Summary
Thank you for joining us for today’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
We will be pausing our live reporting overnight and returning in the morning.
In the meantime, you can read our comprehensive summary of the day’s events below.
- Ukraine predicts that it will recapture the southern region of Kherson by September. Sergiy Khlan, an aide to the head of Kherson region, said in an interview with Ukrainian television: “We can say that the Kherson region will definitely be liberated by September, and all the occupiers’ plans will fail.” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also said Ukrainian forces were moving “step by step” into Kherson. However, other reports suggest Ukrainian soldiers are doing well just to hold the front line in nearby villages.
- Ukraine has warned that a deal to export grain via the Black Sea will stall if there are further Russian airstrikes on key ports. Zelenskiy’s economic advisor, Oleh Ustenko, told Ukrainian television: “Yesterday’s strike indicates that it will definitely not work like that.” The caution comes after Saturday’s missile attack in Odesa where Moscow insisted it only hit a Ukrainian warship and US-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
- Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has embarked on a tour of several countries in Africa. On his first stop in Egypt he sought to reassure his counterpart Sameh Shoukry that Russian grain supplies would continue and met with the secretary-general of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, where he spoke of deepening cooperation between Russia and the Arab League. Late on Sunday night he flew to the Republic of the Congo .
- Ukraine will continue doing all it can to inflict as much damage on Russian forces as possible and will not be cowed, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed. “Even the occupiers admit we will win,” he said in his nightly video address on Sunday. “We do everything to inflict the highest possible damage on the enemy … we will celebrate against all odds. Because Ukrainians won’t be cowed.”
- German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Russia’s war against Ukraine is also a “war against the unity of Europe”. “We must not let ourselves be divided, we must not let the great work of a united Europe that we have begun so promisingly be destroyed,” he said in a speech in the western German city of Paderborn. “This war is not just about the territory of Ukraine, it is about the double shared foundation of our values and our order of peace,” he added.
- Nearly half a million Ukrainian children are going to school in the European Union, according to the European Commission’s department of migration and home affairs. A total of 492,647 Ukrainian children have been integrated into the national school systems of the European Union, the department said.
- Ukraine’s health ministry said that least 18 medical personnel have been killed and nearly 900 medical facilities damaged or destroyed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ministry said more than 50 medical workers had been wounded by Russian attacks and 123 medical facilities in Ukraine were totally destroyed by the invasion, while another 746 needed repairs.
- A Canadian citizen has died in Ukraine, Canada’s foreign ministry confirmed. Media reports suggest the Canadian was with two US citizens who recently died in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. The US and Canadian governments have not given details on how recent the deaths were, or their circumstances.
Updated
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in the Republic of the Congo, Russian state media agency RIA Novosti is reporting.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, noted the visit is “the first visit of the minister of foreign affairs of Russia / USSR to the Republic of the Congo”. In a post to Telegram, she said:
After the liberation from the colonial oppression of France, the Republic of the Congo developed friendly relations with the Soviet Union. We supported each other in the international arena, Soviet specialists helped the formation of an independent republic, including the construction of infrastructure facilities in the country. In total, over 8 thousand were educated in the USSR and Russia Congolese citizens, many of whom have taken leadership positions.”
🛬 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov arrived in the Republic of the Congo on a working visit.
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) July 24, 2022
🇷🇺🇨🇬 At the airport, he was met by his counterpart, Foreign Minister of the Republic of the Congo Jean-Claude #Gakosso.#RussiaAfrica pic.twitter.com/ItgU56WVKg
Updated
Earlier on Sunday Russia’s chief diplomat met with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
Sergei Lavrov spoke of deepening cooperation between Russia and the Arab League.
🤝 In Cairo, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a meeting with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Ahmed Aboul Gheit.#RussiaArabLeague pic.twitter.com/hI6Gs3Pr4r
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) July 24, 2022
Russia’s foreign minister offered reassurances over Russian grain supplies to Egypt during a visit to Cairo on Sunday.
Egypt is one of the world’s top wheat importers and last year bought about 80% of those imports from Russia and Ukraine, according to Reuters. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted shipments and sped up a rise in global commodity prices, delivering a financial shock to Egypt.
In a press conference with Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, Sergei Lavrov said:
We reaffirmed the commitment of Russian grain exporters to meet all their commitments.
We discussed specific parameters of cooperation in this area, agreed on further contacts between the relevant ministries, and we have a common understanding of the causes of the grain crisis.”
Updated
Summary
It’s 1am in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:
- Nearly half a million Ukrainian children are going to school in the European Union. According to the EU Migration and Home Affairs, 492,647 Ukrainian kids have been integrated into in the national school systems of the European Union.
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The International Atomic Energy Agency said that 10 Ukrainian nuclear reactors have been connected to the grid. According to the IAEA, one more nuclear energy reactor had been connected to the grid at the Rivne nuclear power plant in Ukraine’s Rivne oblast.
- Ukraine will continue doing all it can to inflict as much damage on Russian forces as possible, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on Sunday. “Even the occupiers admit we will win,” he said as he hailed the upcoming day of Ukrainian statehood, July 28, a new annual holiday that Zelenskiy announced last year in August.
- Russia said Sunday that its missile barrage on a Ukrainian port central to a landmark grain export deal had destroyed Western-supplied weapons, after the attack sparked an outcry from Ukraine’s allies. “High-precision, long-range missiles launched from the sea destroyed a docked Ukrainian warship and a stockpile of anti-ship missiles delivered by the United States to the Kyiv regime,” Russia’s defense ministry said.
- German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Sunday that the war Russian president Vladimir Putin is waging against Ukraine is also a “war against the unity of Europe.” “We must not let ourselves be divided, we must not let the great work of a united Europe that we have begun so promisingly be destroyed,” he said in a speech in the western German city of Paderborn.
- Ukraine’s health ministry said that least 18 medical personnel have been killed and nearly 900 medical facilities damaged or destroyed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which entered its sixth month on Sunday. In a Facebook post, the ministry went on to say that over 50 medical workers had been wounded by Russian attacks since Moscow launched its invasion on February 24.
That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as I hand the blog over to my colleagues in Australia who will bring you the latest updates. Thank you.
Nearly half a million Ukrainian children are going to school in the European Union, the Kyiv Independent reports.
According to the EU Migration and Home Affairs, 492,647 Ukrainian kids have been integrated into in the national school systems of the European Union.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said that 10 Ukrainian nuclear reactors have been connected to the grid, the Kyiv Independent reports.
According to the IAEA, one more nuclear energy reactor had been connected to the grid at the Rivne nuclear power plant in Ukraine’s Rivne oblast.
The outlet reported that now 10 of Ukraine’s 15 nuclear energy reactors are now connected to the grid. Three reactors are in the Rivne oblast, three are in the Russian-occupied Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia oblast, two are in the Myokolayiv oblast and two are in Khmelnytsky oblast.
Updated
Ukraine will continue doing all it can to inflict as much damage on Russian forces as possible, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on Sunday.
“Even the occupiers admit we will win,” he said as he hailed the upcoming day of Ukrainian statehood, July 28, a new annual holiday that Zelenskiy announced last year in August.
“We hear it in their conversations all the time. In what they are telling their relatives when they call them,” he added, saying that Ukraine was not letting up, Reuters reports.
“We do everything to inflict the highest possible damage on the enemy and to gather for Ukraine as much support as possible,” he said.
Zelenskiy further said that Ukraine had an important week ahead, with the holiday approaching in the midst of what he called a “cruel war.”
“But we will celebrate against all odds. Because Ukrainians won’t be cowed.”
Russia said Sunday that its missile barrage on a Ukrainian port central to a landmark grain export deal had destroyed Western-supplied weapons, after the attack sparked an outcry from Ukraine’s allies.
Agence France-Presse reports:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was embarking on a tour of several countries in Africa and on his first stop in Egypt sought to reassure his counterpart Sameh Shoukry that Russian grain supplies would continue.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy denounced Saturday’s strike on the Odessa port as “Russian barbarism,” coming just one day after the warring sides struck a deal to release exports from the facility.
Turkey helped broker the accord and said immediately after the double cruise missile hits that it had received assurances from Moscow that Russian forces were not responsible.
But Russia’s defence ministry rolled back on the denial Sunday, saying the strikes had destroyed a Ukrainian military vessel and arms delivered by Washington.
“High-precision, long-range missiles launched from the sea destroyed a docked Ukrainian warship and a stockpile of anti-ship missiles delivered by the United States to the Kyiv regime,” it said.
“A Ukrainian army repair and upgrade plant has also been put out of order.”
The strikes have cast a shadow over the milestone accord - that was hammered out over months of negotiations and signed in Istanbul - to relieve a global food crisis.
German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Sunday that the war Russian president Vladimir Putin is waging against Ukraine is also a “war against the unity of Europe”.
“We must not let ourselves be divided, we must not let the great work of a united Europe that we have begun so promisingly be destroyed,” he said in a speech in the western German city of Paderborn.
“This war is not just about the territory of Ukraine, it is about the double shared foundation of our values and our order of peace,” he said.
But defending these values also means being prepared to “accept significant disadvantages,” he warned, without giving further details.
“Are we ready for that? We are all facing this question - today and in the days, weeks and months to come,” he said.
“Russia is not only questioning the borders, it is not only occupying the territories of an independent and sovereign neighbouring state, it is even challenging the statehood of Ukraine,” he added.
Updated
Ukraine’s health ministry said that least 18 medical personnel have been killed and nearly 900 medical facilities damaged or destroyed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which entered its sixth month on Sunday.
In a Facebook post, the ministry went on to say that more than 50 medical workers had been wounded by Russian attacks since Moscow launched its invasion on February 24.
The post also said that 123 medical facilities in Ukraine were totally destroyed by the invasion, while another 746 needed repairs.
Russia has denied deliberately targeting civilians or medical workers. Instead, it claims that it is conducting a “special military operation” in Ukraine to fight nationalists.
Updated
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 183 religious sites have been either fully or partly destroyed, the Kyiv Independent reports.
According to the Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnic Affairs and Freedom of Conscience, the sites include churches, mosques, synagogues, educational and administrative buildings of Ukraine’s religious communities.
The outlet went on to report that five of the 183 sites that have been ruined or destroyed by Russian attacks are Muslim, five are Judaic and the other 173 are Christian.
Hi everyone, it’s Maya Yang here – I’ll be taking over the blog for the next few hours and will bring you the latest updates on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Updated
A Canadian citizen has died in Ukraine, Canada’s foreign ministry has confirmed
A media report suggests the Canadian was with two US citizens who recently died in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, Reuters reports. Their deaths were confirmed yesterday by the US State Department.
“Global Affairs Canada is aware of the death of a Canadian in Ukraine. Consular officials are in contact with the family and are providing consular assistance,” a Canadian foreign ministry spokesperson said. They added that further details are not being shared, due to privacy considerations.
The US and Canadian governments have not given details on how recent the deaths were, or their circumstances. The State Department has previously urged Americans not to travel to Ukraine to fight alongside Ukrainian forces, warning of the risks and dangers.
Updated
Ukraine has warned that a deal to export grain via the Black Sea will stall if there are further Russian airstrikes on key ports, the Guardian’s Jon Henley reports. It comes after Saturday’s missile attack in Odesa.
Ukraine has warned that grain exports via the Black Sea would not restart as hoped if a Russian airstrike on a key port was followed by more, as Moscow insisted its weekend missile barrage on Odesa hit a warship and weapons stores.
Saturday’s attack, which the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, denounced as “barbarism” that showed Moscow could not be trusted to implement a freshly inked deal allowing grain exports to resume, drew international condemnation.
Turkey, which helped broker the accord aimed at easing global food shortages, said immediately after the double cruise missile hits on the strategic southern port that it had received assurances from Moscow that Russian forces were not responsible.
But Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday the strikes had destroyed a naval vessel and arms delivered by Washington. Kyiv said two Kalibr missiles fired from Russian warships hit an area around a pumping station and two more were shot down.
Read Jon Henley’s report in full: Airstrikes on ports could derail grain export plan, warns Ukraine
Ukrainians march through Belfast to show Russian invasion “is not over”
Several hundred people have marched through Belfast to remind the British public that the war in Ukraine is not over.
The crowd included Ukrainian nationals and supporters, who marched through Belfast city centre waving Ukrainian flags and chanting messages including “stop genocide in Ukraine”, PA reports.
One of those present, Kateryna Zaichyk, told PA the group’s main message is that fighting continues and that Ukraine still needs support.
Addressing crowds at City Hall, Oleg Shankaruk, chair of Ukrainians in Northern Ireland, thanked government agencies who have already offered support to host Ukrainian families. “We want to say a big thank you to everyone in Northern Ireland,” he said.
I’m Anna MacSwan, and will be bringing you the latest developments on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this evening.
Summary of the day so far
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Ukraine predicts that it will recapture the southern region of Kherson by September. Sergiy Khlan, an aide to the head of Kherson region, said in an interview with Ukrainian television: “We can say that the Kherson region will definitely be liberated by September, and all the occupiers’ plans will fail.” But AFP reports from a village 25 miles from Kherson city suggests Ukrainian soldiers are doing well just to hold the front line.
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Russia said its forces hit a Ukrainian warship and US-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles in the port of Odesa. Russia targeted Ukraine’s main port on Saturday with high-precision missiles, barely 12 hours after Moscow signed a deal with Ukraine to allow monitored grain exports from Ukraine’s southern ports. The deal was supposed to be a breakthrough to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces were moving “step by step” into the occupied eastern Black Sea region of Kherson, in video posted late on Saturday night. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest assessment that Ukraine appeared to be launching a Kherson counteroffensive, and quoted Ukrainian adviser for the Kherson region’s administration, Serhiy Khlan saying on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had seized unspecified settlements in the region.
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Ukraine has said it will push on with grain exports despite the attacks. Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said they would “continue technical preparations for the launch of exports of agricultural products from our ports,” and public broadcaster Suspilne quoted the Ukrainian military as saying the missiles had not significantly damaged the port.
- Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is in Cairo today for diplomatic talks with Egypt. It is the first stop on a charm offensive around Africa to try and turn around the country’s global reputation and trade.
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The governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said that two civilians were killed and another two injured in the region on Saturday. He also said two schools were destroyed in Russian shelling. Teachers were seen clearing one school in Bakhmut that was destroyed in Russian shelling in the early hours of this morning.
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the strikes on Odesa “barbarism” and said they showed Moscow could not keep its promises. “This proves only one thing: no matter what Russia says and promises, it will find ways not to implement it,” he said during a meeting with US lawmakers, according to a statement from the presidency.
- The US secretary of state condemned the Russian attack against Odesa, accusing Russia of deepening the global food shortage. In a statement posted on Twitter, Antony Blinken said: “The United States strongly condemns Russia’s attack on the port of Odesa today. It undermines the effort to bring food to the hungry and the credibility of Russia’s commitments to the deal finalized yesterday to allow Ukrainian exports.”
- Ukraine’s defence ministry has urged citizens in Enerhodar, a key area seized by Russia, to reveal where Russian troops are living and who among the local population was collaborating with the occupying authorities. “Please let us know as a matter of urgency the exact location of the occupying troops’ bases and their residential addresses … and the places of residence of the commanding staff,” it said on Saturday, adding that exact coordinates were desirable.
- The governor of Zaporizhizhia has said that Russia is keeping 170 people captive in the Zaporizhizhia oblast, the Kyiv Independent reports. According to the governor, Oleksandr Starukh, Russian forces have abducted at least 415 people in the southern region since 24 February – the day Russian forces invaded Ukraine – and at least 170 individuals are still being kept captive.
AFP has a report from a village 25 miles outside the city of Kherson that casts doubt on rhetoric coming from the Ukrainian authorities about recapturing the region by September. The reporter was told by local troops that Ukraine was “doing well just to hold the front line”.
More from AFP here:
In a devastated village near Ukraine’s southern front line, the thud of incoming Russian artillery is a constant reminder of the hard battle ahead for Kyiv’s troops in a planned major counter-offensive.
Signs of destruction are all around in the village, which was only liberated from Russian occupation after intense fighting.
Almost every house has been levelled to the ground or badly damaged, there are burnt out cars, craters left by rockets and there is no sign of the people who once called the area home
Now a small detachment of Ukrainian soldiers holds the position in sandbagged trenches and the wreckage of destroyed buildings, always alert to enemy drones in the air. A couple of dogs and a cat keep them company during the long, hot days of waiting.
“There are those who are afraid - but what can we do, we need to defend our homeland, because if I don’t do it then my children will be forced to do it,” said Stanislav, 49, who left his wife and two kids at home to volunteer to fight when Russia invaded.
Kyiv has vowed to launch a counter-offensive to retake the strategic Kherson region and President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that his forces were advancing “step by step”.
For now, the troops at the position visited by AFP said Ukraine was doing well just to hold the front line.
None doubted a push for Kherson city, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) away, would come eventually - even if the prospect looks brutal and Ukraine still needs more big guns and armoured vehicles to make larger gains.
“We really don’t have enough artillery here - if we fire eight times at them, they fire back 48 times. For now they have superiority in artillery,” said Stanislav, who comes from the neighbouring Odessa region.
“But we are holding on.”
Teachers have returned to a destroyed school that was shelled in Bakhmut, Donetsk today. It is one of two schools that Donetsk’s governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said were destroyed in Russian shelling in the early hours of this morning.
AFP’s Igor Tkachev has taken pictures of the teachers who returned today to salvage school equipment.
Ukraine predicts it will recapture Kherson region by September
Ukraine is now predicting that it will recapture the southern region of Kherson by September.
Sergiy Khlan, an aide to the head of Kherson region, said in an interview with Ukrainian television: “We can say that the Kherson region will definitely be liberated by September, and all the occupiers’ plans will fail,” AFP reports.
Kherson, which is an important region for Ukrainian agriculture, was taken by Russian troops early on in the war. But the Ukrainian army, bolstered by new supplies of Western long-range artillery, have been making gains in the area in recent weeks.
“We see that our armed forces are advancing openly. We can say that we are switching from defensive to counteroffensive actions,”Khlan said.
Russian forces seized the region’s main city, also called Kherson, on 3 March. It was the first major city to fall following Moscow’s invasion.
Updated
A new website set up by Russia’s independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, has been blocked a week after its launch. The move is a sign that Russia continues to stifle any free press.
Here’s more from AFP:
Russia on Sunday blocked the website of a new editorial project by independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which was forced to suspend publication in March amid repression of critics of the offensive in Ukraine.
On July 15, its staff launched a paper magazine that can be seen online via a new website called “Novaya Rasskaz-Gazeta”.
This first issue notably contained analysis of the ideology of Vladimir Putin and authoritarianism.
But, a week after it launched, Russia’s telecoms watchdog blocked the new website at the request of the prosecutor’s office.
On Sunday, it was inaccessible in Russia without a virtual private network (VPN), AFP journalists said.
“Our site was killed soon after it was born. We held it for seven days and nine hours,” the publication said in a statement.
It said the Russian prosecutor’s office accused it - without providing details - of “discrediting” the Russian armed forces, a new offence that has been widely used since March to stifle criticism of the military intervention in Ukraine.
“At the moment, there are no complaints against our paper-based magazine. So we will continue to prepare its second issue,” the statement added, calling on its readers “not to be discouraged”.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has held a joint press conference in Cairo with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shukry, following diplomatic talks.
Lavrov said he discussed Russia’s “military operation” in Ukraine with Egyptian officials who urged for “a political and diplomatic” settlement to the conflict, Associated Press reports.
Lavrov met President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi first, before talking to Shukry. He is also speaking to Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit today, according to RT.
The Cairo meeting is the first in a string of diplomatic talks across Africa, as an increasingly alienated Russia tries to recruit support. Lavrov also announced that a second Russia-Africa summit will be held in mid-2023 as part of Moscow’s diplomatic push.
African nations have been particularly affected by rocketing grain and fuel prices caused by fallout from the war. Egypt is among the world’s largest importers of wheat, mainly from Russia and Ukraine. It has so far refused to take sides in the conflict.
In an article on the Russian Foreign Ministry website, that was also published in four African newspapers, Lavrov praised African nations for taking “an independent path” on sanctions.
He claimed that the West’s portrayal of Russia as responsible for the global food crisis was “another attempt to shift the blame to others.”
Pope Francis told journalists today that he is yearning to visit Ukraine. When asked about a possible future trip to the country, he said: “I have a great desire to go to Kiev,” Reuters reports.
He was speaking on the papal plane to journalists travelling with him from Rome to Canada. No pope has ever visited Moscow and pope Francis has been outspoken about Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Last month he implicitly accused Moscow of waging a “cruel and senseless war of aggression”.
AFP has an interesting report on souring relations between Israel and Russia after the closure of an agency that helps Russian Jews emigrate to Israel. More here:
A Russian decision to shut down an agency that processes the immigration of Jews to Israel would be a “serious event” impacting bilateral ties, Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Sunday.
A Moscow court said last week that the justice ministry had requested the “dissolution” of the Jewish Agency because of unspecified legal violations, and set a hearing for July 28.
Some experts interpreted that as a warning shot from the Kremlin towards Lapid, who has taken a tougher rhetorical line over the Ukraine conflict than Israel’s former premier Naftali Bennett, who stepped aside on July 1.
Lapid told a meeting of senior officials Sunday that “closing the Jewish Agency offices would be a serious event that would affect relations”, a government statement said.
He also ordered that a “legal delegation be prepared to depart for Moscow as soon as the Russian approval for talks is received and to make every effort to exhaust the legal dialogue”, on top of diplomatic efforts to ease the dispute.
Pictures published today show a carnival-style clean-up operation in the village of Yahidne, Chernihiv, as volunteers cleared debris from a destroyed house of culture.
Yahidne, north of Kyiv, came under sustained attack early in the war, with villagers having to hide in a school basement for weeks on end.
The images from Reuters photographer, Viacheslav Ratynskyi, show a party atmosphere amongst volunteers on Saturday, with a DJ set and musician playing amidst the rubble.
The event was organised by volunteer movement Repair Together, who travel around regions no longer occupied by Russia to help local residents clear damaged buildings accompanied by electronic music.
https://media.gutools.co.uk/images/c0c807bdda7ab2b233ccd2a1bc5d365d031f0992
Here is some video footage of Russia’s missile strike on the port of Odesa on Saturday. The strike was condemned for coming barely 12 hours after Moscow signed a deal with Ukraine to allow monitored grain exports from the port. Russia now says the target was military and hit a Ukrainian warship and US-supplied anti-ship missiles.
Summary of the day so far
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Russia said its forces hit a Ukrainian warship and US-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles in the port of Odesa. Russia targeted Ukraine’s main port on Saturday with high-precision missiles, barely 12 hours after Moscow signed a deal with Ukraine to allow monitored grain exports from Ukraine’s southern ports. The deal was supposed to be a breakthrough to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces were moving “step by step” into the occupied eastern Black Sea region of Kherson, in video posted late on Saturday night. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest assessment that Ukraine appeared to be launching a Kherson counteroffensive, and quoted Ukrainian adviser for the Kherson region’s administration, Serhiy Khlan saying on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had seized unspecified settlements in the region.
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Ukraine has said it will push on with grain exports despite the attacks. Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said they would “continue technical preparations for the launch of exports of agricultural products from our ports,” and public broadcaster Suspilne quoted the Ukrainian military as saying the missiles had not significantly damaged the port.
- Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is in Cairo today for diplomatic talks with Egypt. It is the first stop on a charm offensive around Africa to try and turn around the country’s global reputation and trade.
- The governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said that two civilians were killed and another two injured in the region on Saturday. He also said two schools were destroyed in Russian shelling.
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the strikes on Odesa “barbarism” and said they showed Moscow could not keep its promises. “This proves only one thing: no matter what Russia says and promises, it will find ways not to implement it,” he said during a meeting with US lawmakers, according to a statement from the presidency.
- The US secretary of state condemned the Russian attack against Odesa, accusing Russia of deepening the global food shortage. In a statement posted on Twitter, Antony Blinken said: “The United States strongly condemns Russia’s attack on the port of Odesa today. It undermines the effort to bring food to the hungry and the credibility of Russia’s commitments to the deal finalized yesterday to allow Ukrainian exports.”
- Ukraine’s defence ministry has urged citizens in Enerhodar, a key area seized by Russia, to reveal where Russian troops are living and who among the local population was collaborating with the occupying authorities. “Please let us know as a matter of urgency the exact location of the occupying troops’ bases and their residential addresses … and the places of residence of the commanding staff,” it said on Saturday, adding that exact coordinates were desirable.
- The governor of Zaporizhizhia has said that Russia is keeping 170 people captive in the Zaporizhizhia oblast, the Kyiv Independent reports. According to the governor, Oleksandr Starukh, Russian forces have abducted at least 415 people in the southern region since 24 February – the day Russian forces invaded Ukraine – and at least 170 individuals are still being kept captive.
Updated
More detail is coming through on Russia’s claims that the targets in the port of Odesa were military. Saturday’s attack on Ukraine’s main port came barely 12 hours after Moscow signed a deal to unblock grain exports from it.
Reuters reports:
Russian forces have destroyed a Ukrainian warship and U.S.-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles in the Ukrainian port of Odesa, Russian news agencies quoted the defence ministry as saying on Sunday.
“A docked Ukrainian warship and a warehouse with U.S.-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles were destroyed by long-range precision-guided naval missiles in Odesa seaport on the territory of a ship repair plant.”
The Ukrainian military had said Russian missiles hit the southern port on Saturday, threatening a deal signed just one day earlier to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war.
Without port blockades, Ukraine would be able to export 60m tonnes of grain in eight to nine months, according to Ukraine’s economic adviser, Oleh Ustenko.
Ustenko said Russia’s strike on the port of Odesa showed it would definitely not be that easy, according to Reuters reports of his appearance on television.
Ukraine could earn $10bn by exporting 20m tonnes of grain in silos in addition to 40m tonnes from its new harvest, he said. “But with the way they are opening now and what Russia is doing in the Black Sea, yesterday’s strike shows that it definitely won’t work that way”, he added.
Ustenko predicted it would take around two years to export these volumes if the ports are not functioning properly.
Updated
Some pictures have come through overnight of a powerlifting competition in a Lviv bomb shelter on Saturday, giving an insight into life underground while the war continues.
The images, taken by Reuters photographer Mykola Synelnykov, show athletes warming up ahead of a charity powerlifting contest to raise money for Ukrainian armed forces.
Updated
The Observer’s Mark Townsend tells the story today of a four-year-old girl trapped in Kharkiv after UK government “blunders”.
Efforts to rescue Alika Zubets from the city of Kharkiv began on 21 March when her UK sponsor applied for a visa under the Homes for Ukraine scheme and expected her to reach north Staffordshire by mid-April at the latest.
Instead, she remains one of the few children left in her Kharkiv neighbourhood, with no schools or nurseries open and the constant threat of shelling from Russian forces nearby.
Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said Russian forces hit a Ukrainian military boat in the port of Odesa with high-precision missiles, Reuters reports.
Ukraine had said Russian missiles hit the southern port on Saturday, threatening Friday’s deal to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war.
Russian foreign minister to attend diplomatic talks with Egypt
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is in Cairo today for diplomatic talks with Egypt. It is the first stop on a charm offensive around Africa to try and turn around the country’s global reputation and trade.
AP reports:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in Cairo for talks Sunday with Egyptian officials as his country seeks to break diplomatic isolation and sanctions by the west over its invasion of Ukraine.
Lavrov landed in Cairo late Saturday, the first leg of his Africa trip that will also include stops in Ethiopia, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Russia’s state-run RT.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry was holding talks with Lavrov Sunday morning.
The Russian chief diplomat was scheduled to meet later Sunday with the Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit. He will also address the permanent representatives of the pan-Arab organization, RT reported.
Egypt, the Arab World’s most populous country, refused to take sides since the war in Ukraine began in February as it maintains close ties with both Moscow and the west. Egypt is among the world’s largest importers of wheat, with much of that from Russia and Ukraine.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has cultivated a close personal rapport with Russia President Vladimir Putin. Both leaders have strengthened bilateral ties considerably in the past few years.
Lavrov’s visit to Cairo came as Russia’s state-owned atomic energy corporation, Rosatom, began last week the construction of a four-reactor power plant it is building in Egypt.
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The governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, is reporting that two civilians were killed and another two injured in the region on Saturday.
Russia kills civilians!
— Павло Кириленко (@Pavlo_Kyrylenko) July 24, 2022
On July 23rd number of victims of russian army in Donetsk oblast increased by 2 killed, 2 injured.
Every russian will pay for his crimes in Ukraine!#StopRussia#RussiaKillsCivilians pic.twitter.com/MHyKrGnSYg
Kyrylenko also said that two schools have been destroyed by Russian forces in the region overnight. Posting on facebook, he said the schools were in Konstantinívcí and Bakhmutí. He also said a kindergarten and private homes were hit in Russian shelling.
We’ve had early reports of a Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kherson - a region that was taken by Russia early in the war under Russian occupation. For a glimpse of life there now, this report from The Observer on Saturday documents a secret artists’ society of painters, playwrights and photographers who have defied the threat of arrest to share their experiences:
And little more on the Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kherson: Russia’s TASS news agency quotes the Russian-installed military authority, Kirill Stremousov, saying that Ukraine had hit a bridge in the Kherson region with missiles. “The bridge is very badly damaged,” he said.
The Guardian could not independently verify battlefield reports.
Ukraine presses ahead with efforts to restart grain exports from Odesa
Ukraine was pressing ahead on Sunday with efforts to restart grain exports from Odesa and other Black Sea ports after a missile attack.
Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook “we continue technical preparations for the launch of exports of agricultural products from our ports”.
Public broadcaster Suspilne quoted the Ukrainian military as saying the missiles had not significantly damaged the port.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine has published some images which they say show emergency services extinguishing the fire that followed the missile attack:
Ліквідація пожежі в Одеському морському торговельному порту, що сталася внаслідок ракетного удару pic.twitter.com/MSQ1401qxH
— DSNS.GOV.UA (@SESU_UA) July 23, 2022
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President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces were moving “step by step” into the occupied eastern Black Sea region of Kherson, in video posted late on Saturday. A counteroffensive in Kherson could mark a shift of the main theatre of combat, which has been the eastern region of Donbas.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its Saturday evening assessment:
Ukrainian forces are likely preparing to launch or have launched a counteroffensive in Kherson Oblast as of July 23, but open-source visibility on the progress and tempo of the counteroffensive will likely be limited.
According to the ISW, Ukrainian adviser for Kherson Serhiy Khlan said on Saturday Ukrainian forces had seized unspecified settlements in Kherson Oblast. He called on Ukrainian civilians to remain silent on the progress of the counteroffensive until Ukrainian authorities released official statements.
Good morning and welcome back to our ongoing coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I’m Tess McClure, and is the summary of the latest developments from overnight:
- President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces were moving “step by step” into the occupied eastern Black Sea region of Kherson, in video posted late on Saturday night. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest assessment that Ukraine appeared to be launching a Kherson counteroffensive, and quoted Ukrainian adviser for the Kherson region’s administration, Serhiy Khlan saying on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had seized unspecified settlements in the region
- Russia has targeted Ukraine’s main port of Odesa – through which grain shipments would take place – with cruise missile strikes, barely 12 hours after Moscow signed a deal with Ukraine to allow monitored grain exports from Ukraine’s southern ports. “The enemy attacked the Odesa sea trade port with Kalibr cruise missiles,” Ukraine’s operational command south wrote on Telegram, raising doubts about the viability of the deal that was intended to release 20m tonnes of grain to ward off famine in large parts of the developing world.
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Ukraine has said it will push on with grain exports despite the attacks. Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said they would “continue technical preparations for the launch of exports of agricultural products from our ports,” and public broadcaster Suspilne quoted the Ukrainian military as saying the missiles had not significantly damaged the port.
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the strikes on Odesa “barbarism” and said they showed Moscow could not keep its promises. “This proves only one thing: no matter what Russia says and promises, it will find ways not to implement it,” he said during a meeting with US lawmakers, according to a statement from the presidency.
- The US secretary of state condemned the Russian attack against Odesa, accusing Russia of deepening the global food shortage. In a statement posted on Twitter, Antony Blinken said: “The United States strongly condemns Russia’s attack on the port of Odesa today. It undermines the effort to bring food to the hungry and the credibility of Russia’s commitments to the deal finalized yesterday to allow Ukrainian exports.”
- Ukraine’s defence ministry has urged citizens in Enerhodar, a key area seized by Russia, to reveal where Russian troops are living and who among the local population was collaborating with the occupying authorities. “Please let us know as a matter of urgency the exact location of the occupying troops’ bases and their residential addresses … and the places of residence of the commanding staff,” it said on Saturday, adding that exact coordinates were desirable.
- The governor of Zaporizhizhia has said that Russia is keeping 170 people captive in the Zaporizhizhia oblast, the Kyiv Independent reports. According to the governor, Oleksandr Starukh, Russian forces have abducted at least 415 people in the southern region since 24 February – the day Russian forces invaded Ukraine – and at least 170 individuals are still being kept captive.
- The UNHCR says 3.7 million Ukrainian refugees have received temporary protection status in the European Union. In a new report released Friday, the UNHCR cited that 3.7 million Ukrainians have registered for Temporary Protection or similar national protection schemes in Europe.
- Video footage has emerged of a powerful explosion that took place in the Russian-occupied territory of Horlivka on Saturday in the Donetsk oblast, Euromaidan reports. Reports from outlets have been claiming that Ukrainian armed forces have hit a Russian ammunition depot.
- The former deputy secretary of Ukraine’s Security Council has been suspected of high treason, the Kyiv Independent reports. According to a report released on Saturday by the Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigations, Volodymyr Sivkovych is suspected of collaborating with Russian intelligence services and managing a network of agents in Ukraine that spied on behalf of Russia.
- Germany has delayed weapons delivery to Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent reports. The outlet, sourcing German media organisation German Welt, reported that anonymous Ukrainian officials had reported that Ukraine’s application for eleven IRIS-T air missile defence systems is currently being held up by Germany’s Federal Security Council.
- Hungary’s nationalist prime minister Viktor Orbán called for US-Russian peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, lashing out at the European Union’s strategy on the conflict. In a speech in Romania on Saturday, the 59-year-old rightwing leader also defended his vision of an “unmixed Hungarian race” as he criticised mixing with “non-Europeans”. Orban has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, but maintains an ambiguous position on the conflict.
- Two US citizens recently died in the Donbas region, CNN reported on Saturday, citing a US state department spokesperson. The spokesperson, not named in the report, did not provide any details about the individuals or the circumstances of their deaths but said the US administration was in touch with the families and providing “all possible consular assistance,” according to CNN.
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