Summary
At a meeting of the UN security council, the US representative said: “It seems every single week, Russia stoops to a new low.” She added that Russia was “waging war on the world’s food supply” and that the country had “upended peace and security around the world”.
The Russian representative accused the western members of the security council of “hiding the truth”. He claimed that 70% of the exports entered high- and upper-middle income economies, while barriers to Russian exports remained.
The Ukrainian representative described his Russian counterpart as an “oddball” and accused Russia of “attempting to eliminate a market competitor [Ukraine], to deliberately raise global food prices and make profit at the expense of millions around the world”.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, condemned a Russian artillery attack in Donetsk that he said killed two children and damaged a school.
Russia arrested Igor Girkin, a former battlefield commander of its proxy forces in eastern Ukraine who was convicted by a Dutch court over the shooting down of MH17, on extremism charges probably fuelled by his criticism of the Russian war effort in Ukraine.
The number of ships looking to pick up grain cargoes from the Black Sea area fell 35% week on week amid growing uncertainty over whether commercial traffic could be hit as Russia continues to pound food facilities in Ukraine.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, claimed at a meeting with members of the Russian security council that Poland planned to occupy part of Ukraine, after Warsaw moved troops nearer the border with Belarus following Minsk’s commencement of exercises with Wagner trainers.
Bulgaria said it had decided to send about 100 armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine in the Balkan country’s first shipment of heavy equipment to Kyiv. So far Bulgaria has only sent one military aid package to Kyiv, containing mostly flak jackets and helmets, but a pro-EU government took office last month.
The top diplomatic adviser to Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said China was delivering to Russia items that could be used as military equipment, although not on a big scale. French officials told CNN that he was referring to dual-use technologies and non-lethal assistance, such as helmets and body armour.
Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet, grounded by Covid-19 and then shunned in the west since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, will return to international touring next week for the first time since 2020 with a trip to Beijing.
And here is this morning’s summary from the UK.
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The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has praised Ukraine’s “amazing” progress in implementing reforms to fight corruption, preserve minority rights and ensure an independent judiciary.
Fighting graft is a top requirement for Ukraine to join the EU, which offered Kyiv candidate status last year. Ukraine is working on a number of changes “ranging from the independence of the judiciary to anti-corruption, from minority rights to media freedom”, said Von der Leyen, according to Reuters.
“I must say it is amazing to see how fast and determined Ukraine is implementing these reforms despite the war. They are defending their country and reforming,” she said, but did not specifically address Ukraine’s attempt to join the 27-country bloc or specify any particular measures she was referring to.
The IMF last month unlocked an $890m (£690m) tranche of its package based on Ukraine‘s “strong progress” in meeting reform commitments, but said other transparency and anti-corruption measures “need to proceed without delay”.
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemns Russian artillery attack in Donetsk that he says killed two children
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has condemned a Russian artillery attack in Donetsk that he said killed two children and damaged a school.
He said in a video posted on Twitter:
Russia killed two more children today. Artillery attack on the village of Druzhba, Toretsk community, Donetsk region. A girl born in 2007 and a boy born in 2013 died. Chernihiv Region, the village of Honcharivske – a missile hit. Two women were killed, the demolition of the rubble is under way ... A cultural center, a school, residential buildings were damaged.
Russia killed two more children today. 🇷🇺 artillery attack on the village of Druzhba, Toretsk community, Donetsk region. A girl born in 2007 and a boy born in 2013 died. Chernihiv Region, the village of Honcharivske – a missile hit. Two women were killed, the demolition of the… pic.twitter.com/CVXoUallPx
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 21, 2023
Elsewhere, in the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine, its governor, Vyacheslav Chaus, said an employee of a cultural centre had been found dead after Russian shelling.
⚡️1 killed in Russian strike on cultural center in Chernihiv Oblast.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) July 21, 2023
Russian forces launched a missile strike against a cultural center in Chernihiv Oblast on July 21, killing one of its employees, Governor Viacheslav Chaus reported.
Oleh Kiper, the governor of the Odesa region in southern Ukraine, said that out of a total of 21 people wounded in a barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks over the past four days, four people were still in hospital.
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Moving away from the UN security council meeting: Bulgaria has decided to send about 100 armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine in the Balkan country’s first shipment of heavy equipment to Kyiv.
Its parliament – with 148 votes in favour and 52 against – approved a proposal of the new pro-European government to send the vehicles along with armaments and spare parts. The government bought various models of Soviet-made BTR carriers in the 1980s but they were never used.
The Bulgarian parliament said in its decision:
This equipment is no longer necessary for the needs of Bulgaria, and it can be of serious support to Ukraine in its battle to preserve the country’s independence and territorial integrity after the unjustified and unprovoked Russian aggression.
Bulgaria, a member of the EU and Nato, has in stock large quantities of Soviet-style weapons coveted by Ukraine and also produces ammunition for them, Agence France-Presse reports. But the country remains historically and culturally very close to Moscow and has been deeply divided over the issue of sending aid to Ukraine.
The leader of the pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party, Kostadin Kostadinov, called Friday’s decision “treacherous and disgraceful” and the Socialist BSP party was also strongly against. So far Bulgaria has only sent one military aid package to Kyiv, containing mostly flak jackets and helmets, but a pro-EU government took office last month.
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The Ukrainian representative said Russia had attacked Ukrainian Black Sea ports with dozens of missiles and Iranian-made drones. The strikes destroyed Ukrainian terminals, reservoirs and the berths of the ports, he added. “Putin’s envoy has tried to invent some arguments,” he said, later referring to him as “an oddball” and allegeing that Russia was seeking to create a famine.
“Russia’s intentions to consider foreign vessels as military targets … violate its obligations under international law … There is no basis to believe that merchant vessels of foreign nations are supporting military efforts simply by exporting grain to other countries that need it to avert the threat of hunger.”
He said Russia’s declaration covered the entire Black Sea, without exceptions. “Russia continues to cynically claim that this initiative was a commercial endeavour, not a humanitarian one.” He accused Russia of “attempting to eliminate a market competitor [Ukraine], deliberately raise global food prices and make profit at the expense of millions around the world.”
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The UK representative said the Russian withdrawal from the grain deal was described by Kenya as “a stab in the back” of countries in the Horn of Africa already affected by drought. “Russian missile attacks … destroyed over 60,000 tonnes of grain. That’s enough to feed 270,000 people for a year.”
She said Russia had destroyed dock equipment, making it harder to load grain on ships, as well as “burning food at the dockside and making threats to murder civilian sailors. There is no justification for these punitive acts.” She echoed the US representative and said Russian food exports were significantly above pre-war levels, and claimed that sanctions had never been imposed on Russian food and fertiliser exports.
“The UK has worked with its banking and insurance sectors to facilitate transactions, and the UN has worked tirelessly to address Russian concerns. We know that Russia’s so-called reasons for ending the deal are nonsense.” Up to 24m tonnes of Ukrainian food may now not reach world markets because of Russia, she added. “Russia’s latest demands are tantamount to holding the world’s starving to hostage … Food is not a weapon.”
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The UN has been arguing that the Black Sea deal had benefited poorer countries by helping lower food prices more than 23% globally, according to Reuters.
“The new wave of attacks on Ukrainian ports risks having far-reaching impacts on global food security, in particular, in developing countries,” the UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council.
The UN World Food Programme also shipped 725,000 metric tons of Ukraine grain to aid operations in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Russia is negotiating exports of food to countries most in need after its exit from the deal, but has not yet signed any contracts, the deputy foreign minister, Sergei Vershinin, said in Moscow.
"Russia’s termination of its participation in the Black Sea Initiative, coupled with its bombardment of crucial ports, will further compound the crisis," Under-Secretary-General @DicarloRosemary tells the @UN Security Council today. Her full statement: https://t.co/sVCoAcRoZG pic.twitter.com/m2D7gJZn5w
— UN Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (@UNDPPA) July 21, 2023
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The Russian representative, a macroeconomist who Russia asked to deliver its briefing, Mikhail Khan, accused the western members of the security council of “hiding the truth” and “engaging in wishful thinking”. He said Russia had long drawn attention to the flaws of the grain deal and that it had become largely commercial. He claimed that 70% of the exports entered high- and upper-middle incomes.
“For the poorest, specifically Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia, they received less than 3%,” he claimed. The Guardian could not immediately corroborate these figures. “The qualitative assessment of the impact of the grain deal in terms of provisions of Ukrainian grain to global markets is essentially not very significant,” Khan said. He cited a group of big western corporations who procured Ukrainian grain and alleges they were the major beneficiaries of the deal.
“We expected exemptions from the discriminatory approach to us from countries in the west who imposed unprecedented sanctions against us, effectively attempting to organise a blockade against our producers,” he added. Poor states suffered from this, he said.
“We stand ready to consider the possibility of rejoining [the grain deal],” he said. But only if “all previously agreed principles” are implemented, including the lifting of sanctions on Russian grain and fertiliser exports, and the lifting of obstacles faced by Russian financial institutions that service the sector.
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'Russia is waging war on world's food supply', US tells UN, amid calls for Moscow to resume grain deal
The US representative to the UN security council meeting has said “it seems every single week, Russia stoops to a new low.” She added that “Russia is waging war on the world’s food supply” and that the country has “upended peace and security around the world.”
She called on Russia to cease attacking food facilities and resume the grain deal. “Let’s be clear, Russia has zero legitimate reason to suspend its participation in this arrangement. They would have us believe that sanctions has blocked its exports … They were exporting more grains than ever before and at higher prices. It is using the Black Sea as blackmail.”
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China’s representative said Russia has “repeatedly stated” its openness to resuming the Black Sea grain initiative if “substantive progress” is made in eliminating obstacles to Russia’s export of fertilisers.
“China hopes that relevant parties will act in the interest of maintaining international food security and alleviating the food crisis in developing countries,” he said, calling on parties to “meet each other halfway”.
He also alludes to Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure, without naming any names, and calls for them to stop. He says China “will continue to stand on the side of peace and dialogue”, and a political solution to the war.
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We’ll now report some further quotes from the UN security council meeting, which we began covering earlier.
Switzerland’s representative has said the country is “gravely concerned” about an “apparent escalation” of Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets. “International humanitarian law prohibits these attacks,” she said. “We also echo the various condemnations of the Russian strikes against the port facilities of Odesa and other Ukrainian Black Sea ports.”
The Swiss representative added that all sides should have “unhindered” access to global food and fertiliser markets. “Diplomatic solutions can be found in service of a broader goal … This trend towards escalation must imperatively stop.” She closed by saying Russia must withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory.
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Ukrainian troops have been on exercises in Scotland learning how to disarm and defuse Russian bombs, booby traps and mines.
Royal Navy divers, bomb disposal specialists and mine warfare experts have been training their Ukrainian counterparts on finding and neutralising explosive devices in the north-west Highlands in exercises that reportedly took place over the last couple of weeks.
Lt Ali Aindow, the officer in charge of Delta Diving Unit 1, said:
It’s been great to be working with our close allies and partners again. We have been able to reinforce relationships and cohere into a single, multinational force able to find and destroy underwater or maritime threats for the task group commander.
The Ukrainian navy divers have been great, it’s been a brilliant opportunity to share experience and learn techniques from each other. The Ukrainians are really focused and their enthusiasm for the training has been amazing.
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The number of ships looking to pick up grain cargoes from the Black Sea area has fallen 35% week on week amid growing uncertainty over whether commercial traffic could be hit as Russia continues to pound food facilities in Ukraine.
Moscow’s direct attacks on Ukraine’s grain for four days running followed a vow by Kyiv to defy Russia’s naval blockade on its export ports after Moscow’s withdrawal earlier this week from a UN-brokered safe sea corridor agreement.
Russia said it would deem all ships heading for Ukrainian waters to be potentially carrying weapons from yesterday, in what Washington called a signal Moscow might attack civilian shipping. Kyiv later responded by issuing a similar warning about ships headed to Russia, Reuters reports.
“We believe the aggressive rhetoric is likely to lead to a reduction in owners willing to traffic in the region and creates further complexity with respect to insurance availability,” said Omar Nokta, an analyst for Jefferies.
The number of dry bulk vessels ranging from the smaller “handysize” to “supramax”-sized ships positioning themselves to transport grains from the Black Sea region dropped 35% this week compared with the previous week, according to an analysis from the maritime and commodities data platform Shipfix reported by Reuters.
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BBC Russian Service special correspondent Ilya Barabanov has the following analysis on the detention of Igor Strelkov (translated from Russian).
For many years, Strelkov was considered untouchable, both because he is a former FSB officer and for his activities in eastern Ukraine in 2014 … It can be assumed the order not to touch the former colleague of the president of Russia in the FSB came from the very top of the Russian government, so for a long nine years the security forces turned a blind eye to the criticism Strelkov allowed himself, including against the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
He was not touched by the long 17 months of the war – although he apparently made much tougher statements about the course of the “special military operation” than those for which the politician Ilya Yashin received eight and a half years in prison, and Moscow’s deputy Alexei Gorinov seven years.
If earlier the Russian authorities imprisoned those who opposed the war, now it seems they have begun to come to those who support the war, but believe the Russian command is conducting it very badly. Obviously, the system that worked before broke down after the failed military coup by PMC Wagner, and now the Russian authorities have decided to act in a new way.”
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Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea ports risk “having far-reaching impacts on global food security, in particular, in developing countries”, the United Nations political affairs chief has told the security council.
Rosemary DiCarlo also told the 15-member council that threats about the potential targeting of civilian vessels in Black Sea waters – made by both Russia and Ukraine – are unacceptable.
“Any risk of conflict spillover as a result of a military incident in the Black Sea – whether intentional or by accident – must be avoided at all costs, as this could result in potentially catastrophic consequences to us all,” she said.
We’ll bring you more updates from the meeting as we receive them.
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France calls on China to 'abstain' from supplying Russia with military equipment, such as helmets
French president Emmanuel Macron’s top diplomatic adviser has said China was delivering items that could be used as military equipment to Russia, although not on a big scale.
Reuters reports on events last night at the Aspen Security Forum when Emmanuel Bonne, the head of Macron’s diplomatic team at the Élysée Palace, was asked if the west had seen any evidence that China has armed Russia. He said:
Yes, there are indications that they are doing things we would prefer them not to do … As far as we know they are not delivering massively [sic] military capacities to Russia but [we need that to be] no delivery.
What we need most is Chinese abstention. We need them to understand that Ukraine is a conflict of global magnitude and that we cannot afford Ukraine to lose for reasons of principle, but also for reasons which are very operational.
Bonne was asked what things China should not do. “The delivery of weapons certainly, economic support,” he said. French officials told CNN that Bonne was referencing dual-use technologies and non-lethal assistance, such as helmets and body armour.
China has repeatedly denied sending military equipment to Russia since Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. However, it has a “no limits” partnership with Russia announced just before the commencement of hostilities.
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The governor of the Odesa region, Oleh Kiper, has posted to Telegram to say that four people remain hospitalised as a result of Russian attacks against the Ukrainian port city between 17 and 21 July.
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Russian state-owned media Tass reports that the governor of Belgorod has claimed on his Telegram channel that Ukraine fired more than 130 munitions – “including two grenades dropped from unmanned aerial vehicles” – into the Russian region in the last day. Belgorod borders Kharkiv and Sumy regions in Ukraine.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Iran “reserves the right for reciprocal and proportional action” after the EU imposed new sanctions over Tehran’s support for Russia’s war on Ukraine, its foreign ministry has said.
The ministry again denied Iran was sending drones to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine. The EU said yesterday it would prohibit the export of components used in the construction and production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
It also listed six Iranian nationals under two already existing sanctions regimes for Iran’s “military support of Russia’s war against Ukraine (drones) and to the Syrian regime (air defence systems)”.
“Linking the Ukraine war with Iran-Russia bilateral cooperation is politically motivated,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, said in a tweet. “We stress ending the conflict diplomatically ... Iran reserves the right for reciprocal and proportional actions against the EU sanctions and its members.”
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Boris Johnson has paid tribute to Vadym Prystaiko after he was sacked as Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK.
The former UK prime minister tweeted a photo of the pair together:
Sad to say goodbye to @VPrystaiko who has been a great Ukrainian ambassador and friend to this country. I hope he will emerge soon in another incarnation! pic.twitter.com/EciW9D6c2J
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 21, 2023
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Pro-war Putin critic and nationalist Girkin detained in Moscow
The Russian nationalist and former Federal Security Service officer Igor Girkin (also known by the surname Strelkov), who has been detained by Russian investigators, “overstepped all conceivable boundaries” and had long been wanted by security forces, according to Tatiana Stanovaya, the founder of the political analysis firm R Politik.
In one of his most recent posts Girkin urged Putin to hand over power to a successor. “The country will not survive another six years of this cowardly mediocrity in power,” he wrote on messaging app Telegram, where he is followed by more than 800,000 people.
Criticism of Russia’s assault on Ukraine has been outlawed, AFP reports, and all key liberal opposition figures are either behind bars or in exile.
Stanovaya tweeted:
This is a moment many within the siloviki have eagerly awaited. Strelkov had overstepped all conceivable boundaries a long time ago, sparking the desire among security forces – from the FSB to military chiefs – to apprehend him.
Strelkov’s arrest undeniably serves the interests of the Ministry of Defence. This is a direct outcome of Prigozhin’s mutiny: the army’s command now wields greater political leverage to quash its opponents in the public sphere. It’s unlikely that there will be massive repressions against ‘angry patriots,’ but the most vehement dissenters may face prosecution, serving as a cautionary tale for others.
Igor Strelkov, a prominent critic of the Ministry of Defence as well as of Putin and Shoigu, has been detained. This is a moment many within the siloviki have eagerly awaited. Strelkov had overstepped all conceivable boundaries a long time ago, sparking the desire among security…
— Tatiana Stanovaya (@Stanovaya) July 21, 2023
Girkin’s lawyer has confirmed he has been detained. “He has been detained by law enforcement,” lawyer Alexander Molokhov told AFP. He said he had not seen any documents relating to Girkin’s detention yet and was now working to secure access to his client.
A former military commander of the Donetsk People’s Republic, 52-year-old Girkin was one of the key figures in the pro-Kremlin insurgency when fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
Here’s the latest from my colleague Andrew Roth, who writes that it is possible that Girkin’s arrest could point to a broader purge of Russian nationalist voices who have so far been allowed to criticise the war effort largely with impunity, while liberal and anti-war activists have been jailed in the thousands.
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Putin also claimed that Kyiv’s counteroffensive, launched to push Russian troops back in the south and east of Ukraine, was failing despite military and financial support from western countries.
“In any case, there are no results yet,” , Putin said in televised remarks after a meeting of the Kremlin’s security council, reported by AFP. “Neither the colossal resources that have been pumped into the Kyiv regime nor the supplies of western weapons, tanks, artillery, armoured vehicles and missiles are helping.”
Last week, the New York Times cited American and European officials and said that in the first fortnight of Ukraine’s counteroffensive “as much as 20% of the weaponry it sent to the battlefield was damaged or destroyed”, although “the startling rate of losses dropped to about 10% in the ensuing weeks”.
Poland, one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies, has provided Kyiv with arms and welcomed refugees. But, as AFP reports, it has shown no interest in sending troops to Ukraine, despite claims to the contrary by Putin today which we just reported.
Poland has reinforced its defences at the border with Russia-allied Belarus, where fighters from mercenary force Wagner moved after an aborted mutiny in Russia. Belarusian territory, which borders Ukraine as well as the EU and Nato members Poland and Lithuania, served as a launching pad for Russia’s Ukraine offensive.
Putin warned that Moscow would use “all the means at our disposal” to protect Belarus in case of an attack. “Unleashing aggression against Belarus will mean aggression against the Russian Federation,” Putin said. Russia has begun transferring tactical nuclear warheads into Belarus.
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Putin claims, without evidence, that Poland plans to 'directly intervene' in Ukraine
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has claimed at a meeting with members of the Russian security council that Poland plans to occupy part of Ukraine.
He said, in comments reported by BBC Russia:
As for the Polish leaders, they probably expect to form some kind of coalition under the Nato umbrella and directly intervene in the conflict in Ukraine, in order to then tear off a fatter piece for themselves, to regain, as they believe, their historical territories – today’s western Ukraine.
The western territories of present-day Poland are a gift from Stalin to the Poles, have our friends in Warsaw forgotten about this? We will remind you.
Putin reportedly did not specifically corroborate his statement in regards to the allegation of Polish intentions, according to the BBC. He previously invoked the idea of territorial “gifts” from Soviet authorities to justify Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Last week, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed in an interview with Al Jazeera:
There is now an obvious desire of Poland to invade the western part of Ukraine. This is why Ukraine is not invited to Nato.
Reuters also reported that Putin said the west was stoking the “flames of war” by supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, and that western weapons supplied to Ukraine “burn well” on the battlefield.
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Russian investigators have detained prominent Russian nationalist and former Federal Security Service officer Igor Girkin, according to his wife.
Girkin, who is also known as Igor Strelkov, helped Russia annex Crimea in 2014 and then organise pro-Russian militias in eastern Ukraine. He said earlier this year that he was entering politics and has been increasingly critical of President Vladimir Putin.
The move suggests authorities may have wearied of his criticism of how Moscow is running its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
In a message posted on Girkin’s official Telegram account, his wife, Miroslava Reginskaya, said:
Today, at about 11.30, representatives of the investigative committee came to our house. I was not at home. Soon, according to the concierge, they took my husband out by his arms and in an unknown direction. I do not know anything about my husband’s whereabouts, he has not contacted me.
Here’s the Guardian’s 2016 interview with him.
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Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet, grounded by Covid-19 and then shunned in the west since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, returns to international touring next week for the first time since the pandemic with a trip to Beijing.
Reuters reports that its dancers hope this will herald a return to the global stage for the crown jewel of Russian culture, which toured the world even in the most tense days of the cold war.
The ballet’s artistic director, Makhar Vaziev, said:
I don’t think it’s a secret that China is one of a few countries that support and continue to cooperate with us,” in an interview with Reuters in the theatre last week. I believe that we will perform again [in the west], and others will come to [Russia] to perform. It’s necessary and priceless.
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Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan has called on Western countries to consider Russia’s demands in the spirit of restoring the Black Sea grain initiative.
Erdogan said, according to Turkish broadcasters:
The termination of the Black Sea grain deal will have a series of consequences, ranging from the increase in global food prices to scarcity in certain regions and, potentially, leading to new waves of migration.
I believe that by thoroughly discussing the matter with President Putin, we can ensure the continuation of this humanitarian effort. We are aware that president Putin also has certain expectations from Western countries, and it is crucial for these countries to take action in this regard.
Moscow has said it would return to the deal only if its demands are met for easier access for its own food and fertiliser exports to world markets. Western countries say Russia has had no trouble selling food, which is exempt from financial sanctions.
The Kremlin has cast Ukraine‘s actions in the Black Sea as “unpredictable” and claimed they posed a danger to civilian shipping.
Russia said this week that all ships heading to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports could be considered military targets, and their flag countries parties to the conflict on the Ukrainian side, after it revoked their security guarantees by quitting the Black Sea grain deal, reports Reuters.
Russia’s navy has since practised firing rockets at “floating targets” and apprehending ships, although Moscow’s ambassador to Washington yesterday denied any plan to attack civilian vessels.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said:
Unpredictable actions and, moreover, the involvement of the Kyiv regime in terrorist acts certainly potentially create a threat in this area … The situation is being analysed, and our responsible agencies will develop appropriate recommendations to minimise the danger.
Last night, as my colleague Julian Borger reports, Ukraine warned that it could target all shipping out of Russian and Russian-occupied ports and signalled its readiness to fight on the Black Sea, after Moscow’s declaration of a naval blockade and bombardment of Ukrainian ports.
Russia will keep compulsory military service for 18-year-olds, state media has reported, permanently increasing the number of young men liable to conscription, after lawmakers dropped a proposal not to start before the age of 21.
Andrei Kartapolov, a former general who chairs the defence committee of the lower house of parliament, or State Duma, had proposed that the conscription period would be pushed back in stages to ages 21-30, reports Reuters.
But he was quoted by Tass as saying: “[It] was decided to keep the lower limit at 18 years, because that’s exactly the age when a lot of guys want to go and serve.”
Military service has long been a sensitive issue in Russia. Many go to great lengths to avoid being handed conscription papers during the twice-yearly call-up periods. Hundreds of thousands fled Russia to avoid being sent to fight in the Ukraine war.
Mattha Busby here, picking up the blog from my colleague Martin Belam.
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Summary of the day so far …
US-supplied cluster bombs, which are banned by more than 120 countries, have been deployed in Ukraine against Russian forces, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby has said. “We have gotten some initial feedback from the Ukrainians, and they’re using them quite effectively,” Kirby told reporters.
Russia struck the Ukrainian port city of Odesa for the fourth consecutive night after pulling out of the Black Sea grain deal. Odesa’s regional governor Oleh Kiper said that 100 tonnes of peas and 20 tonnes of barley were destroyed in a strike on an agriculture facility which injured two people, and saw damage to emergency equipment after it was struck twice in a “double-tap” attack. Ukrainian military spokesperson Nataliya Gumenyuk said: “The enemy is continuing terror, and it’s undoubtedly related to the grain deal.”
Russia’s navy carried out a live fire “exercise” in the north-west Black Sea, Moscow’s defence ministry has said, days after the Kremlin said it would consider ships travelling to Ukraine through the waterway to be potential military targets. The Black Sea fleet “carried out live firing of anti-ship cruise missiles at the target ship in the combat training range in the north-western part of the Black Sea”, Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement on Telegram according to AFP. “The target ship was destroyed as a result of a missile strike,” it said.
Ukraine had warned that it could target all shipping out of Russian and Russian-occupied ports and signalled its readiness to fight on the Black Sea, after Moscow’s declaration of a naval blockade and bombardment of Ukrainian ports. The tit-for-tat moves come after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea deal.
Poland has decided to move military formations from the west to the east of the country due to the potential threat posed by the Wagner group’s presence in neighbouring Belarus. “Training or joint exercises between the Belarusian army and the Wagner group is undoubtedly a provocation”, PAP quoted Zbigniew Hoffmann as saying.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has dismissed Vadym Prystaiko as Ukraine’s ambassador to Britain. Prystaiko was recently critical of Zelenskiy on television in the UK over comments the president had made after UK defence secretary had called for a show of more gratitude from Ukraine.
CIA head William Burns has suggested that Russian president Vladimir Putin is biding his time over deciding what to ultimately do with Yevgeny Prigozhin. In comments at the Aspen security forum Burns said: “What we are seeing is a very complicated dance. Putin is someone who generally thinks that revenge is a dish best served cold. In my experience, Putin is the ultimate apostle of payback so I would be surprised if Prigozhin escapes further retribution”. He added: “If I were Prigozhin, I wouldn’t fire my food taster.”
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The Guardian’s diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour has this analysis of president Zelenskiy’s move today to remove a key member of diplomatic staff:
Ukraine’s ambassador to London has been dismissed by Volodmyr Zelenskiy for challenging the way the Ukrainian president criticised the west for asking him to be more grateful for the military help the west was providing to Ukraine.
Vadym Prystaiko’s dismissal as Ukraine’s ambassador to Britain was announced in a presidential order, with no official reason being given.
He has also been removed as Ukraine’s representative to the International Maritime Organization.
A row between the two men blew up after Prystaiko went on Sky News in the UK to question some of Zelenskiy’s behaviour ahead of the summit, including remarks by the UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, suggesting the Ukrainians were treating the west as though it was an Amazon store.
Prystaiko was asked by Sky News if there was a hint of sarcasm in Zelenskiy’s promise saying “each and every morning we’ll wake up and call Ben Wallace to thank him”.
He said: “I don’t think that kind of sarcasm is healthy. We don’t have to show the Russians there is something between us. They have to know we are working together. If something happens, Ben can call me and tell me everything he wants”.
It is highly unusual for a diplomat to criticise their president in public, but Prystaiko clearly felt damage had been done to the relationship between Ukraine and its closest western partner that required repairing.
Prystaiko apparently had a difficult phone call with Zelenskiy on Thursday that ended with his dismissal. He had been ambassador since June 2020 and previously a foreign minister.
His dismissal alongside the expected departure of Wallace as defence secretary means there will be major changes in a key part of the UK-Ukraine axis at a critical time for Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
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Here is a visual snapshot of how the morning has been in Mykolaiv. This is a screenshot of mayor Oleksandr Syenkevych’s Telegram channel today, repeatedly announcing air alerts and the all clear over the last few hours.
Here is an image that Ukraine’s military have released of the aftermath of last night’s attack on Odesa which struck an agricultural facility.
The governor of Odesa, Oleh Kiper, said a second strike happened once first responders were at the scene, leading to the damage of emergency equipment in a “double-tap” attack.
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AP describes last night’s attack on Odesa as small-scale in comparison with barrages in recent days, but quotes Ukrainian military spokesperson Nataliya Gumenyuk as saying: “The enemy is continuing terror, and it’s undoubtedly related to the grain deal.”
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The all clear has been sounded on the earlier air alert.
Our diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour points out on Twitter that the dismissed UK ambassador Vadym Prystaiko was recently critical of Voldoymyr Zelenskiy on television in the UK.
Ukrainian ambassador to London dismissed by Zelensky. Vadym Prystaiko recently told Sky News: “President Zelensky saying ‘each and every morning we’ll wake up and call Ben Wallace to thank him’ – I don’t think that kind of sarcasm is healthy".
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) July 21, 2023
Zelenskiy dismisses Ukraine's ambassador to the UK
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has dismissed Vadym Prystaiko as Ukraine’s ambassador to Britain.
Reuters reports the published presidential order gave no reason for the dismissal, but said Prystaiko had also been removed as Ukraine’s representative to the International Maritime Organization.
Suspilne, Ukraine's state broadcaster, is reporting the launch of Onyx supersonic missiles in the direction of Odesa, citing Ukraine’s air force.
More details soon …
The outgoing British ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, has commented on the psychological impact of the frequent air alerts in Ukraine, posting to Twitter to say “Air raid alerts several times a day that last for only around 15 minutes a time are as unnerving as those further apart but lasting longer, it turns out. They keep your stress levels at a permanent high.”
Air raid alerts several times a day that last for only around 15 minutes a time are as unnerving as those further apart but lasting longer, it turns out. They keep your stress levels at a permanent high #russianinvasion
— Dame Melinda Simmons (@MelSimmonsFCDO) July 21, 2023
Simmons is expected to remain in her post until September.
The air alert has been extended to all of eastern Ukraine.
Air raid map as of 10:57 am. pic.twitter.com/pLHDCBnpiT
— Iryna Voichuk (@IrynaVoichuk) July 21, 2023
An air alert has been declared in Odesa region. It isn’t uncommon for air alerts to come and go during the day in Ukraine, but people in the region will be well aware that Russia has struck the port city for four consecutive days this week.
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CIA head William Burns has suggested the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is biding his time over deciding what to ultimately do with Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Progozhin’s Wagner group, which Putin later claimed was state-funded, staged an aborted mutiny and march on Moscow.
In comments at the Aspen security forum, Burns said: “What we are seeing is a very complicated dance. Putin is someone who generally thinks that revenge is a dish best served cold. In my experience, Putin is the ultimate apostle of payback so I would be surprised if Prigozhin escapes further retribution.”
“If I were Prigozhin,” he added, “I wouldn’t fire my food taster.”
According to a BBC report, Burns confirmed at the event that the CIA had prior knowledge of the Wagner uprising.
Earlier this month Russia’s foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin said that he and Burns discussed the short-lived mutiny a week earlier and “what to do with Ukraine” in a phone call in late June.
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Reuters reports that Yuriy Malashko, Ukraine’s governor of the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, reported 80 Russian attacks on settlements in the region in the previous 24 hours, and said four people had been killed.
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According to Russian state-owned news service Tass, the number of people in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory hospitalised after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in June has risen to 166. It cited sources in the local Russian-imposed authority.
In addition to those two injuries sustained in the attack on Odesa reported by governor Oleh Kiper, state broadcaster Suspilne has reported these other incidents in its wrap-up of overnight news:
On July 20, four workers were killed and two more people were injured in an attack by Russian troops on an infrastructure facility in the Polohivskyi district of the Zaporizhzhia region, the regional authority reported.
In Kharkiv oblast, a 56-year-old woman was injured as a result of night shelling. In the Kherson region, on the night of 21 July, the Russian Federation shelled four locations. No injuries were reported.
On 20 July, Russian shelling in Donetsk region killed two people in Kostyantynivka, and two more residents of the region were injured.
Odesa governor: two injured in missile attack on agricultural target
The governor of Odesa has given more details of Russia’s overnight attack, saying the targets were switched from port structures to agricultural enterprises.
In a post on Telegram, Oleh Kiper said:
The Russians attacked Odesa with Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea. Trying to bypass air defence systems, the enemy directed missiles at the minimum height, using the features of the landscape.
After three consecutive nights of powerful missile and drone terror of the port infrastructure, they switched to agricultural enterprises in the region.
Two rockets hit the granaries of one of the agricultural enterprises. A fire broke out and while the fire was being fought, a second air alarm was sounded. Another rocket hit the same enterprise, damaging agricultural and rescue equipment. Fire on an area of more than 200 sq metres was liquidated.
The enemy destroyed 100 tons of peas and 20 tons of barley. Two employees of the enterprise were injured.
The claims have not been independently verified.
This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.
Russia’s navy carried out a live fire “exercise” in the north-west Black Sea, Moscow’s defence ministry has said, days after the Kremlin said it would consider ships travelling to Ukraine through the waterway to be potential military targets.
The Black Sea Fleet “carried out live firing of anti-ship cruise missiles at the target ship in the combat training range in the north-western part of the Black Sea”, Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement on Telegram according to AFP.
“The target ship was destroyed as a result of a missile strike,” it said.
“Also during the joint exercise, the ships and fleet aviation worked out actions to isolate the area temporarily closed to navigation, and also carried out a set of measures to detain the offending ship.”
Russia said Wednesday that cargo ships en route to Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea would be regarded as possibly carrying military cargo, days after scrapping a grain exports deal with Ukraine.
The Kremlin has also declared unspecified areas in the “northwestern and southeastern parts of the international waters of the Black Sea” as “temporarily dangerous for passage”.
More on the Polish troop movement from Reuters:
Poland’s security committee decided in a meeting on Wednesday to move military units to the country’s east due to the Wagner group’s presence in Belarus, state-run news agency PAP quoted its secretary as saying on Friday.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was shown in a video on Wednesday welcoming his fighters to Belarus, telling them they would take no further part in the Ukraine war for now but ordering them to gather their strength for Africa while they trained the Belarusian army.
On Thursday, the Belarusian defence ministry said Wagner mercenaries had started to train Belarusian special forces at a military range just a few miles from the border with Nato-member Poland.
“Training or joint exercises of the Belarusian army and the Wagner group is undoubtedly a provocation,” Zbigniew Hoffmann told PAP.
“The Committee analysed possible threats, such as the dislocation of Wagner group units. Therefore, the Minister of National Defense, chairman of the Committee, Mariusz Blaszczak, decided to move our military formations from the west to the east of Poland.”
People living near Poland’s border with Belarus said on Thursday they could hear shooting and helicopters after Russia’s Wagner group arrived to train Belarusian special forces, compounding their fears the Ukraine war would reach them.Defense Minister Blasczak said earlier this month that Poland began moving over 1,000 troops to the east of the country.
Also at the beginning of July Poland said it would send 500 police to shore up security at the border with Belarus.
Another Odesa grain terminal has been hit by a Russian strike, destroying 100 tonnes of peas and 20 tonnes of barley, the regional governor, Oleh Kiper, has said.
Two people were also injured in the explosion, caused by a Kalibr missile, he said in a post on Telegram.
It was the fourth consecutive night that Moscow has launched strikes on the Black Sea port.
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Poland has decided to move military formations from the west to the east of the country due to the potential threat posed by the Wagner group’s presence in neighbouring Belarus, the state-run PAP news agency has reported, citing the secretary of the country’s security committee.
“Training or joint exercises between the Belarusian army and the Wagner group is undoubtedly a provocation,” PAP quoted Zbigniew Hoffmann as saying.
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Moscow likely views the Black Sea grain deal, from which it withdrew this week to international condemnation, as “one of its few remaining avenues of leverage against the west” and pulled out in order to secure concessions, the Institute for the Study of War has said in latest assessment of the war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin now appears to be attempting to create a sense of urgency around its return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative by conducting intensifying strikes against Ukrainian port and grain infrastructure and threatening to strike civilian ships in the Black Sea.
Ukraine harvests most of it grain between July and August, and Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian port and agricultural infrastructure can further complicate Ukraine’s ability to free up space for newly harvested grains.
The US thinktank said it was unclear whether Russia really intended to strike civilian ships in the Black Sea as it suggested it could do this week.
But, it added, “the Kremlin likely believes the announcement will have a chilling effect on maritime activity in the Black Sea and create conditions reminiscent of the complete blockade of Ukrainian ports at the start of the full-scale invasion.”
This attempt to achieve economic concessions from the West may undermine the Kremlin’s international outreach efforts by threatening the food supplies of several countries that are the intended targets of the Kremlin’s outreach.
Russian strikes against Ukrainian port and grain infrastructure and naval posturing also continue to illustrate that the Kremlin is willing to use naval and precision strike assets to prioritize immediate economic concerns instead of operations in Ukraine that pursue the Kremlin‘s overall campaign objectives.
Ukraine has begun using cluster bombs on Russian defences, US says
Ukrainian forces have begun using US-supplied cluster bombs – which are banned by more than 120 countries – in the '“last week or so” and they are “having an impact” on Russian defences, a White House spokesperson has said.
“They’re using them appropriately, they’re using them effectively and they are actually having an impact on Russia’s defensive formations and Russia’s defensive manoeuvring,” White House national security council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
The munitions arrived in Ukraine last week and are seen by the US as a way to get Kyiv critically needed ammunition to help bolster its offensive and push through Russian frontlines.
Ukraine has pledged to only use the controversial bombs to dislodge concentrations of Russian enemy soldiers.
The deployment of the munitions comes as Kyiv reports a new attempt by Russia to return to the offensive in the north-east of Ukraine, where it says Moscow has massed 100,000 troops and hundreds of tanks.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine with me, Helen Livingstone.
Ukraine has begun using US-supplied cluster bombs – which are banned by more than 120 countries – in the “last week or so” and they are “having an impact” on Russian defences, White House national security council spokesperson John Kirby has said.
“They’re using them appropriately, they’re using them effectively and they are actually having an impact on Russia’s defensive formations and Russia’s defensive manoeuvring,” he said.
Washington provided the weapons to Ukraine for the first time earlier this month as Kyiv attempts to dislodge entrenched Russian forces and retake land lost in the early months of Moscow’s invasion last year.
The weapons, which disperse up to several hundred small explosive charges that can remain unexploded in the ground, are banned by many countries because of the long-term risks they pose to civilians.
In other developments:
Ukraine warned that it could target all shipping out of Russian and Russian-occupied ports and signalled its readiness to fight on the Black Sea, after Moscow’s declaration of a naval blockade and bombardment of Ukrainian ports. The tit-for-tat moves come after Russia pulled out of a deal that allowed Ukraine to export its grain via its Black Sea ports on Monday.
The UN’s atomic watchdog says it has been unable to inspect the roofs of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which is occupied by Russian forces. Ukraine accuses Russia of turning the plant into a shield for its artillery guns and dynamiting the reactor roof, turning the site into an atomic bargaining chip.
EU foreign ministers discussed a proposal for a 20 billion euro ($22.4bn) fund to pay for weapons, ammunition and military aid for Ukraine over four years. The EU also said it would prolong its sanctions against Russia by six months, until the end of January.
Wheat prices continued to climb on global markets following Russia’s withdrawal from the UN-backed grain deal. Wheat was trading almost 1.5% higher on the Chicago Board of Trade exchange on Thursday morning, while corn and soya bean prices were also rising. It followed a rise of more than 8% in wheat prices on Wednesday.
The UN security council will meet on Friday over the “humanitarian consequences” of Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal, Britain’s UN mission said.
The US imposed Russia-related sanctions against nearly 120 individuals and entities aimed at blocking Moscow’s access to electronics and other goods that aid its war against Ukraine. The new measures are designed to “reduce Russia’s revenue from the metals and mining sector, undermine its future energy capabilities and degrade Russia’s access to the international financial system,” the treasury department said in a statement.
At least three people were confirmed to have been killed during Russia’s third night of successive airstrikes on southern Ukrainian port cities, according to Ukrainian officials. A security guard was killed in Odesa and a married couple were killed in Mykolaiv. China also confirmed that its consulate building in Odesa was damaged in the latest strikes.
Russia said it was imposing restrictions on British diplomats, requiring them to give five days’ notice of any plans to travel beyond a 120km radius, due to what it called London’s “hostile actions”.
Britain removed sanctions on Oleg Tinkov, the founder of digital bank Tinkoff, days after an appeal by British billionaire Richard Branson and nine months after Tinkov, critical of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, renounced his Russian citizenship. Britain sanctioned Tinkov a month after Russia invaded Ukraine but
Tinkov contested that designation, routinely criticising Russia’s actions in Ukraine and offloading his stake in the bank.Eugene Shvidler, a longtime ally of the billionaire Roman Abramovich, meanwhile launched a legal challenge against sanctions imposed upon him after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a high court case being closely watched by other sanctioned oligarchs, lawyers for Shvidler, who is reportedly worth £1.3bn, are seeking to have his designation for sanctions declared unlawful and quashed, as well as pursuing restitution of his costs.
Ukraine’s deputy economy minister held talks with China’s vice-commerce minister in Beijing in the first high-level visit by a Ukraine government official to the country since 2019.
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