Closing summary
The blog is now closing. Below is a roundup of today’s stories:
The Ukrainian security service has claimed responsibly for the Crimea Bridge blast that happened last October. Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said his agency was behind the attack, speaking in comments shown on television as he presented a commemorative postage stamp marking wartime special forces operations.
The EU announced a ban on battlefield equipment and aviation part exports to Belarus. Spain, the current holder of the EU’s rotating chair, said in a post on social media that the new sanctions were a response to “the situation in Belarus and the involvement of Belarus in the Russian aggression against Ukraine”.
A criminal case was opened against a Ukrainian lawmaker suspected of taking a luxury Maldives holiday. Private trips abroad by officials have been banned since January. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeared to allude directly to the case in his nightly speech on Tuesday, in which he railed against corruption and officials who shirk their responsibilities during the war.
Ukraine will spend $1bn on domestic drone manufacturing this year. Prime minister, Denys Shmyhal announced 40bn hryvnia ($1.08b) would be invested into domestic drone manufacturing.
Russian lawmakers on Tuesday backed legislation increasing the maximum age limit to 30 for compulsory military service, over a year into the Kremlin’s Ukraine offensive. The bill comes as Moscow seeks to replenish its forces on the frontline in Ukraine without resorting to another mobilisation – a step the Kremlin took last September that proved unpopular.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he would tolerate no corruption or treachery in affairs of state while his country is struggling to find the means to defend itself against Russian invaders.
Zelenskiy made anti-corruption appeals in his nightly video address as two landmark cases came to light – the arrests of a military recruitment official accused of mass embezzlement and of a parliamentarian accused of collaborating with Russia.The Kremlin said it was impossible for Russia to return to the Black Sea grain export deal for now, as an agreement related to Russian interests was “not being implemented”. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, however, that Vladimir Putin had made it clear the deal could be revived if its Russia-focused part was honoured.
Interfax in Russia is reporting that overnight Russian armed forces claim to have struck at a Ukrainian fuel warehouse and training centre in Donetsk.
Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that “during the night and morning of 26 July, the Russian army shelled six communities of Sumy oblast”
A decade-long failure by the British government has allowed the Wagner network to grow, spread its tentacles deep into Africa and exploit vulnerable countries, according to a highly critical report from the UK’s foreign affairs select committee. It called on the government to proscribe the Wagner group in the UK and to make a far more concerted effort to stop it using the City of London as a financial centre.
Russia’s state-owned Tass news agency is reporting that Moldova has announced it will reduce the number of diplomatic staff Russia has in the country. The head of the Russian diplomatic mission in Moldova said the decision undermines the possibility of dialogue between the countries. Moldova summoned Russian diplomats on Tuesday after media reports that the Russian embassy in Chișinău had installed a large amount of satellite equipment on its roof which reports said could be used for espionage.
President Vladimir Putin is planning to visit China in October, the Kremlin has said. “It is known that we have received an invitation and that we intend to go to China when the Belt and Road Forum is held in October,” Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian president on international affairs, said in comments carried by Russian news agencies.
Russia attacked the Ukrainian regions of Kyiv, Khmelnytskiy and Kyrovohrad with missiles on Wednesday, Ukraine’s air force spokesperson said in televised comments after air raid sirens were sounded across the country, Reuters reports.
“We have registered high-speed targets, probably also ballistic missiles, the enemy is using different weapons types,” Yuriy Ihnat said.
Updated
