Summary
That’s it for today’s Ukraine live blog. Thank you for reading. Here’s a review of what happened:
A barrage of Russian missiles struck hydroelectric plants, as well as other critical energy and water infrastructure across Ukraine. Russia said it struck military and energy infrastructure targets, but Ukraine said its military facilities were not targeted.
Large parts of Kyiv were left without power or water. The Ukrainian capital’s mayor said 40 percent of residents do not have water, with 270,000 apartments without power as of Monday evening.
Twelve grain export ships left from Ukraine despite Russia’s decision to pull out of the Black Sea grain deal, Ukraine’s minister of infrastructure said. The UN also confirmed the first of 40 planned ship inspections was completed in Istanbul waters.
Moscow called ship movements through the Black Sea security corridor “unacceptable”. In a statement, the Russian defence ministry said it wants “commitments” from Ukraine not to use the Black Sea grain corridor for military purposes, adding “there can be no question of guaranteeing the security of any object” in the area until then.
The UN disputed Moscow’s claim that a civilian cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain may have been involved in a drone strike against Russia. UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said no such ships were in the Black Sea’s designated “safe zone” corridor at the time Russia said the attack had taken place.
France is working towards allowing Ukrainian food exports to go through land routes rather than the Black Sea.
Russia dismisses reports that its agents hacked Liz Truss’s phone and gained access to sensitive information. The Kremlin responded to the report by saying there was little that could be taken seriously in the British media.
Norway put its military on a raised level of alert to enhance its response to the war in Ukraine, though prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre said no direct threat of invasion was detected from Russia.
Russia wants Ukraine's 'commitments' not to use Black Sea grain corridor for military purposes
Russia said it wants “commitments” from Ukraine not to use the Black Sea grain corridor for military purposes, the Russian defence ministry said on Monday
“Under the current conditions, there can be no question of guaranteeing the security of any object in the area until the Ukrainian side accepts additional obligations not to use this route for military purposes,” the ministry said on Telegram.
The ministry further requested the “assistance of an international organisation” in “obtaining guarantees” that Ukraine will not use the the corridor and ports designated for agricultural exports to conduct “military operations” against Russia.
The ministry further specified Moscow did not outright withdraw from the UN-brokered Black Sea grain initiative, but suspended its participation.
