Ukraine and neighbouring Romania signed an agreement Friday to work together to boost Kyiv’s export of grain through Romania after Moscow broke off a key wartime shipping agreement that allowed safe passage through the Black Sea. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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9:41pm: Ukraine hails 'great news' as US approves Danish, Dutch F-16 jet transfers
Kyiv hailed 'great news' on Friday after the United States told Denmark and the Netherlands they can hand Ukraine their F-16 fighter jets when the country's pilots are trained to use them.
"Great news from our friends in the United States!" Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov said on social media.
6:44pm: Russia sanctions ICC prosecutor, British ministers
Russia announced sanctions Friday on the International Criminal Court prosecutor, who is seeking the arrest of President Vladimir Putin, as well as British ministers who have fiercely opposed Moscow's offensive in Ukraine.
The foreign ministry denounced the "unwavering military support from London" to Kyiv and "the aggressive implementation... of a hostile anti-Russian policy", after almost a year and a half of conflict in Ukraine.
4:26pm: Ukraine and Romania sign accord to boost grain exports through Romanian territory
Ukraine and neighbouring Romania signed an agreement Friday to work together to boost Kyiv’s export of grain through Romania after Moscow broke off a key wartime shipping agreement that allowed safe passage through the Black Sea.
The accord was signed during a trip by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to the Romanian capital, Bucharest, for talks with his Romanian counterpart Marcel Ciolacu.
The two leaders discussed ways to ramp up the war-torn nation's key grain exports, and improve infrastructure for transportation across river, rail, road, sea, including at border crossings. Ukraine’s economy is heavily dependent on farming, and its grain is crucial for world supplies of wheat, barley, and sunflower oil.
Ciolacu told a news conference after the meeting that he hopes Romania can transport more than 60% of Ukraine’s grain exports. “I emphasised the importance of collaboration between our countries as well as with our international partners," he said.
1:53pm: Russia shutters respected rights group Sakharov Center
Russia on Friday closed the prominent rights group, the Sakharov Center, as the Kremlin clamps down on liberal-leaning organisations that challenge official narratives, including over Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine.
The Moscow City Court said in a statement it had "decided to dissolve" the Sakharov Center, which launched nearly three decades ago, for illegally hosting conferences and exhibitions.
1:51pm: UK court rejects billionaire’s bid to overturn sanctions over Ukraine war
A British-American billionaire oil tycoon and close ally of Russian businessman Roman Abramovich lost a legal bid on Friday to overturn UK sanctions imposed on him over Russia's war in Ukraine.
Eugene Shvidler, who was born in the former Soviet Union but moved to the US in 1989 and later became a dual US‐UK citizen, failed to convince the High Court to lift the March 2022 order.
The case is the first UK court challenge of the government's use of its beefed-up sanctions regime, which has been used to target scores of Russian politicians and entrepreneurs, and those with links to the Kremlin, since last year's invasion.
The US-based Shvidler, who owns two private jets and a yacht, was targeted for his board role at a mining firm with Russian interests as well as his ties to Abramovich.
A friend of the former Chelsea FC owner – who has also been sanctioned by the UK and the EU, though not the United States – since the mid-1980s, the pair had done business together for decades.
Shvidler most recently held a top role at a British Virgin Islands-based holding company controlled by Abramovich, according to the 28-page High Court ruling in the case.
Shvidler had asked the court to lift the global asset freezes, under human rights statutes, and also argued he was the victim of discrimination.
But judge Neil Garnham dismissed the case.
"It cannot properly be said that the (foreign secretary at the time, Liz Truss) has failed to strike a fair balance between the rights of Mr Shvidler and his family and the interests of the community," he wrote.
11:56am: Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk to play its home Champions League games in Germany this season
Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk will play its home Champions League games in Germany this season at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg.
Unable to host European games in Ukraine because of the Russian invasion, Shakhtar's home games were held in the Polish capital Warsaw last season.
The Ukrainian champion said Friday that UEFA has agreed the team can play in Hamburg where it's likely to attract the support of Ukrainians who have been displaced during the war and are living in Germany and other countries.
10:39am: US gives approval for Netherlands to deliver F-16s to Ukraine, says Dutch defence minister
The US has given its approval for the Netherlands to deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, the Dutch defence minister said Friday, in a major gain for Kyiv even though the planes won’t have an immediate impact on the almost 18-month war against Russia.
“I welcome the US decision to clear the way for delivery of F-16 jets to Ukraine. It allows us to follow through on the training of Ukrainian pilots,” Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren said in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We remain in close contact with European partners to decide on the next steps.”
Ukraine has long pleaded for the sophisticated fighter to give it a combat edge. It recently launched its counteroffensive against the Kremlin's forces without air cover, placing troops at the mercy of Russian aviation and artillery.
Apart from delivering the warplanes, Ukraine's allies also need to train its pilots. The Netherlands is part of a Western coalition that also includes Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and the UK that in July pledged to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s.
It was not immediately clear when the first F-16s could be delivered.
10:28am: Russian official says Ukrainian forces crossed into occupied Kherson region
Ukrainian forces crossed into the Russian-occupied east bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region and took positions there, the region's Russian-installed governor said Friday.
He said Ukrainian "sabotage groups" had managed to hide out on the outskirts of the Russian-controlled town of Kozachi Lageri, near the river, but that they were later "cleared out" by Moscow's forces.
"On the first day of the provocation ... individual sabotage groups were able to hide on the outskirts of the settlement," Moscow-installed official Vladimir Saldo said.
"As of today, the Kozachi Lageri area has been completely cleared physically – there is no Ukrainian military there," he added, in comments published by the TASS news agency.
Saldo's comments come after Ukraine's deputy defence minister Ganna Malyar this week confirmed that "certain (Ukrainian) units performed certain tasks", on the left bank of the Dnipro river in Kherson.
"We cannot give details," she had added.
Russian military bloggers said last week that Ukrainian detachments were present in the town and were shelling there, but that Moscow's forces were still in control of the settlement.
9:40am: Lithuania closes two border checkpoints with Belarus after citing Wagner security risk
Lithuania on Friday closed two of its six border checkpoints with Belarus in a move it announced earlier this month citing the security risk posed by Russia's Wagner mercenary group.
"Both Sumsko and Tvereciaus border checkpoints were shut at midnight," border guard service spokeswoman Lina Laurinaityte-Grigiene told AFP.
Officers laid road spikes at the closed checkpoints and will proceed to erect fences with barbed wire in the area on Friday, she added.
Lithuania-Belarus ties had been tense for years, but they further deteriorated after the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus, widely slammed as rigged.
Belarus criticised the decision to close checkpoints, calling it "far-fetched".
"Lithuania, by taking such decisions, purposefully and deliberately creates artificial barriers on the border to serve its political ambitions," Belarus' border force said on social media Wednesday.
Both Poland and Lithuania have erected fences on their borders with Belarus and Russia.
7:32am: Ukrainian forces are entrenched beyond liberated Donetsk village of Urozhaine
Video footage from Ukrainian brigades and geolocation show that Ukrainian forces have entrenched themselves in the Donetsk village of Urozhaine, which Kyiv said it had liberated earlier this week, but also further beyond the village. Reporting from the Ukrainian capital, FRANCE 24's Emmanuelle Chaze says that Ukraine has repelled Russian assaults in three areas.
4:00am: Air defence destroys drone over Moscow, say Russian officials
Air defence forces downed a Ukrainian drone over Moscow on Friday, Russian officials said, the latest in a surge of aerial attacks targeting the capital.
Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine launched the attack at about 04:00 (0100 GMT) "using an unmanned aerial vehicle against objects located in Moscow and the Moscow region".
"The UAV, after being exposed to air defence weapons, changed its flight path and fell on a non-residential building in the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment area of Moscow," the ministry said on Telegram.
Moscow's mayor said emergency services were on the scene, but that early reports indicated there were no casualties.
"The wreckage of the UAV fell in the area of the Expo Center, and did not cause significant damage to the building," Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.
3:20am: Russia says thwarted Ukraine drone attack on Black Sea warships
Russia thwarted a Ukrainian marine drone attack on its warships in the Black Sea, its defence ministry said Thursday, the latest in a string of assaults on its fleet in the flashpoint waterway.
"Today at 22.55 (19:55 GMT), the armed forces of Ukraine made an unsuccessful attempt to attack the ships of the Black Sea Fleet with an unmanned sea boat," the ministry said in a statement.
"The ships were performing the tasks of controlling navigation in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, 237 km (147 miles) southwest of Sevastopol."
The ministry said the drone was destroyed by the Pytlivyi and Vasily Bykov patrol ships before it could reach its target.
Key developments from Thursday, August 17:
A civilian cargo ship sailing from Ukraine reached Istanbul on Thursday in defiance of a Moscow blockade that saw another ship come under attack from Russian military personnel.
Earlier in the day, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said his country would need weapons from the West "until we have won" the war against Russia
Read yesterday's live blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
