Russian drones attacked port and grain storage facilities in the south of Ukraine's coastal Odesa region in the early hours of Wednesday, including the inland port of Izmail across the Danube River from Romania, in a fresh blow to the country's critical grain exports. Meanwhile, Kyiv's military administration said the city's air defences downed more than 10 Russian drones during an overnight attack. Follow our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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10:10pm: Russia wants 'global catastrophe', says Ukraine's Zelensky
Russia's attacks on port infrastructure show Moscow is intent on creating a "global catastrophe", with a crisis in food markets, prices and supplies, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
"Moscow is waging a battle for a global catastrophe. In their madness, they need world food markets to collapse, they need a price crisis, they need disruptions in supplies," the Ukrainian leader said.
9:55pm: Ukrainians forced to become Russian citizens, US-backed research finds
Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territory are being forced to assume Russian citizenship or face harsh retaliation, including possible deportation or detention, according to US-backed research published today.
Yale University researchers said that as part of a plan by Moscow to assert authority over Ukrainians, residents of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions are being targeted by a systematic effort to strip them of their Ukrainian identity.
A series of decrees signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin have compelled Ukrainians to get Russian passports, in violation of international humanitarian law, the report said.
Ukrainians in occupied territory who do not seek Russian citizenship "are subjected to threats, intimidation, restrictions on humanitarian aid and basic necessities, and possible detention or deportation – all designed to force them to become Russian citizens," the report said.
7:30pm: Zelensky says Ukraine hopes to hold peace summit this autumn
President Volodymyr Zelensky says he hopes a Ukraine "peace summit" can be held this autumn, and that this week's talks in Saudi Arabia can serve as a stepping stone towards that goal.
Zelensky told Ukrainian diplomats in a speech published on the president's website that almost 40 countries would be represented at the meeting in Jeddah on August 5 and 6.
"We are working on making it (the summit) happen this fall," he said. "Autumn is very soon, but there is still time to prepare for the summit and involve most of the world's countries."
Zelensky and his team are working with allies to build broad support for a "peace summit", building on a 10-point plan outlined by Kyiv last autumn.
Their vision for peace calls for the full restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity and a full withdrawal of Russian troops, the protection of food and energy security, nuclear safety, the release of all prisoners, and other points.
6:35pm: Brazil's Lula says 'neither Putin nor Zelensky ready for peace'
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has told reporters that his country is working for peace in Ukraine but that neither its leader nor Russia's are prepared to talk peace.
"Neither Putin nor Zelensky are ready," Lula told foreign correspondents in a news conference, adding that peace proposals he is seeking with other countries will be ready when Russia and Ukraine are willing to negotiate.
"Brazil's role is to try to arrive at a peace proposal together with others for when both countries want it," he said.
Lula has tried to form a group of neutral countries to get peace talks going. He has been criticised for saying that Ukraine and Russia are equally responsible for the war.
5:55pm: Russian regional militia receive weapons to protect border
Local militia groups in two Russian regions bordering Ukraine have received their first batch of weapons to defend their territory from Ukrainian attacks, local officials say.
The militias were created in the two Russian regions last December to assist the armed forces, National Guard and police.
The governor of Russia's western Kursk region said his territorial militia had received their first batch of weapons, while state media reported that units in Belgorod region had received weapons.
Both regions have reported repeated drone strikes and shelling from Ukraine's armed forces.
4:45pm: Patrol boats hunt down Russian drones on Ukraine's rivers
Much diminished and absent from the high seas, the Ukrainian navy is still playing a key role on the country's rivers, looking out for Russian drones that fly at a low altitude along the country's waterways to avoid radar detection.
FRANCE 24's correspondent Gulliver Cragg has this report:
3:05pm: Russian drone attacks damaged 40,000 tons of grain, Ukraine says
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov has stated that the Russian drone attacks on the Danube port early this morning damaged almost 40,000 tons of grains set for Africa, China, and Israel.
"The Russians attacked warehouses and grain elevators – almost 40 thousand tons of grain were damaged, which was expected by the countries of Africa, China, and Israel," Kubrakov said in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
1:20pm: Russia begins Baltic Sea naval drills
Moscow is holding naval exercises in the Baltic Sea amid rising tensions with its European neighbours over the conflict in Ukraine.
"The Ocean Shield-2023 naval exercises have begun in the Baltic Sea," the defence ministry said in a statement. It added that 30 warships and boats as well as 20 support vessels would participate alongside some 6,000 military personnel.
The Russian navy has played a key role in Moscow's assault on Ukraine by pummelling the Western-backed country with ship- and submarine-launched cruise missiles, among other weapons.
11:15am: Romanian president slams Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Danube port near Romania
Romania's President Klaus Iohannis called Russia's repeated attacks on Ukraine's Danube infrastructure near Romania "unacceptable", after Moscow struck the southern region of Odesa including vital ports used to export grain.
"Russia's continued attacks against the Ukrainian civilian infrastructure on Danube, in the proximity of Romania, are unacceptable," Iohannis posted on social media. "These are war crimes and they further affect [Ukraine's] capacity to transfer their food products towards those in need in the world."
8:09am: Kyiv air defences down Russian drones
More than 10 Russian drones were downed in Kyiv during an overnight attack, the city's military administration said early on Wednesday.
"Groups of drones entered Kyiv simultaneously from several directions. However, all air targets – more than 10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – were detected and destroyed in time by the forces and means of air defence," said Sergiy Popko, head of the administration.
He said Russia had used a barrage of Iranian-made Shahed drones, with debris hitting several areas.
7:03am: Russian drone strikes hit Ukrainian port facilities
A Russian drone strike damaged port infrastructure in the Odesa region, Ukrainian authorities said, adding that there were no reports of casualties.
"As a result of the attack, fires broke out at the facilities of the port and industrial infrastructure of the region, and an elevator was damaged," regional governor Oleg Kiper said
Ukraine's defence ministry said a grain silo was damaged in the Danube port of Izmail in the Odesa region: "Ukrainian
grain has the potential to feed millions of people worldwide, "the ministry wrote on messaging platform X, formerly known as
Twitter.
Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian agricultural and port infrastructure after refusing to extend the Black Sea grain deal that had allowed for exports of Ukrainian grain.
Key developments from Tuesday, August 1:
Poland vowed to increase the number of troops at its border with Belarus after two Belarusian helicopters caused a "violation of Polish airspace". Minsk has denied the claim. According to the Polish defence ministry, NATO has been informed of the incident. The Belarusian defence ministry denied on its Telegram channel that its military helicopters had violated the Polish border.
A Ukrainian drone downed by Russia has struck a Moscow office tower that was also hit over the weekend, as multiple other drones were downed, Russian officials said.
Meanwhile, Iceland suspended work at its embassy in Russia, the first European country to do so, as commercial, cultural and political relations had slumped to an "all-time low".
Read yesterday's liveblog to see how the day's events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
