Closing summary
Here’s a recap of today’s developments:
A Russian landing ship was struck and disabled in the country’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk by an unmanned Ukrainian boat, known as a sea drone, Kyiv said. The 112-metre Olenegorsky Gornyak from Russia’s Northern Fleet, which has been used to transport troops and military hardware into occupied Ukrainian ports, was said to have been sufficiently damaged to have been put out of combat action.
Onboard camera footage appeared to confirm the success of the night attack on the ship. Images of a Russian warship tilting to its side emerged shortly after the strike and footage was published by the Unian news agency from the head of the marine drone appearing to show it moving stealthily across the Black Sea towards the ship and hitting it at its centre. Satellite imagery also appeared to show a Russian landing ship leaking oil while docked at a Black Sea port.
The main significance of Thursday night’s attacks was the new evidence of Ukraine’s ability and willingness to strike in the Black Sea. Ukraine has carried out at least 10 attacks with drone boats, targeting military ships, the base in Sevastopol and Novorossiysk harbour.
Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, visited a combat zone in Ukraine to inspect a command post and meet senior military officers, the army said Friday. Shoigu got an update on the situation on the front and “thanked commanders and soldiers... for successful offensive operations” in Lyman in eastern Ukraine, it said, without mentioning when the visit took place.
At the Russia-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the UN nuclear watchdog said it had “finally” been granted access requested a month ago and that it had found no explosives after claims of mines being planted around the infrastructure.
A court in Russia has extended Alexei Navalny’s prison sentence by 19 years, and sentenced him to a special regime with the harshest prison conditions in the country. Navalny was found guilty on six counts, including inciting and financing extremism, creating an illegal NGO, the rehabilitation of Nazism, and inciting children to dangerous acts. He and his supporters have rejected the charges as being politically motivated.
An associate of Alexei Navalny who worked for his YouTube channel also stood trial in a Moscow court on Friday. Daniel Kholodny, a TV technician, was found guilty of organising an extremist group and sentenced to eight years in prison, Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported.
Diplomatic tension between Poland and Belarus escalated as Warsaw claimed that two Belarusian helicopters had violated its international airspace on Tuesday. Ukraine’s SBU security service also accused Russia of preparing to stage a “false flag” attack at the Mozyr oil refinery in Belarus in order to draw Belarus into the war in Ukraine.
Western and Ukrainian diplomats received a boost, however, following the announcement China would be represented in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia for a meeting of national security advisers seeking to agree on the main principles for a future peace settlement. Russia is not attending.
Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie visited Ukraine on Friday and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in an attempt to underscore US support for Kyiv by one of the people bidding to be the next Republican president of the US.
Soprano Anna Netrebko, once among the Metropolitan Opera’s biggest box office draws, has sued the New York opera company and general manager Peter Gelb, alleging defamation, breach of contract and other violations related to the institution’s decision to drop her following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
An associate of Alexei Navalny who worked for his YouTube channel also stood trial in a Moscow court on Friday.
Daniel Kholodny, a TV technician, was found guilty of organising an extremist group and sentenced to eight years in prison, Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported.
Kholodny, 25, was on trial alongside Navalny at the Melekhovo penal colony east of Moscow. In a statement on the eve of the verdicts against both men, Navalny described him as an “inspiration”, saying he had declined many offers to have himself released in exchange for testifying against others.
Navalny added:
Kholodny is bright, cheerful, doesn’t lose his presence of mind. And the main thing is he understands why this trial was invented but he doesn’t let it intimidate him or break his will. Be like him.
Updated
Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s fiercest domestic critic, whose prison sentence was extended by 19 years, has posted a statement on Twitter.
A court in Russia on Friday sentenced Navalny, 47, to a special regime with the harshest prison conditions in the country. He was found guilty on six counts, including inciting and financing extremism, creating an illegal NGO, the rehabilitation of Nazism, and inciting children to dangerous acts. Navalny and his supporters have rejected the charges as being politically motivated.
Posting to Twitter, Navalny said the number of years in his sentence “does not matter”, because in reality “like many political prisoners, I am sitting on a life sentence.”
He continued:
The sentencing figure is not for me. It is for you. You, not me, are being frightened and deprived of the will to resist. You are being forced to surrender your country of Russia without a fight to the gang of traitors, thieves, and scoundrels who have seized power.
Putin must not achieve his goal. Do not lose the will to resist.
19 years in a maximum security penal colony. The number of years does not matter. I perfectly understand that, like many political prisoners, I am sitting on a life sentence. Where life is measured by the term of my life or the term of life of this regime.
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) August 4, 2023
The sentencing figure…
Updated
Satellite image appears to show damaged Russian ship after Ukraine claims attack
Satellite imagery appears to show a Russian landing ship leaking oil while docked at a Black Sea port, after a Ukrainian sea drone struck a Russian landing ship.
The 112-metre Olenegorsky Gornyak from Russia’s Northern Fleet, which has been used to transport troops and military hardware into occupied Ukrainian ports, was said to have been sufficiently damaged to have been put out of combat action.
The Olenegorsky Gornyak is a Ropucha-class project 775 large landing ship, built by the Soviet Union in the 1970s, with a capacity to carry a 450-ton cargo and 25 armoured personnel carriers. It has a crew of about 100 and is one of three landing ships that have been permanently on the Black Sea since Russia started its full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022.
Summary
The Security Service of Ukraine accused Russia on Friday of preparing to stage a “false flag” attack at the Mozyr oil refinery in Belarus in order to blame Ukrainian saboteurs as part of an effort to draw Minsk into the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s security service and navy has claimed to have used an unmanned boat, known as a sea drone, to scupper a landing ship in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, as onboard camera footage emerged of an apparent twilight attack.
Ukrainian authorities released video apparently filmed from an unmanned boat on Friday, which they say attacked and hit the Russian navy’s Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship.
Ukraine and its allies aim to rally global support for a peace blueprint in talks hosted by Saudi Arabia this weekend, with western officials increasingly optimistic that China will attend, lending the talks a new weight.
The UN nuclear watchdog has “finally” been granted access to areas of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine that it first requested a month ago and has found no explosives, the agency said in a statement on Friday.
China is willing to work with the international community to play a constructive role in promoting a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a statement.
The jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was sentenced on Friday to an additional 19 years in prison after being found guilty on a series of new charges, according to his supporters.
President Vladimir Putin has signed a law introducing a windfall tax on excess profits of Russian companies, which was published on a government website on Friday.
James Cleverly, the British foreign secretary, has condemned a Russian court’s decision on Friday to add an extra 19 years to the jail term of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Ukraine says its sea drones have struck a major Russian port and damaged a warship in an attack that underlined Kyiv’s growing capabilities as the Black Sea becomes an increasingly important battleground in the war.
Ukraine says sea drones have struck major Russian port
AP reports that Ukraine says its sea drones have struck a major Russian port and damaged a warship in an attack that underlined Kyiv’s growing capabilities as the Black Sea becomes an increasingly important battleground in the war.
The strike on Novorossiysk marks the first time a commercial Russian port has been targeted in the nearly 18-month-old conflict.
The Black Sea port hosts a naval base, shipbuilding yards and an oil terminal and is key for exports. It lies about 110 kilometers east of Crimea, where Russia’s Defense Ministry said it thwarted another attack overnight.
Updated
James Cleverly, the British foreign secretary, has condemned a Russian court’s decision on Friday to add an extra 19 years to the jail term of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
“His abuse shows Russia’s complete disregard for even the most basic of human rights,” Cleverly said.
“Dissent cannot be silenced. The UK calls for his immediate release,” he added.
AP reports that a Russian court has convicted imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny of extremism charges and sentenced him to 19 years in prison. Navalny is already serving a nine-year term on a variety of charges that he says were politically motivated.
The extremism charges related to the activities of Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation and statements by his top associates. The 47-year-old Navalny is President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe. He has exposed official corruption and organized major anti-Kremlin protests.
He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning. He blamed that poisoning on the Kremlin, which denied involvement.
President Vladimir Putin has signed a law introducing a windfall tax on excess profits of Russian companies, which was published on a government website on Friday.
Reuters notes the law, passed by parliament last month, is aimed at raising 300bn roubles (£2.4bn / $3.11bn) and will ease the strain on the national budget as Russia continues to wage its full-scale invasion of Ukraine
US presidential hopeful Chris Christie visits Ukraine for Zelenskiy meeting
Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie visited Ukraine on Friday and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in an attempt to underscore US support for Kyiv by one of the people bidding to be the next Republican president of the US.
The former New Jersey governor met Zelenskiy at the presidential palace after visiting a mass grave in Bucha and touring damage in Iprin. Christie also toured a child protection center in Kyiv.
Other Republican candidates, including frontrunner Donald Trump, have been critical of the cost of supporting Ukraine. Florida governor Ron DeSantis earlier this year suggested that the war was simply a “territorial dispute” before backtracking. Another candidate, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, has called for an immediate end to the war and for Russia to keep its territorial gains.
Former vice-president Mike Pence and US senator Tim Scott of South Carolina are also in the race, and Reuters notes both have argued it remains vital for the US to push back against Russian aggression.
Updated
Reuters has a quick snap that jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was sentenced on Friday to an additional 19 years in prison after being found guilty on a series of new charges, according to his supporters.
Updated
Reuters reports that China is willing to work with the international community to play a constructive role in promoting a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a statement.
Updated
UN nuclear watchdog has 'finally' accessed Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and found no explosives
Reuters reports that the UN nuclear watchdog has “finally” been granted access to areas of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine that it first requested a month ago and has found no explosives, the agency said in a statement on Friday.
“International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts have observed no mines or explosives on the rooftops of Unit 3 and Unit 4 reactor buildings and the turbine halls … after having been given access yesterday afternoon,” the IAEA said.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi added: “I welcome the news that IAEA experts have finally been granted this additional access at the site.”
Updated
Ukraine and its allies aim to rally global support for a peace blueprint in talks hosted by Saudi Arabia this weekend, with western officials increasingly optimistic that China will attend, lending the talks a new weight.
Reuters reports:
Ukrainian and western diplomats hope the meeting in Jeddah of national security advisers and other senior officials from some 40 countries will agree on key principles for a future peace settlement to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Moscow is not attending.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday he hoped the initiative will lead to a ‘peace summit’ of leaders from around the world this autumn to endorse the principles, based on his own 10-point formula for a peace settlement.
Ukrainian, Russian and international officials say there is no prospect of direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia at the moment, as the war continues to rage and Kyiv seeks to reclaim territory through a counteroffensive.
Ukraine aims to build a bigger coalition of diplomatic support beyond its core western backers, by reaching out to global south countries such as India, Brazil and South Africa, many of which have remained publicly neutral.
“One of the main aims of this round of negotiations will be to finally fix a common understanding of what the 10 points are about,” Ihor Zhovkva, Zelenskiy’s chief diplomatic adviser, told Reuters on Thursday.
The 10 points include calls for the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, withdrawal of Russian troops, protection of food and energy supplies, nuclear safety and the release of all prisoners.
The biggest diplomatic prize would be endorsement from China, which has maintained close economic and diplomatic ties with Russia and so far rejected international calls to condemn the invasion. China was invited to a previous round of talks in Copenhagen in late June but did not attend.
“Last time they didn’t reject participating out of hand: they said they couldn’t fit it into their schedule,” said a German government official. “This time we all repeated our outreach to Beijing … and we have certain positive signals.”
If China does decide to take part, it could do so either by sending envoys or by video link, officials said. Saudi diplomacy had played a key role in urging Beijing to attend, the German official said.
Zhovkva said China’s ambassador to Ukraine had attended meetings in Kyiv on the peace initiative and that Ukraine was working on having Chinese participation at Jeddah.
“The invitation is on the table,” he said.
The Chinese foreign ministry did not answer directly when asked by Reuters whether China would take part in the meeting.
“China is willing to work together with the international community to continue playing a constructive role in calming down the situation,” the ministry said.
Updated
Ukrainian authorities released video apparently filmed from an unmanned boat on Friday, which they say attacked and hit the Russian navy’s Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship.
The grainy video appears to have been shot from the top of a maritime drone that sails up to the side of a large vessel before the video cuts out.
Russia’s defence ministry said early on Friday that it had thwarted overnight Ukrainian attacks on a naval base in the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula. The Guardian has not been able to verify the video independently.
Updated
Ukraine’s security service and navy has claimed to have used an unmanned boat, known as a sea drone, to scupper a landing ship in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, as onboard camera footage emerged of an apparent twilight attack.
The 112-metre-long Olenegorsky Gornyak from Russia’s Northern Fleet, which has been used to transport troops and military hardware into occupied Ukrainian ports, was said by officials in Kyiv to have been sufficiently damaged to have been put out of combat action.
Images emerged of a Russian warship tilting to its side and then footage from the head of the marine drone appearing to show it moving stealthily across the Black Sea towards the ship and striking it at its centre. The images could not be immediately independently verified.
The Security Service of Ukraine accused Russia on Friday of preparing to stage a “false flag” attack at the Mozyr oil refinery in Belarus in order to blame Ukrainian saboteurs as part of an effort to draw Minsk into the war in Ukraine.
Reuters reports:
The attack, it said in a statement on the Telegram app, would be carried out by military and intelligence forces sent by Moscow to Belarus disguised as Wagner mercenaries who were exiled after staging a mutiny in Russia in June.
“Russia plans to accuse Ukraine of what they have done in order to try once again to draw Minsk into the full-scale war against our state,” it said in a statement, without providing evidence.
It said its assertions were based on information obtained from several sources, including a captured Russian serviceman.
Belarus is a close Kremlin ally and Moscow’s forces used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for their abortive drive towards the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv at the beginning of their February 2022 full-scale invasion.
But Minsk’s troops have not taken part in the war.
Fighters from Wagner, a Russian mercenary group, launched a mutiny against the Russian defence establishment in June and some of its fighters have since moved to Belarus under a deal.
Reuters reports that Ukraine’s SBU security service accused Russia on Friday of preparing to stage a “false flag” attack at the Mozyr oil refinery in Belarus in order to blame Ukrainian saboteurs as part of an effort to draw Belarus into the war in Ukraine.
In a statement, the security service said its assertions were based on information obtained from several sources, including a captured Russian serviceman.
Updated
Summary of the day so far …
Ukraine’s security service and navy claimed to have used an crewless boat, known as a sea drone, to scupper a landing ship in Russia’s Black sea port of Novorossiysk, as on-board camera footage emerged of an apparent twilight attack. The 112-metre long Olenegorsky Gornyak from Russia’s Northern Fleet, which has been used to transport troops and military hardware into occupied Ukrainian ports, was said by officials in Kyiv to be sufficiently damaged to have been put out of combat action.
The claim came as images emerged of a Russian war ship tilting to its side and footage from the head of the marine drone of it apparently moving stealthy across the Black Sea towards the ship and then striking it at its centre. The images could not be immediately independently verified. Earlier, Russia’s defence ministry had claimed that they had successfully destroyed two unmanned sea boats targeting the Russian naval base overnight. The Black Sea port of Novorossiysk hosts the terminus of a pipeline that carries most Kazakh oil exports through Russia.
Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has visited a combat zone in Ukraine to inspect a command post and meet senior military officers, the army said Friday. Shoigu got an update on the situation on the front and “thanked commanders and soldiers... for successful offensive operations” in Lyman in eastern Ukraine, it said, without mentioning when the visit took place. The minister, the subject of intense criticism from Yevgeny Prigozhin leading up to the aborted Wagner rebellion, was also shown getting on a Swedish CV90 - “one of the many armoured vehicles taken during fighting”, the army statement said.
Russian news media is reporting the Kremlin as saying it does not believe a US promise that Washington will help ensure Moscow can freely export food if it returns to the Black Sea grain deal. US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, told reporters Thursday: “In the event of return to the agreement, of course, we’ll continue to do whatever is necessary to make sure that everyone can export their food and food products freely and safely to include Russia”. Russia has long argued that the failure to reopen an ammonia pipeline to Odesa and cutting off Russia’s agricultural bank from the Swift payment system effectively made it impossible for Russia to export some of its produce.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has suggested that Russia has begun striking at Ukraine’s Danube port of Izmail because it has “evolved its risk appetite for conducting strikes near Nato territory”. In its daily intelligence briefing on the war, the MoD said “one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAVs) have struck targets as close as 200 metres from the Romanian border, suggesting that Russia has evolved its risk appetite for conducting strikes near Nato territory. There is a realistic possibility that Russia is using OWA UAVs to strike this area in the belief they are less likely to risk escalation than cruise missiles.”
Iran’s foreign minister, Amir Abdollahian, will visit Japan on Sunday and meet his Japanese counterpart and Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida. Japanese media reports that Japan will tell Iran to stop weapon supplies to Russia.
There have been positive signals about some kind of participation from China in this weekend’s Ukraine peace summit in Saudi Arabia, a German government official said, adding that it was so far unclear exactly what form any participation would take.
Poland has detained another suspected member of a Russian spy network, bringing the total number of people detained as part of an investigation to 16, the interior minister, Mariusz Kamiński, said on Friday.
Updated
Another video purporting to show a damaged Russian Black Sea fleet ship has emerged on social media. Ukraine claims to have damaged the Olenegorsky Gornyak from Russia’s Northern Fleet. The vessel has been in the Black Sea during the war.
Still hanging in there, but feeling unwell. pic.twitter.com/7FxMEInTgk
— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) August 4, 2023
The Guardian has not independently verified when or where the video was taken.
Daniel Boffey is in Ukraine for the Guardian. Here is his report on this morning’s claim that Ukraine has incapacitated a Russian ship of the Black Sea fleet:
Ukraine’s security service and navy claimed to have used an unmanned boat, known as a sea drone, to scupper a landing ship in Russia’s Black sea port of Novorossiysk, as onboard camera footage emerged of an apparent twilight attack.
The 112-metre long Olenegorsky Gornyak from Russia’s Northern Fleet, which has been used to transport troops and military hardware into occupied Ukrainian ports, was said by officials in Kyiv to be sufficiently damaged to have been put out of combat action.
The claim came as images emerged of both a Russian war ship tilting to its side and then footage from the head of the marine drone of it apparently moving stealthy across the Black Sea towards the ship and then striking it at its centre. The images could not be immediately independently verified.
Earlier, Russia’s defence ministry had claimed that they had successfully destroyed two unmanned sea boats targeting the Russian naval base overnight.
A Ukrainian security source told Reuters news agency that this assertion was false.
“As a result of the attack, the Olenegorsky Gornyak received a serious breach and currently cannot conduct its combat missions,” the source said. “All the Russian statements about a ‘repelled attack’ are fake”.
The port of Novorossiysk hosts the terminus of a pipeline that carries most Kazakh oil exports through Russia. It handles 2% of the world’s oil supply and also exports grain.
The fuel hub’s operator Caspian pipeline consortium lifted a ban on ship movements by mid-morning local time to allow oil tankers to be moored at the terminal.
The Olenegorsky Gornyak is a Ropucha-class project 775 large landing ship, built by the Soviet Union in the 1970s, with a capacity to carry a 450-ton cargo and 25 armoured personnel carriers.
It has a crew of about 100 people and is one of three landing ships that has been permanently on the Black Sea since Russia started its full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022.
Updated
There have been positive signals about some kind of participation from China in this weekend’s Ukraine peace summit in Saudi Arabia, a German government official said, adding that it was so far unclear exactly what form any participation would take.
Reuters reports the official said the aim of the conference, in which more than 30 countries would take part, was to “consolidate” peace plans on the table and find a common denominator between them, as well as to bring countries of the global south into closer dialogue with Kyiv.
Poland has detained another suspected member of a Russian spy network, bringing the total number of people detained as part of an investigation to 16, the interior minister, Mariusz Kaminski, said on Friday.
“(The internal security agency) detained another, already sixteenth person suspected of participating in a Russian spy network,” Reuters reports Kaminski wrote on social media.
“Belarusian Mikhail A. took part in reconnaissance of military facilities and ports. He also carried out propaganda activities for Russia. He was taken into custody.”
Updated
Photojournalist Jelle Krings spent a day with a team of Ukrainian combat medics as they worked a difficult shift that included evacuating two injured soldiers from the Avdiivka frontline in Donbas for emergency treatment. Here is a gallery of their work:
The Russian Federation has issued a couple of photographs of defence minister Sergei Shoigu and Sergei Rudskoy, head of the main operational directorate of the armed forces general staff, visiting frontline headquarters at an unspecified location said to be in occupied Ukraine.
Ukraine claims to have put a Russian Black Sea fleet ship out of action
Ukraine’s intelligence services have claimed to have put the Russian Black Sea fleet vessel Olenegorsky Gornyak out of action, saying it has sustained a serious breach and is currently unable to carry out combat missions.
Reuters reports an intelligence source has told it that the sea drone attack was carried out by Ukraine’s SBU security service and its navy.
Earlier the Russian ministry of defence claimed it had thwarted overnight Ukrainian attacks on a naval base in the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula.
The Guardian has seen unverified video which purports to be from the Novorossiysk naval base, showing a Russian military vessel badly listing to one side.
The large Russian war ship "Olenegorsky Gornyak" was hit. pic.twitter.com/rsmLKYiQTU
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 4, 2023
The Olenegorsky Gornyak is a Ropucha-class project 775 large landing ship, built by the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
Suspilne, Ukraine's state broadcaster, offers this news round-up of overnight developments on its Telegram channel, writing:
An 85-year-old woman and a 35-year-old man were injured as a result of the night shelling of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region. More than 20 private houses, two trucks and a car were damaged in the city.
Also at night, Russian troops hit the building of the boiler room of the pathology department of one of the Kherson hospitals.
Over the past day, nine people were injured due to Russian shelling in the Kherson region. Two dead and two wounded in Donetsk region. One person was injured in Zaporizhzhia.
Iran’s foreign minister Amir Abdollahian will visit Japan on Sunday and meet his Japanese counterpart and Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida, Reuters reports, citing broadcaster TBS.
Japan will tell Iran to stop weapon supplies to Russia at Abdollahian’s Tokyo visit, TBS said, citing multiple unnamed government officials.
Russian news media is reporting the Kremlin as saying it does not believe a US promise that Washington will help ensure Moscow can freely export food if it returns to the Black Sea grain deal.
Reuters notes the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, told reporters yesterday: “In the event of return to the agreement, of course, we’ll continue to do whatever is necessary to make sure that everyone can export their food and food products freely and safely to include Russia.”
Russia has long argued that the failure to reopen an ammonia pipeline to Odesa and cutting off Russia’s agricultural bank from the Swift payment system effectively made it impossible for Russia to export some of its produce.
Updated
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has suggested that Russia has begun striking at Ukraine’s Danube port of Izmail because it has “evolved its risk appetite for conducting strikes near Nato territory”.
In its daily intelligence briefing on the war, the MoD writes:
In the last two weeks, Russia has conducted several waves of strikes against Ukrainian ports on the Danube River using Iranian-produced one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAVs) [suicide/kamikaze drones].
It is highly likely attempting to coerce international shipping into stopping trading via the ports.
OWA UAVs have struck targets as close as 200 metres from the Romanian border, suggesting that Russia has evolved its risk appetite for conducting strikes near Nato territory.
There is a realistic possibility that Russia is using OWA UAVs to strike this area in the belief they are less likely to risk escalation than cruise missiles: Russia likely considers them as acceptably accurate, and they have much smaller warheads than cruise missiles.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 04 August 2023.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 4, 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/9rNuLubGUD pic.twitter.com/cVa2gHz74G
This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.
More on Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visiting troops in Ukraine, via AFP:
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has visited a combat zone in Ukraine to inspect a command post and meet senior military officers, the army said Friday.
Shoigu got an update on the situation on the front and “thanked commanders and soldiers... for successful offensive operations” in Lyman in eastern Ukraine, it said, without mentioning when the visit took place.
Television images showed Shoigu in uniform listening to a report presented by General Andrey Mordvichev, the head of the Central Military Unit in Ukraine.
The minister was also shown getting on a Swedish CV90 - “one of the many armoured vehicles taken during fighting”, the army statement said.
Shoigu last visited the front at the end of June after a failed rebellion by the Russian paramilitary group Wagner fighting along with Moscow’s forces in Ukraine.
Ukraine and its allies aim to rally global support for a peace blueprint in talks hosted by Saudi Arabia this weekend, Reuters reports, but a question mark hangs over whether China will take part.
Ukrainian and Western diplomats hope the meeting in Jeddah of national security advisers and other senior officials from some 40 countries will agree on key principles that would underpin any peace settlement to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Zelenskiy said on Wednesday he hoped the initiative will lead to a “peace summit” of leaders from around the world this autumn to endorse the principles, based on his own 10-point formula for a peace settlement.
Ukrainian, Russian and international officials say there is no prospect of direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia at the moment, as the war continues to rage and Kyiv seeks to reclaim territory through a counter-offensive.
Here is more detail on the alleged overnight attacks on a Russian navy base:
Russia’s defence ministry said early on Friday that it had thwarted overnight Ukrainian attacks on a naval base in the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula.
“Tonight, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the use of two unmanned sea boats, attempted an attack on the Novorossiysk naval base of the Russian Armed Forces,” the ministry said on Telegram.
Russian ships destroyed the naval drones, it said.
The Black Sea port of Novorossiysk hosts the terminus of a pipeline that carries most Kazakh oil exports through Russia.
The fuel artery’s operator Caspian Pipeline Consortium said it was continuing to ship oil to moored tankers at the terminal, Russian state media reported Friday.
But “a temporary ban has been established on the movement of ships in the port”, said the company, as quoted by Interfax news agency.
The EU’s foreign policy chief has written to G20 ministers urging them to help Brussels persuade Vladimir Putin to reopen the main export route for Ukraine grain to countries in Africa and the Middle East.
In a letter seen by the Guardian, Josep Borrell warned that Russia’s decision to walk out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) last month was risking the lives of children and others in war-torn countries and conflict zones.
He urged the international community to speak on the issue “with a clear and unified voice,” adding: “We owe it to the people most in need.”
The pact, an attempt to alleviate the food crisis triggered by a Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports, was brokered in July 2022 by the United Nations and Turkey. It had an immediate effect, returning Ukrainian grain to the market and helping to ease the record-high prices reached shortly after the invasion, the high representative of the European Commission said.
Lisa O’Carroll and Julian Borger reported this story:
Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu has visited the frontline headquarters of the “Centre” army group involved in the Ukrainian conflict, TASS cited the defence ministry as saying on Friday.
Shoigu was briefed by group commander Andrei Mordvichev, it said, without disclosing the location of the meeting.
Blinken calls on Russia to stop grain 'blackmail'
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken challenged all countries Thursday to tell Russia to stop using the Black Sea and Ukraine’s grain as “blackmail” and stop treating the world’s hungry and vulnerable people as leverage in its “unconscionable war.”
America’s top diplomat lashed out at Russia at a UN Security Council meeting for ignoring the world’s appeals and pulling out of the year-old deal that allowed Ukraine to ship more than 32 tons of grain from Black Sea ports to needy countries.
“And what has Russia’s response been to the world’s distress and outrage? Bombing Ukrainian granaries, mining port entrances, threatening to attack any vessel in the Black Sea,” he said.
Ukrainian sea drones attacked Russian Black Sea navy base, Moscow claims
Russia’s defence ministry says that Ukrainian sea drones attacked a Russian navy base near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, a major hub for Russian exports, early on Friday and were destroyed by Russian warships.
It comes after social media users reported hearing explosions near the port.
The Guardian has not verified Moscow’s claim independently.
Updated
All ship movement halted at Novorossiysk port following attack
Reuters: The attack has prompted the Novorossiysk port to temporarily halt all ship movement, according to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which operates an oil terminal there.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which loads oil onto tankers in Novorossiysk, said the port has temporarily barred all ship movement. It said its facilities had not been damaged and oil loadings continued onto tankers which were already moored.
Explosions reported at Russian port on Black Sea
Russian social media users reported hearing explosions and gunfire near the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk on Friday morning, Reuters reports.
Videos posted on a local online community and circulated by Russian online news outlet Astra showed the movement of ships just off the coast with the sound of gunfire coming from the direction of the sea.
The emergency services of Novorossiysk have confirmed reports of blasts and security services have been informed, Russia’s RIA news agency reported. The port is one of the biggest in the Black Sea.
Clashes in the Black Sea and adjacent ports have escalated since Russia refused last month to extend a deal allowing for the safe exports of grain from Ukrainian ports; Russian drones and missiles have struck several Ukrainian port facilities and grain silos on or near the Black Sea.
Russia has also reported an attack by Ukrainian sea drones on its warships which were escorting a civilian vessel.
Opening summary
Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. This is Helen Sullivan with the latest.
Our top stories this morning: Russian social media users reported hearing explosions and gunfire near the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk on Friday morning, according to Reuters.
The emergency services of Novorossiysk confirmed reports of blasts and security services have been informed, Russia’s RIA news agency reported. The port is one of the biggest in the Black Sea.
Meanwhile US Secretary of State Antony Blinken challenged all countries Thursday to tell Russia to stop using the Black Sea and Ukraine’s grain as “blackmail” and stop treating the world’s hungry and vulnerable people as leverage in its “unconscionable war.”
We’ll have more detail shortly. Elsewhere:
The EU’s foreign policy chief has written to G20 ministers urging them to help Brussels persuade Vladimir Putin to reopen the main export route for Ukraine grain to countries in Africa and the Middle East. In a letter seen by the Guardian, Josep Borrell warned that Russia’s decision to walk out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) last month was risking the lives of children and others in war-torn countries and conflict zones. He urged the international community to speak on the issue “with a clear and unified voice,” adding: “We owe it to the people most in need.”
African leaders involved in peace talks over Ukraine have called for the unlocking of Russian grain and fertiliser exports to revive the Black Sea grain deal, South Africa said on Thursday. The group also called for the United Nations to take action to release 200,000 tons of Russian fertiliser blocked in European Union seaports, said Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ukraine and the United States started talks on Thursday aimed at providing security guarantees for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff said, a follow-up to pledges by G7 countries at last month’s Nato summit. Ukraine was told that the G7 would draw up and honour security guarantees and help bolster its military in light of Russia’s 17-month-old invasion of Ukraine.
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s security council, told national television on Wednesday that Russian forces had ample time to prepare defences and lay extensive minefields during months of occupation. “The number of mines on the territory that our troops have retaken is utterly mad. On average, there are three, four, five mines per square metre,” he said. Danilov restated assertions by Zelenskiy that the advances, while slower than hoped, could not be rushed as human lives were at stake. “No one can set deadlines for us, except ourselves … there is no fixed schedule,” he said.
The EU on Thursday also banned drone sales to Belarus and added prominent state TV presenters to its sanctions list over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Minsk’s crackdown on opposition.
Polish and Lithuanian leaders held an urgent meeting on Thursday in a strategically sensitive area where their Nato nations border Belarus and the Russian territory of Kaliningrad, warning that they are bracing for provocations from Moscow and Minsk in the area. Wagner mercenaries are being moved close to Nato’s eastern flank to destabilise the military alliance, Poland’s prime minister said.
Russia will cut oil exports by 300,000 barrels a day in September, Reuters reported deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday. Russia has already pledged to reduce its oil output by about 500,000 barrels a day, or 5% of its oil production, from March until year-end.
Romania said on Thursday it will clear customs for up to 30 ships waiting to enter the country from Ukrainian ports on the River Danube over the next two days, a sign that trade has not halted despite a Russian attack on Ukraine’s main river port.
Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdog said on Thursday that it detained an armed forces official accused of helping draft-age men flee the country in exchange for a cash payment, according to AFP. Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that the official, who worked in the Kyiv city administration and headed a department in the army, had issued false documents declaring men unfit for military service.
Russia said on Thursday that the BRICS group of countries would be strengthened by adding new members, in its most explicit endorsement yet of the idea of expansion, Reuters reports. The BRICS group of emerging economies currently comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Moscow sees the group as an increasingly important and influential counterweight in global affairs to the US-led west.
Three civilians and four emergency service workers were injured in a Russian strike on Kherson, according to Ukraine’s state broadcaster. Serhiy Kruk, the head of Ukraine’s state emergency service, posted to social media images of bloodied and injured emergency workers and damaged emergency equipment as a result of what Ukraine claims has been a “double tap” attack near a church.
Russia claimed to have downed six drones in the Kaluga region overnight on Thursday, followed by another in the morning. “There are no consequences for people and infrastructure,” regional governor Vladislav Shapsha said. Kaluga region is to the south-west of Moscow region, and the north-east of Russia’s Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine.
