Here are the key events from Wednesday, August 17.
Fighting
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Russia’s blaming of saboteurs for explosions at an ammunition depot in Crimea is a rare admission that armed groups loyal to Ukraine are damaging military logistics and supply lines in the territory it controls.
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Plumes of black smoke were seen at a Russian military airbase near the settlement of Hvardiyske in the centre of Russian-controlled Crimea, Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reported.
- Ukraine’s state nuclear power company Energoatom said Russian-based hackers launched a significant three-hour attack on its website but had not caused significant problems.
Diplomacy
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Wary of frustration among some countries that the war is consuming too much global attention nearly six months in, Western diplomats face difficulty in trying to sustain international resolve to isolate Russia diplomatically.
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UN Secretary-General Guterres will meet Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Lviv in western Ukraine to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, along with finding a political solution to the conflict, a spokesman said.
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Finland will slash the number of visas issued to Russians to 10 percent from September 1 and, along with Baltic states, propose that the European Union discontinues an agreement with Russia that makes it easier for Russians to travel in the bloc, the foreign minister said.
- Estonia has removed a Soviet-era World War II memorial from Narva, a large Russian-speaking majority city, accusing Russia of using such monuments to stir up tensions.
Economy
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Russia’s economy will contract less than expected and inflation will not be as high as projected three months ago, economy ministry forecasts seen by Reuters news agency showed, suggesting it is dealing with sanctions better than initially feared.
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UN chief Guterres plans to meet Turkish President Erdogan on Thursday, a spokesman said, and on Friday will visit Odesa on the Black Sea, where grain exports have resumed.
- Ukraine can export 3 million tonnes of grain from its ports in September and may in the future be able to export 4 million tonnes a month, a government official said.
