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.
- Russia’s foreign minister has said that Moscow’s military “tasks” now go beyond the eastern Donbas region to permanently occupy broad swaths of southern Ukraine. Sergei Lavrov said Russia may seek more territory along the frontlines in Ukraine, calling it a buffer against US-supplied Himars rocket artillery. “Now the geography is different,” Lavrov said. “It’s not just Donetsk and Luhansk, it’s Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and a number of other territories.”
- Russia has shut down the idea of resuming peace talks with Ukraine, accusing it of being undeserving of “serious attention from serious people”. Lavrov said the previous sit-down proved Ukraine had no “desire to discuss anything in earnest”. He continued: “They simply will never be able to articulate anything that would deserve the serious attention of serious people.” “[Peace talks] don’t make any sense in the current situation.”
- Russian missile strikes in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed three people on Wednesday, according to local officials. Regional governor Oleh Synehubov said those killed included a man, a woman and a 13-year-old boy as he waited at a bus stop.
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Ukrainian shelling badly damaged the crucial Antonivskiy bridge in the Russia-controlled Kherson region of southern Ukraine, Moscow-installed regional authorities said. The bridge – one of only two crossing points for Russian forces to territory they have occupied on the western bank of the Dnipro river in southern Ukraine – has been a key target for Ukrainian forces in recent days.
- The Ukrainian first lady, Olena Zelenska, appealed to US lawmakers to provide more weapons to fight “Russia’s Hunger Games” in an emotional 15-minute speech to members of the House and Senate. “I am asking for weapons, weapons that would not be used to wage a war on somebody else’s land, but to protect one’s home and the right to wake up alive in that home,” she said, adding that US weapons could help assure a “joint great victory”.
- The US will provide four more advanced precision Himars rocket systems to Ukraine, defence secretary Lloyd Austin announced. “Ukraine needs the firepower and the ammunition to withstand this [Russian] barrage and to strike back,” he said. In addition, the US will provide additional Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (Gmlrs) ammunition, which can precisely strike targets up to 80km (50 miles) away.
- The European Union will mobilise a fifth tranche of military assistance of €500m to further support Ukraine. EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the region “remains focused and steadfast in its support for Ukraine, together with partners”.
- Lithuania will offer Ukraine additional military support, the Lithuanian ministry of defence announced on Wednesday. Included in the package will be M13 and M577 armoured personnel carriers, as well as ammunition for reserve training.
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The European Union has set out emergency plans to reduce its gas use amid fears Russia could cut off its supply in winter. It proposed a voluntary target for countries to restrict its usage by 15% from August until March, accusing the Kremlin of weaponising gas exports. “Russia is blackmailing us. Russia is using energy as a weapon,” the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a news conference.
- South America’s Mercosur trade bloc has declined Zelenskiy’s request to address its upcoming summit. Bloc members Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay failed to reach an agreement on the request which he made to Paraguay last week, according to deputy foreign relations minister Raul Cano, who declined to say which states were against it.
- The European Union has agreed on a new round of sanctions against Russia, this time targeting its gold exports, as well as individuals and entities. The move marks the seventh package of penalties and will see assets at Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, frozen, with several more names added to the blacklist.
- Pro-Russian separatist forces have stepped up the forced conscription of men in the occupied areas of Donbas. Video emerged of a Ukrainian woman confronting officials who attempted to force her husband to join pro-Russian fighters in Donetsk. “He doesn’t want to go and fight. Nobody wants to fight. We are so sick of you and your war,” she says.
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Russia’s communications watchdog has said it is taking steps to punish the Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, for violating Russian law around the conflict in Ukraine.
Updated
Here is a little more detail surrounding the decision by EU member states to mobilise a fifth tranche of military assistance of €500m to further support Ukraine.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the region “remains focused and steadfast in its support for Ukraine, together with partners”.
Participated at Ministerial Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) July 20, 2022
EU Member States agreed to mobilise 5th tranche of military assistance of €500M to further support Ukraine‘s Armed Forces. EU remains focused & steadfast in its support for Ukraine, together w partners. @SecDef
South America’s Mercosur trade bloc has declined a request by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to address its upcoming summit, host Paraguay said on Wednesday.
Bloc members Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay failed to reach an agreement on Zelensky’s request, made to the host country last week, according to deputy foreign minister Raul Cano, Agence France-Presse reports.
Zelenskiy spoke to Paraguay’s President Mario Abdo Benitez last week, asking to be allowed to address a Mercosur summit to be held on Thursday, following a ministerial meeting on Wednesday.
“There was no consensus,” said Cano, adding the decision had been communicated to Kyiv.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, whose presence at the summit has not been confirmed, has said his country would remain “neutral” over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia will not supply oil to the world market if a price cap is imposed, Interfax news agency quoted deputy prime minister Alexander Novak as telling Russian television on Wednesday.
US treasury secretary Janet Yellen is pushing for the cap to drive down oil prices and make it harder for Moscow to fund its war in Ukraine.
If these prices that they are talking about are lower than the cost of producing oil, then of course Russia will not ensure the supply of this oil to world markets. This means we are simply not going to work at a loss,” Interfax cited Novak as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters earlier in the day that oil prices would skyrocket if a cap were imposed.
Brazil, China, India and some African and Middle Eastern countries have increased energy imports from Russia, which sells at deep discounts to global benchmarks because many European refiners have stopped buying Russian oil.
Summary
It’s nearly 1am in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:
- The European Union will provide €500m in military assistance to Ukraine. According to EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, the allocation of the fifth tranche will serve to “further support Ukraine’s armed forces,” stressing that the EU remains “focused and steadfast” in its support for Ukraine.
- Russian missile strikes in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed a 13-year-old boy as he waited at a bus stop on Wednesday, according to local officials. According to Oleh Synehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, three people were killed in Kharkiv on Wednesday – the teenager plus a man and a woman.
- Russia’s foreign minister claimed that the west is attempting to “aggravate” the war in Ukraine by providing long-range weapons. In an interview with German outlet Deutsche Welle, Sergei Lavrov said: “As the west is trying to aggravate the situation with an impotent malice, it’s pumping Ukraine with long-range weapons.”
- More than 5,000 dolphins have died in the Black Sea as a result of Russia’s war since March. Due to the constant underwater noise caused by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet submarines and hydrocollators, in addition to explosions, dolphins have been suffering from acoustic trauma which in turn impacts their echolocation abilities.
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South America’s Mercosur trade bloc has declined a request by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to address its upcoming summit, host Paraguay said on Wednesday. Bloc members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay failed to reach an agreement on Zelenskiy’s request which he made to Paraguay last week, according to deputy foreign relations minister Raul Cano, who declined to say which states were against it.
- Lithuania will offer Ukraine additional military support, the Lithuanian ministry of defence announced on Wednesday. “Lithuania will soon provide Ukraine with additional military support in the form of much-needed M13 and M577 armoured personnel carriers, as well as ammunition for reserve training,” it said.
- The US will provide four more precision rocket systems to Ukraine to assist it in its fight against Russian forces, US defense secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, his Ukrainian counterpart requested Washington to send more M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), saying Kyiv’s forces have used them to destroy 30 Russian command stations and ammunition depots so far.
That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as I hand over the blog to my colleague Samantha Lock who will bring you the latest updates. I’ll be back tomorrow, thank you.
Updated
EU pledges assistance
The European Union will provide €500m in military assistance to Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent reports.
According to EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, the allocation of the fifth tranche will serve to “further support Ukraine’s armed forces”. He stressed that the EU remains “focused and steadfast” in its support for Ukraine.
Updated
Russian missile strikes kill three in Kharkiv - report
Russian missile strikes in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed a 13-year-old boy as he waited at a bus stop on Wednesday, according to local officials.
Reuters photojournalists captured the boy’s father kneeling next to his covered body while holding his hand.
Rescue workers carried away another body on a stretcher and a nearby mosque was badly destroyed.
According to Oleh Synehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, three people were killed in Kharkiv on Wednesday – the teenager plus a man and a woman.
It was unclear if all three died at the bus stop together.
He said the dead teenager’s 15-year-old sister had also been wounded but did not give their names.
“This is another terrible act of terror by the Russians,” Synehubov said on Telegram.
These images are heartbreaking. A father holds his 13yr old son’s hand after the boy was killed during a Russian strike in Ukraine’s Kharkiv today. More here: https://t.co/wgl5wZYj86. pic.twitter.com/bG1DC8Ul8S
— Benjamin Strick (@BenDoBrown) July 20, 2022
Updated
Russia’s foreign minister claimed that the west is attempting to “aggravate” the war in Ukraine by providing long-range weapons.
In an interview with German outlet Deutsche Welle, Sergei Lavrov said: “As the west is trying to aggravate the situation with an impotent malice, it’s pumping Ukraine with long-range weapons.”
He added: “It means that geographical aims will expand even further from the current line.”
SOT: Russia's foreign minister has claimed that the West is trying to "aggravate" the situation in Ukraine by pumping in long-range weapons. pic.twitter.com/6VCPXrN7Ju
— DW News (@dwnews) July 20, 2022
Updated
More than 5,000 dolphins have died in the Black Sea as a result of Russia’s war since March, the Kyiv Independent reports.
According to Ivan Rusev, an environmental scientist at Ukraine’s Tuzly Estuaries National Nature Park, dolphins sue echolocation to communicate, find food, and navigate.
Due to the constant underwater noise caused by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet submarines and hydrocollators, in addition to explosions, dolphins have been suffering from acoustic trauma which in turn impacts their echolocation abilities.
Dolphins have as a result been struggling to find food. Additionally, due to compromised immune systems, they have become vulnerable to various parasites and viruses.
The report predicts that more dolphins are expected to die as Russian warships continue to fire missiles via the Black Sea.
“I have never seen this before. This is something absolutely new and terrifying for scientists,” Rusev told the Kyiv Independent.
In addition, frequent explosions in the Black Sea have been forcing dolphins to swim rapidly to the surface, in turn causing air embolism, which is similar to decompression sickness that scuba divers experience when they swim too quickly to the surface and nitrogen bubbles form in their bloodstreams.
“When it happens quickly, blood clots appear and dolphins die,” Rusev said.
The constant underwater noise caused by submarines of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, as well as explosions, is causing dolphins acoustic trauma, paralyzing the vital echolocation system that they use to communicate, find food, and navigate.https://t.co/cU3bnHQ6L8
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) July 20, 2022
Updated
South America’s Mercosur trade bloc has declined a request by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to address its upcoming summit, host Paraguay said on Wednesday.
Bloc members Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay failed to reach an agreement on Zelenskiy’s request which he made to Paraguay last week, according to deputy foreign relations minister Raul Cano, who declined to say which states were against it.
Zelenskiy has addressed several national parliaments since Russia’s invasion of his country in February, including the European parliament, World Economic Forum and the United Nations.
Zelenskiy spoke to Paraguay’s president Mario Abdo Benitez last week and requested to address a summit to be held on Thursday, following a ministerial meeting Wednesday.
“There was no consensus,” said Cano, adding the decision had been communicated to Kyiv.
Updated
Lithuania will offer Ukraine additional military support, the Lithuanian ministry of defence announced on Wednesday.
“Lithuania will soon provide Ukraine with additional military support in the form of much-needed M13 and M577 armoured personnel carriers, as well as ammunition for reserve training,” it said.
It also proposed to organise a wide-range of military training for the National Guard of Ukraine.
“Ukraine has also identified key requirements for the military training and the [Lithuanian army] are now ready to meet them,” it stated.
🇱🇹DefMin @a_anusauskas:
— Lithuanian MOD (@Lithuanian_MoD) July 20, 2022
💬The number of M113s provided or promised makes this armoured vehicle a significant part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
💬Ukraine has also identified key requirements for the military training and @LTU_Army are now ready to meet them.#StandWithUkraine
Updated
US to provide 4 more HIMARS to Ukraine, US defense secretary says
The US will provide four more precision rocket systems to Ukraine to assist it in its fight against Russian forces, US defense secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, his Ukrainian counterpart requested Washington to send more M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), saying Kyiv’s forces have used them to destroy some 30 Russian command stations and ammunition depots so far.
The US will send “four more Himars advanced rocket systems for a total of 16. The Ukrainians have made excellent use of Himars, and you can see the impact on the battlefield,” Austin said.
“Russia is keeping up its relentless shelling, and that’s a cruel tactic that harkens back to the horrors of World War I. So Ukraine needs the firepower and the ammunition to withstand this barrage and to strike back,” he said.
In addition, the US will provide additional Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) ammunition, which can precisely strike targets up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) away.
Ukrainian defense minister Oleksiy Reznikov on Tuesday requested a major increase in the number of HIMARS, saying at least 100 were needed for an effective counter-offensive against Moscow’s troops.
He also renewed a call for longer-range ammunition - 100 to 150 kilometers - to cut off Russian units from their support.
When asked about longer-range ammunition, Austin said: “We think what they have and what they’re working with is really giving them a lot of capability.”
General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted that HIMARS launchers can hold six GMLRS rockets but only one ATACMS missile - which can strike targets up to 300 kilometers away - meaning there is a trade-off between volume and range.
“Right now, the GMLRS is really fulfilling their need,” Milley said.
President Joe Biden’s administration has so far refused to send longer-range ammunition out of worry that Ukraine would strike targets within Russian territory and potentially expand the war into a direct clash with the West.
Updated
Summary
The time in Kyiv is just coming up to 9pm. Here is a roundup of the day’s main headlines:
- Russia seeks to annex Ukrainian territory. Illegitimate proxy officials have been installed in areas under Russia’s control as it seeks to exert total control over its gains in the east.
- Putin claims progress on grain exports that may allow Russia to lift the blockade on Ukrainian wheat. “I want to thank you for your mediation efforts,” the Russian president told Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “With your mediation, we have moved forward. Not all issues have yet been resolved, but the fact that there is movement is already good.”
- Russia’s offensive in Ukraine’s Donbas region continues to make minimal gains as Ukrainian forces hold the line. The Antonovskiy bridge over the Dnieper River that was struck by Ukrainian forces is probably still usable, Britain’s defence ministry said, but is a key vulnerability for Russian forces.
- The EU accuses Russia of blackmail over gas supplies. It set out emergency plans to reduce its gas use by 15% until spring, amid fears Russia could cut off its supply in winter.
- Russia shuts down the idea of resuming peace talks with Ukraine. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of being undeserving of “serious attention from serious people”, adding it had no “desire to discuss anything in earnest”.
- The European Union agrees on a new round of sanctions against Russia. The seventh package of penalties will target its gold exports and individuals, and follows a ban on Russian oil imports.
- Ukraine’s first lady makes an emotional plea at the Capitol for more weapons. In a face-to-face address, Olena Zelenska called on US lawmakers to provide Ukraine with more anti-air defence systems to defend against Russian missiles.
That’s it from me, Zaina Alibhai, for today. My colleague Maya Yang will be along shortly and continue to bring all the latest news from Ukraine.
Ukraine’s first lady has made an emotional plea at the Capitol for more weapons to use in the war against Russia.
In a face-to-face address, Olena Zelenska called on lawmakers to provide Ukraine with more anti-air defence systems to protect itself against Russian missiles, according to AP.
“We want no more airstrikes. No more missile strikes. Is this too much to ask for?” she said.
“We want every father and every mother to be able to tell their child: ‘Go to sleep peacefully, there will be no more airstrikes, no more missile strikes’.
“This is what I’m asking for and what my husband is asking for, as parents.”
Zelenska’s speech followed an announcement by the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, that Washington would send four additional high mobility artillery rocket systems (Himars) to Ukraine.
.@SecDef: [the next assistance package] will include four more HIMARS advanced rocket systems, which the Ukrainians have been using so effectively and which have made such a difference on the battlefield. pic.twitter.com/lsns28gzEz
— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) July 20, 2022
Updated
The European Union has agreed on a new round of sanctions against Russia, this time targeting its gold exports, as well as individuals and entities.
The move, which was agreed by world leaders at the recent G7 Summit, marks the seventh package of penalties following a ban on most Russian oil imports in June.
New sanctions will also see assets at Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, frozen, with several more names added to the blacklist.
The EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the measures would help enforce earlier sanctions more effectively and extend them until January 2023.
She added: “Moscow must continue to pay a high price for its aggression.”
Updated
The UK government has finally announced a route for unaccompanied children to come to Britain under the Homes for Ukraine scheme – a month after promising to change the rules.
Around 1,000 children, mostly teenagers, have been waiting for visas after they applied without realising they would not be eligible without a parent or guardian.
Many have waited three months or more in precarious situations in Ukraine and across Europe.
Some, like 17-year-old violinist Anastasiia, whose story we told earlier in the month, are on the frontline in south-east Ukraine, and have been in serious danger while they waited.
Anastasiia lives in the Russian occupied Zaporizhzhia region, where fighting has been intense, and has been waiting more than three months to join a family in Hertfordshire.
However, communications appear to be down and messages have not been getting through to her for 10 days now.
Home Office minister Kevin Foster said the new rules meant that “where a Ukrainian parent or legal guardian confirms it is in their child’s best interests for the child to come to the UK without them, there is a route for them”.
Sponsors will need to commit more time to support a child than the typical six months of the Homes for Ukraine scheme. They will have to pledge three years’ care or until the child turns 18.
New applications for unaccompanied children will be open from 10 August, while a backlog of earlier cases is cleared.
Updated
An extraordinary video has emerged of a Ukrainian woman confronting officials who attempted to force her husband to join pro-Russian fighters.
Separatists soldiers have stepped up the forced conscription of men in the occupied areas of the Donbas amid mounting evidence of the scale of losses on the Russian side.
The clip, filmed in late June, shows a woman trying to prevent officials from the war commissariat taking her husband to the conscription office in Donetsk.
“He doesn’t want to go and fight. Nobody wants to fight. We are so sick of you and your war,” she says.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, accused Canada on Wednesday of delaying the return of a turbine for the Nord Stream pipeline, saying Ottawa was eyeing the European market itself.
Russia’s state-owned energy giant, Gazprom, has reduced flows to Germany via Nord Stream 1 by some 60% in recent weeks, blaming the absence of a Siemens gas turbine that was undergoing repairs in Canada, AFP reports.
Germany said on Wednesday that Russia was using the absence of the turbine as an “excuse” to limit gas deliveries.
The repaired turbine is currently understood to be en route to Russia, as routine maintenance work that completely halted deliveries via Nord Stream 1 is due to be completed on Thursday.
Moscow says the turbine is essential for the proper functioning of the Nord Stream pipeline, which delivers gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea.
“One machine needs planned repairs, it is not given back from Canada because sanctions have been placed against Gazprom, although it is a Siemens plant,” Putin said at a televised meeting in Moscow.
“I’ll tell you why Canada did it: because it produces oil and gas itself and plans to enter the European market,” AFP reports.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline has been shut down since 11 July for 10 days to undergo annual maintenance.
Updated
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday he still hoped to host Russia and Ukraine for talks this week on easing a global food crisis caused by blocked Black Sea grain.
Erdoğan’s comments came less than a day after Russian president Vladimir Putin set an unexpected new condition for resuming the deliveries.
Up to 25 million tonnes of wheat and other grain have been blocked in Ukrainian ports by Russian warships and landmines Kyiv has laid to avert a feared amphibious assault.
AFP reports:
The first direct talks between the sides’ military delegations since March - attended in Istanbul last week by Turkish and UN officials - came up with an initial draft for resolving the impasse.
The sides had been expected to meet in Istanbul again this week for a second round of talks that both Turkish and UN officials had hoped could produce a final deal.
But Putin said on Tuesday that Russia would only ease the path for Ukrainian grain exports if the West lifts sanctions on Russia’s own shipments.
Erdoğan told reporters after meeting Putin on the sidelines of a summit in Tehran that he remained hopeful about an agreement.
Erdoğan was quoted as telling Turkish reporters aboard his plane home:
As a result of a technical meeting held in Istanbul last week, an agreement was reached on the main outlines of how this process will work within UN frameworks.
Now this week, we want this memorandum turned into a written text. We hope that the plan will start being implemented in the coming days.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine have officially confirmed their participation at the proposed second round of Istanbul talks. Erdoğan also did not signal when it might be held.
Updated
Russian foreign minister: peace talks 'don't make any sense'
Russia has shut down the idea of resuming peace talks with Ukraine, accusing it of being undeserving of “serious attention from serious people”.
Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said the previous sit-down proved Ukraine had no “desire to discuss anything in earnest”, according to AFP.
The countries attempted to hold talks some months ago but they ground to a halt in April, he added.
Lavrov continued: “They simply will never be able to articulate anything that would deserve the serious attention of serious people.”
“[Peace talks] don’t make any sense in the current situation.”
He added that Moscow wants to permanently occupy broad swaths of southern Ukraine in the clearest signal yet that the Kremlin is preparing to launch a new round of annexations.
Updated
More than 9.5 million border crossings have been made from Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s invasion on 24 February.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) recorded a total of 9,547,969 crossings over the past 21 weeks, advising that the number reflected cross-border movements rather than individuals.
It estimated an additional 105,000 people moved from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to Russia from 18-23 February.
Across Europe, the highest number of individual refugees from Ukraine was recorded in Russia (1,728,407), followed by Poland (1,221,596), and Moldova (84, 562), according to UNHCR’s data.
Updated
Russia has widened its military aims beyond the east of Ukraine, setting its sights on other regions, according to Reuters.
The delivery of weapons from the west to Ukraine prompted the shift in focus from Donetsk and Luhansk to southern regions, some of which are already under the control of Russian forces.
“The geography is different now. It is not only about the DNR and LNR, but also the Kherson region, the Zaporizhzhia region, and a number of other territories,” the foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said.
“The process is continuing, consistently and persistently.”
Lavrov warned the Kremlin’s objectives could expand further still if the west continued to supply Ukraine with weapons.
“We cannot allow the part of Ukraine that [Volodymyr] Zelenskiy will control, or whoever replaces him, to have weapons that will pose a direct threat to our territory and the territory of those republics that have declared their independence,” he said.
Updated
Germany has accused Russia of using the absence of a turbine as an “excuse” to limit the flow of gas via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom has reduced deliveries in recent weeks, blaming the absence of the gas turbine which was undergoing repairs.
Yet Germany is not buying the explanation and believes the Kremlin is squeezing supplies in retaliation to western sanctions.
“I would like to stress that according to our information, this is an excuse by the Russian side,” a German economy ministry spokesperson said.
Vladimir Putin insisted Gazprom would meet all of its obligations in full, with Nord Stream 1 set to resume operation on Thursday.
But he warned another gas turbine was due for maintenance at the end of the month, which could cause further supply disruption.
Updated
EU accuses Russia of blackmail over gas supplies
The European Union has set out emergency plans to reduce its gas use amid fears Russia could cut off its supply in winter.
It has proposed a voluntary target for countries to restrict its usage by 15% from August until March, accusing the Kremlin of weaponising gas exports.
“Russia is blackmailing us. Russia is using energy as a weapon,” the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a news conference.
“And therefore, in any event, whether it’s a partial, major cut-off of Russian gas or a total cut-off of Russian gas, Europe needs to be ready.”
She warned that almost half of member states were already affected by the reduced gas flow from Russia, which has fallen below 30% of the 2016-2021 average.
Under the plans, the EU would be able to make the cutback mandatory if there seemed a substantial risk of severe gas shortages.
The proposal needs to be approved by a majority of EU countries, with its diplomats set to discuss it on Friday.
Updated
Reuters has a thorough report on the situation in Ukraine today:
Russian forces shelled eastern and southern Ukraine on Wednesday after Washington said it saw signs Moscow was preparing to formally annex territory it has seized during nearly five months of war.
Uncertainty swirled meanwhile over the planned restart on Thursday of a huge Russian gas pipeline to Europe, as Russian president Vladimir Putin warned that its capacity could be further reduced due to slow progress in equipment maintenance.
Fearing Russia could cut off deliveries, the European Union will set out emergency plans to reduce gas demand within months.
Ukraine’s military and politicians reported heavy and sometimes fatal Russian shelling amid what they said were largely unsuccessful attempts by Russian ground forces to advance.
British military intelligence said Russia’s offensive in the eastern Donbas region continued to make minimal gains as Ukrainian forces – which Britain helps support – held the line. More than two weeks have passed since Russia’s last major territorial gain, the city of Lysychansk.
The Kremlin has said there is no time limit to what it calls a “special military operation” to ensure its own security in the face of Nato’s expansion, and that it will do whatever it takes to achieve its aims.
Ukraine and the west condemn the conflict as an unprovoked war of aggression by Russia against its neighbour.
Five civilians were killed and 16 wounded by Russian shelling in the Donetsk region, while two civilians were killed by shelling in the city of Nikopol in the south, the respective Ukrainian regional governors said on Telegram.
Roman Starovoit, governor of Russia’s Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, wrote on Telegram that Ukrainian forces had shelled a border crossing there.
Russia’s Tass news agency meanwhile cited the mayor of Horlivka, a city in the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine, as saying that one person had been killed and three injured, including a child, by Ukrainian shelling.
Reuters could not immediately verify the Ukrainian or Russian accounts.
Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has inspected troops fighting in Ukraine, his ministry said on Wednesday. It cited him as ordering more to be done to shoot down Ukrainian drones operating in border regions and to stop Ukraine shelling areas it has lost control of.
Citing US intelligence, White House national security spokesman John Kirby accused Russia of laying the groundwork to annex Ukrainian territory it had seized since the start of the war on 24 February, an assertion the Russian embassy in Washington said mischaracterised what Moscow was trying to do.
The embassy cast what Ukraine and the west regard as a naked land grab as “returning peace to liberated territories” in order to protect the rights of people regardless of their ethnicity or language – a reference to Russian speakers or ethnic Russians in Ukraine who Russia says it is saving from persecution at the hands of what it has cast as dangerous Ukrainian nationalists.
Kyiv says that Russian narrative is false.
Updated
A Reuters snap suggests that a US-made harpoon missile launcher was destroyed in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region.
The snap quotes an Interfax report citing the Russian defence ministry.
Ukraine began receiving the Harpoon missiles from Denmark in May as part of wider western arms shipments to Kyiv.
Reuters said it could not immediately confirm the strike.
Updated
Russia’s communications watchdog has said it is taking steps to punish the Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, for violating Russian law around the conflict in Ukraine.
Reuters reports:
In a statement, Roskomnadzor said that Wikipedia still hosted “prohibited materials, including fakes about the course of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine”, and that search engines would be used to inform users that Wikimedia violated Russian law.
Writing on Telegram, vice-chair of the Russian parliament’s committee on information policy Anton Gorelkin said that links to Wikipedia would be accompanied by a disclaimer warning users about legal violations by Wikimedia Foundation.
Roskomnadzor said the measures would remain in place until Wikimedia Foundation becomes fully compliant with Russian law.
The Wikimedia Foundation on 13 June appealed a Moscow court ruling, fining it 5m roubles (£76,000) for refusing to remove what it termed disinformation from Russian-language Wikipedia articles on the Ukraine conflict, including “The Russian Invasion of Ukraine”, “War Crimes during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine”, and “Massacre in Bucha”.
Updated
Key bridge badly damaged in Kherson, Russia-installed authorities say
Ukrainian shelling badly damaged the crucial Antonivskiy bridge in the Russia-controlled Kherson region of southern Ukraine, Moscow-installed regional authorities have said.
Reuters reports:
The bridge – one of only two crossing points for Russian forces to territory they have occupied on the western bank of the vast Dnipro river in southern Ukraine – has been a key target for Ukrainian forces in recent days, with Kyiv using high-precision US-supplied rockets to try to destroy it.
The Russian-backed head of the Kherson region, Volodymyr Saldo, closed the bridge to cargo traffic on Wednesday morning in what he called a “temporary restriction” to allow repair works.
Passenger cars were still able to use the bridge, which is more than a kilometre long, Saldo said in an “urgent appeal” published on social media.
Local officials told the RIA news agency that Ukraine hit the bridge at around 4am with 12 shells from the newly arrived high-mobility artillery rocket systems (Himars), a US supplied long-range artillery weapon which Kyiv hopes will turn the tide of the war.
“If the strikes continue, the bridge might collapse,” the Tass news agency quoted the deputy head of the Russian-installed administration as saying.
Updated
The UK’s regular military intelligence update suggests that the Antonovskiy bridge, which was allegedly shelled again this morning after initial strikes on Tuesday, is a key vulnerability for Russian troops in Kherson.
The briefing further notes:
- The Antonovskiy bridge is important because it is one of only two crossing points over the Dnieper river which enable Russia to supply to or withdraw forces from territory occupied to the west.
- Control of the Dnieper crossings is likely to become a key factor in further fighting.
- The city of Kherson is politically and symbolically important for Russia.
- Russia continues to make minimal gains in its Donbas offensive, where Ukrainian forces are holding the line.
⚡️UK Intelligence: Antonovskiy bridge key vulnerability for Russian troops in Kherson.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) July 20, 2022
A U.K. defense intelligence update said Russian troops in occupied Kherson reported on July 19 the bridge had been hit by Ukrainian forces, but it is highly likely it is still usable. pic.twitter.com/tL06aY9u0m
Ukrainian news agency Interfax carries a report stating that three civilians were killed by Russian occupying forces and one wounded in morning shelling in the Saltiv district of the eastern city of Kharkiv.
The report cites comments on Telegram from Oleg Sinegubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration.
Sinegubov said the victims included a 13-year-old boy, a man and a woman. A 72-year-old woman was injured.
Унаслідок ранкового обстрілу Харкова загинули щонайменше три мирних жителі, зокрема дитина - Синєгубовhttps://t.co/7TSfyl65DE
— Інтерфакс-Україна (@InterfaxUkraine) July 20, 2022
Updated
The US and its allies are considering possible training for Ukrainian pilots as part of a long-term effort to potentially help Kyiv build a future Ukrainian air force.
Air force chief of staff Charles “CQ” Brown acknowledged that discussions were under way, but didn’t confirm any decisions.
He told Reuters:
You want to build a long-term plan on how do you build their air force and the air force that they’re going to need for the future.
With the west’s provision of anti-aircraft weaponry, Ukraine has been able to prevent Russia from using its far more advanced air force to establish dominance in the skies.
But Ukraine has also sought to move away from its dependence on Russian aircraft by securing US fighter jets and training for its pilots on how to fly them. Ukraine’s air force has publicly flagged its hopes for F-15s and F-16s.
Updated
The European Union will set out emergency plans later today to reduce gas demand within months, warning countries that without deep cuts now they could struggle for fuel during winter if Russia cuts off deliveries.
Reuters reports:
Europe is racing to fill its gas storage ahead of winter and build a supply buffer in case Moscow further restricts supplies in retaliation for European support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Russia’s Gazprom has already halted deliveries to some EU states.
The European Commission will urge countries to prepare for possible further cuts by slashing gas use. A draft of the EU plan, seen by Reuters, would propose a voluntary target for countries to cut their gas demand over the next eight months, which could be made legally binding in a supply emergency.
EU officials said the target would be for a 10-15% cut in gas use.
The proposal, which could change before it is published, would need approval from EU countries who are largely responsible for their own energy policies.
There has been resistance from some countries, including Poland, who feel their contingency plans do not need a boost from Brussels.
A Reuters snap suggests Ukraine has shelled Antonivskyi bridge in the Russia-controlled southern Kherson region again, according to reporting from Russia’s Tass news agency citing Russia-installed authorities.
The bridge is badly damaged and likely to be closed to traffic today, Tass added.
Rachel Hall here, taking over from Samantha Lock on the blog – do get in touch if there’s anything you think we’ve missed. You can reach me at rachel.hall@theguardian.com.
Updated
Russia's Donbas offensive makes minimal gains: UK MoD
Russia’s offensive in Ukraine’s Donbas region continues to make minimal gains as Ukrainian forces hold the line, British military intelligence said.
The Antonovskiy bridge over the Dnieper River that was struck by Ukrainian forces is probably still usable, Britain’s defence ministry said.
“It is highly likely that the bridge remains usable but it is a key vulnerability for Russian forces,” the ministry added.
“It is one of only two road crossing points over the Dnieper by which Russia can supply or withdraw its forces in the territory it has occupied west of the river.”
The lower reaches of the Dnieper present a natural barrier, with the waterway typically about 1,000-metres wide.
Control of Dnieper crossings is likely to become a key factor in the outcome of fighting in the region, the ministry added.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 20 July 2022
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) July 20, 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/nx8fNH0vaD
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/9q2Q3h3FrA
Updated
Putin claims progress on grain exports
Vladimir Putin has claimed on a trip to Tehran that progress has been made that may allow Russia to lift the blockade on Ukrainian wheat.
“I want to thank you for your mediation efforts,” the Russian president told Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his Turkish counterpart, in comments released by the Kremlin.
“With your mediation, we have moved forward,” Putin said. “Not all issues have yet been resolved, but the fact that there is movement is already good.”
The US is set to announce a new weapons package for Ukraine in the next few days, according to White House officials.
The package is expected to include US mobile rocket launchers, known as Himars, and rounds for multiple launch rocket systems as well as artillery munitions, John Kirby, the chief national security council spokesperson, said.
The US has provided $8bn in security assistance since the war began, including $2.2bn in the last month.
Washington will impose sanctions on officials involved in representing themselves as proxy officials, Kirby said. He predicted these proxies to try to hold “sham referenda” seeking to legitimatise Russian control.
Updated
Russia seeking to annex Ukrainian territory by installing proxy officials, US says
Russia is laying the groundwork for the annexation of Ukrainian territory and is installing illegitimate proxy officials in areas there under its control as it seeks to exert total control over its gains in the east, according to the White House.
Unveiling what he said was US intelligence, John Kirby, the chief national security council spokesperson, told a White House news briefing that the Russians are preparing to install proxy officials, establish the rouble as the default currency and force residents to apply for citizenship. Reuters reports Kirby said:
We have information today, including from downgraded intelligence that we’re able to share with you, about how Russia is laying the groundwork to annex Ukrainian territory that it controls in direct violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.”
The same tactic was used in 2014 when Russia announced its annexation of Crimea after taking over control from Ukraine, Kirby said.
Nobody is fooled by it. [Putin] is dusting off the playbook from 2014.”
Russia is now also attempting to take control of broadcasting towers, he said.
Putin endorsed by Iran for invasion
Putin won the endorsement of the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for the invasion of Ukraine on Tuesday.
Khamenei told Putin:
War is a harsh and difficult issue, and Iran is not at all pleased that ordinary people suffer from it, but in the case of Ukraine if you had not taken the initiative, the other side would have caused the war with its own initiative.
If the road is open to Nato, it knows no boundaries and if it was not stopped in Ukraine they would start the same war some time later under the pretext of Crimea.”
Iran & Russia’s long-term cooperation is greatly, deeply beneficial to both countries. You, Mr. Putin, and our President are people who take action & follow up on it. Thus, cooperation between the two countries should reach a peak in this period.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) July 19, 2022
He said Russia and Iran needed to work together gradually to reduce the power of the dollar.
Putin echoed Iran’s judgment that he had no choice but to invade, saying: “No one is in favour of war, and the loss of ordinary people’s lives is a great tragedy, but the behaviour of the west made us have no choice but to react. Some European countries said ‘We were against Ukraine’s membership in Nato, but we agreed under American pressure,’ which shows their lack of independence.”
War is a hostile, harsh matter & the Islamic Republic never favors seeing ordinary people afflicted by wars. However, in the issue of #Ukraine, had Russia not initiated taking action, the other side would have started a war.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) July 19, 2022
Video shows Putin left waiting for Turkish counterpart
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has been left awkwardly standing in a room in front of a throng of reporters while waiting to meet his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Footage taken ahead of the meeting on Tuesday shows Putin fidgeting, shifting his weight and pulling a series of uncomfortable faces in front of cameras for nearly a minute before he is finally greeted by Erdoğan.
It was unfamiliar terrain for the Russian leader who has developed a reputation for keeping world leaders waiting, on purpose, sometimes for hours after scheduled talks were due to begin. Some speculated it may have been payback for a 2020 meeting in Moscow that saw Erdoğan wait so long to enter the meeting room that he took a seat.
Reporters captured the moment Putin strode into the room on Tuesday in the expectation Erdoğan would swiftly follow suit. Instead, he was left standing amid the sound of camera shutters.
With his hands clasped in front of him, the usually stoic Russian leader was seen shuffling his feet and sucking his cheeks during the 50-second wait. Finally, Putin let his hands fall by his sides with a hint of exasperation as Erdoğan casually emerged and the pair shook hands.
Russian president Vladimir Putin intends to make several foreign trips in the autumn, his spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, has said.
In the very near [future] – no, but on the agenda, let’s say, several visits are still planned in the fall,” Russia state media agency Tass quoted Peskov as saying in response to the question of whether Putin plans new foreign trips in the near future.
He noted that preparations are under way for the visits.
Updated
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
I’m Samantha Lock and I will be bringing you all the latest developments for the next short while.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and his Turkish counterpart, Tayyip Erdoğan, met in Tehran to discuss the export of Ukrainian grain with Putin claiming progress had been made.
Putin also won the endorsement of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine during his visit.
It is 8am in Kyiv and here is where things stand:
- Vladimir Putin won the endorsement of the Iranian supreme leader for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during a visit to Tehran on Tuesday. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Putin: “War is a harsh and difficult issue, and Iran is not at all pleased that ordinary people suffer from it, but in the case of Ukraine if you had not taken the initiative, the other side would have caused the war with its own initiative … If the road is open to Nato, it knows no boundaries and if it was not stopped in Ukraine they would start the same war some time later under the pretext of Crimea.”
- Khamenei added that Tehran and Moscow needed to stay vigilant against “western deception”, calling for long-term cooperation between Iran and Russia. “Iran and Russia’s long-term cooperation is greatly, deeply beneficial to both countries,” he said.
- Putin said progress had been made that may allow Russia to lift the blockade on Ukrainian wheat. “I want to thank you for your mediation efforts,” he told Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, his Turkish counterpart, during a trip to Tehran in comments released by the Kremlin. “With your mediation, we have moved forward. Not all issues have yet been resolved, but the fact that there is movement is already good.”
- Ukraine does not want the war to last into winter because it would give Russian forces time to dig in and make any Ukrainian counter-offensive more difficult. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andry Yermak, said: “It is very important for us not to enter the winter. After winter, when the Russians will have more time to dig in, it will certainly be more difficult.”
- Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president, said that peace in Ukraine would be on Moscow’s terms. Medvedev, who is now deputy head of its security council, said: “Russia will achieve all its goals. There will be peace – on our terms.” Putin claimed Moscow has not seen any desire from Ukraine to fulfil the terms of what he described as a preliminary peace deal from March.
- Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said Russia was laying the groundwork for the annexation of more Ukrainian territory, and installing illegitimate proxy officials in areas under its control. Kirby, unveiling what he said was US intelligence, said Russia was seeking to establish the rouble as the default currency and force residents to apply for citizenship.
- Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he expected “significant results” for Ukraine following his wife’s trip to Washington on Tuesday. “Increasing American support for Ukraine, additional assistance to protect people from Russian terror, addressing humanitarian needs are all the tasks of the ongoing visit of the first lady of Ukraine to the United States,” he said. Olena Zelenska met her US counterpart, Jill Biden, on Tuesday ahead of her appearance on Wednesday before members of Congress.
- The governor of the southern Ukraine region of Mykolaiv has offered a $100 (£83) reward for anyone who can identify people collaborating with Russia. Vitaliy Kim offered the compensation in exchange for information about “those who reveal to the occupiers the places of deployment of Ukrainian troops” or help them establish the coordinates of potential targets.
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Another six French-made Caesar artillery guns are “on their way” to Ukraine, France’s foreign minister Catherine Colonna has confirmed. Twelve of the guns, prized for their accuracy and mobility, have already been delivered to Ukraine.
- The United States will announce a new weapons package for Ukraine in the coming days, a government official said. It is expected to include mobile rocket launchers knows as Himars, and various artillery munitions, Reuters reports.
- A special commission to control the use of weapons provided to Ukraine has been set up, according to Zelenskiy. “Our partners are fully informed about how we use the weapons provided. But in order to put an end to any manipulations of Russian propagandists and those who help them in Ukraine or somewhere else, such an additional parliamentary control tool will enter into force.”he said.
