from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN will work side-by-side at the centre. (Reuters)
State-controlled media outlet Russia Today on Wednesday lost its court fight against a European Union ban imposed in March over alleged disinformation, prompting the Kremlin to warn of retaliatory measures against Western media.
Europe's second highest court upheld the EU decision, taken after Brussels accused Russia Today of systematic disinformation over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"The Grand Chamber of the General Court dismisses RT France's application for annulment of acts of the Council, adopted following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, temporarily prohibiting that organisation from broadcasting content," the Luxembourg-based General Court said.
Judges endorsed the latitude of the EU's council of government heads to take restrictive measures in this field and dismissed Russia Today's arguments that the ban curtailed its freedom of expression. (Reuters)
The fate of Ukraine's second biggest power plant hung in the balance after Russian-backed forces claimed to have captured it intact, but Kyiv did not confirm its seizure, saying only that fighting was underway nearby.
The headquarters overseeing exports of Ukrainian grains is set to be unveiled in Istanbul on Wednesday after a landmark U.N. deal last week, and a senior Turkish official said the first ship is likely to depart Black Sea ports in a few days.
State-controlled media outlet Russia Today lost its court fight against a European Union ban imposed in March over alleged disinformation, prompting the Kremlin to warn of retaliatory measures against Western media.
The EU decided to renew sanctions against Russia for a further six months, until the end of January 2023.
At least one person was killed by a Russian strike on a Ukrainian hotel in the Donetsk region town of Bakhmut, local authorities said.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces on July 24 had destroyed more than 100 U.S.-made HIMARS rockets in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region. Reuters was unable to independently verify battlefield accounts from either side. (Reuters)
Ukrainian artillery hit a strategic bridge essential for Moscow to supply its forces occupying Ukraine’s southern region, using a U.S.-supplied precision rocket system to deliver a morale-lifting punch.
The Ukrainian military struck the Antonivskyi Bridge across the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine late Tuesday, the deputy head of the Moscow-appointed administration for the Kherson region, Kirill Stremousov, said.He said Wednesday the bridge was still standing but its deck was pierced with holes, preventing vehicles from crossing.
The 1.4-kilometer (0.9-mile) bridge sustained serious damage in Ukrainian shelling last week, when it took multiple hits. It was closed for trucks but had remained open for passenger vehicles until the latest strike.Ukrainian forces used U.S.-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to hit the bridge, Stremousov said. (AP)
Russia's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that its forces on July 24 had destroyed more than 100 US-made HIMARS rockets in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region. (Reuters)
At least one person was killed by a Russian strike on a Ukrainian hotel in the Donetsk region town of Bakhmut on Wednesday, local authorities said.
"According to preliminary information, there are dead and wounded, a rescue operation is underway," local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Facebook. The local emergency service said a toll of one dead and four wounded had been confirmed so far. (Reuters)
Fearing Russia could shut the taps this winter, the European Union agreed to a deal Tuesday to curb natural gas consumption starting next week, the latest show of resolve and solidarity in its push and shove with the Kremlin over President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The deal highlighted the continued ability of the EU to forge agreement, even if blunted by compromise, and signified an important step in managing its dependence on Russian energy and overcoming divisions in the face of Russian threats.
At least one person was killed by a Russian strike on a Ukrainian hotel in the Donetsk region town of Bakhmut on Wednesday, local authorities said.
"According to preliminary information, there are dead and wounded, a rescue operation is underway," local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Facebook. The local emergency service said a toll of one dead and four wounded had been confirmed so far. (Reuters)
Russia’s Gazprom on Wednesday halved the amount of natural gas flowing through a major pipeline from Russia to Europe to 20% of capacity. It’s the latest reduction to Nord Stream 1 that Russia has blamed on technical problems, but Germany calls a political move to sow uncertainty and push up prices amid the war in Ukraine.
Data on the Nord Stream website and the head of Germany’s network regulator, Klaus Mueller, confirmed the reduction.“Gas is now a part of Russian foreign policy and possibly Russian war strategy,” Mueller told Deutschlandfunk radio. (AP)
Iran will soon start accepting payments made with Russia's Mir bank cards, a top official was quoted by Russia's RIA news agency as saying, making it the latest country to adopt the Russian-made alternative to Visa and Mastercard.
"I think this payment system will be activated in Iran soon," RIA quoted Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Medhi Safari as saying on Wednesday. (Reuters)
The headquarters overseeing exports of Ukrainian grains is set to be unveiled in Istanbul on Wednesday after a landmark UN deal last week, and a senior Turkish official said the first ship is likely to depart Black Sea ports in a few days.
A Turkish official said all the details had been worked out, including a safe route for ships that will not require the clearing of sea mines.
"It will not take more than a few days. It looks like the first grains will be loaded this week and its export from Ukraine will take place," said the official, who requested anonymity. (Reuters)