Russia this week pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed for the safe passage of ships carrying Ukrainian grain, a key food source for Africa. Russia has since been conducting naval drills in the area. It also launched missiles at Odessa, a key Ukrainian port. “Due to Russia’s actions, the world is once again on the brink of a food crisis,” Zelensky said.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Russia struck an agricultural facility in Odessa, the regional governor, Oleh Kiper, said, adding that the attack injured two employees and destroyed tons of peas and barley. Moscow promised to retaliate after Kyiv’s strike on the Crimean Bridge earlier this week.
The U.N. undersecretary general for political affairs denounced Russia’s attack on Odessa at a U.N. Security Council meeting. The bombardment contradicts Russia’s previous commitment to “facilitate the unimpeded export of food, sunflower oil and fertilizers from Ukrainian controlled Black Sea ports,” Rosemary A. DiCarlo said. The undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, Martin Griffiths, said some of the 362 million people in need of aid could starve or die after Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal.
The United States suspects Russia could soon start attacking civilian ships in the Black Sea. “Our information also indicates that Russia laid additional sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said. “We believe this is a coordinated effort to justify any attacks against civilian ships in the Black Sea and lay blame on Ukraine for these attacks.”
Radar imagery appears to show newly arrived vehicles and equipment at a rumored Wagner base in Belarus. The images, provided to The Washington Post by Maxar Technologies and Umbra, show that “dozens, if not hundreds, of vehicles and equipment have recently arrived at the facility,” according to Stephen Wood, senior director at Maxar. Friday’s images show an increase in material compared with previous imagery gathered on July 16.
The United States is planning to announce a new $400 million military assistance package for Ukraine, Reuters reported, citing three unidentified American officials. Although the slate of weapons could change, the United States is not including cluster munitions, two of the officials said. The Post could not independently verify the report.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Ukraine’s use of cluster munitions was “actually having an impact on Russia’s defensive formations.” The United States’ provision of the widely banned munitions has been criticized by human rights groups, while some NATO allies said they did not agree with the decision. Kirby made the comments after The Post reported that Ukraine had begun using the munitions in a bid to push through Russian lines in the southeast.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive will “gain pace,” Zelensky told attendees of the four-day Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. Ukrainian forces have been struggling to retake ground from well-entrenched Russian troops. “We are already going through some mines locations and we are demining these areas,” Zelensky said, according to the Financial Times.
Zelensky dismissed Ukraine’s ambassador to Britain, the BBC reported. Kyiv didn’t announce a reason for the removal of Vadym Prystaiko, who had been critical of the Ukrainian president’s response after British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that Ukraine needed to show gratitude to its partners for providing security assistance. In his reply, Zelensky said that “we can wake up in the morning and thank the minister. Let him write to me and tell me how to thank him.” Prystaiko had described his president’s remarks as “unhealthy sarcasm.”
President Biden elevated CIA Director William J. Burns to his Cabinet. The symbolic move does not give Burns any new authority, but it underscores the influence Burns has in the administration and will be read as a victory for the CIA, which was among the agencies in the U.S. intelligence community that accurately forecast the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, The Post reported.
Russia and China are conducting naval drills in the waters between South Korea and Japan that conclude Sunday. The routine exercises involve anti-submarine warfare maneuvers, “ensuring the security of communications in the waters and airspace” and joint artillery firing, according to Russian state media. Russia is also conducting maneuvers in the Black Sea.
Russia arrests Igor Girkin, ex-security officer who led operations in Ukraine: Girkin, a former Russian commander in Ukraine, was detained on charges of promoting extremism. This marks the first time Moscow has taken action against a supporter of the war, but one who has voiced criticism of the top brass and their often botched military strategy, Mary Ilyushina reports.
Girkin is an ex-officer of the Federal Security Service, or FSB. He played a role in Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. In November, Girkin and two co-defendants were convicted by a Dutch court of murder in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine in 2014, an attack that killed all 298 people aboard. Russia shielded Girkin from extradition in that case.
Andrew Jeong
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