Live blog: Five killed in central Ukraine as Moscow intensifies strikes

Monday, July 31, 2023

1500 GMT - A missile strike on a residential building in Ukraine killed five and wounded dozens, as Russia said it stepped up strikes against Ukrainian military facilities in response to attacks on its territory, including Moscow.

Two missiles landed close to the centre of Kryvyi Rig just after 9:00 am (0600 GMT), Ukrainian interior minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram.

Among the dead were a 10-year-old girl and her 45-year-old mother, while 64 people were injured, according to local authorities.

One of the strikes hit a large nine-storey residential apartment block, punching a huge hole in the facade that destroyed flats on several floors and sparked a fire.

Firefighters were using a cherry-picker crane to direct jets of water at the fire, while the emergency ministry said part of the building had collapsed while the rubble was being cleared.

The capital and its environs, lying about 500 kilometres (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border, had rarely been targeted during the conflict until several drone attacks this year.

More updates 👇

1334 GMT - Kremlin says Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia ‘acts of desperation’

The Kremlin has said recent drone attacks on Russia, which it has blamed on Ukraine, are “acts of desperation" due to "failure" in its much-anticipated counteroffensive that began last month.

“Of course, the Kiev regime resorts to such tactics ... terrorist strikes are aimed precisely at civilians, precisely at some social targets. This is disgusting and we will continue to fight against it," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a press briefing in Moscow.

Russian forces intercepted three Ukrainian drones over Moscow on Sunday, the latest that Moscow blamed on Kiev. The Defense Ministry called it an “attempted terrorist attack".

"Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia - to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process," Zelenskyy had said in a video address after the attack.

1245 GMT - Russian wheat export prices stable after spiking

Export prices for Russian wheat maintained levels last week after spiking a week earlier due to Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal, analysts said.

Russia pulled out of the Türkiye- and UN-backed deal that had allowed the safe export via the Black Sea of Ukrainian grain, after complaining for months that conditions for its extension had not been fulfilled.

According to the IKAR agriculture consultancy, the price of 12.5% protein Russian wheat scheduled for free-on-board (FOB) delivery in the second half of August was $241 per ton last week, down from $242 per ton a week earlier.

Russia-focused agricultural consultancy Sovecon estimates total Russian wheat exports in July at 4.4 million tons, compared to 2.5 million tons in July 2022 and a historic average of 2.8 million tons for the month of July.

READ MORE: Russian wheat export prices stable after spiking due to grain deal exit

1024 GMT - Moscow drone attack an 'act of desperation' by Kiev: Kremlin

The Kremlin has described a recent drone attack on Moscow as an "act of desperation" by Ukraine following setbacks on the battlefield.

"It is obvious that the counteroffensive is not a success," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that it was "very difficult" for Ukrainian forces on the front.

"In an act of desperation, the regime in Kiev is turning to such terrorist attacks," Peskov said. "All possible measures have been taken to defend civil infrastructure" against Ukrainian strikes.

1020 GMT — Ukrainian shelling kills two in eastern Donetsk: local officials

Ukrainian shelling has killed two people and wounded six in Ukraine's eastern city of Donetsk controlled by Russian forces, Moscow-backed authorities said.

"This morning the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the centre of Donetsk," the Russian-backed head of the Donetsk region Denis Pushilin said on Telegram.

"A bus was destroyed by the shelling... Two people died and six were wounded," Pushilin said.

0633 GMT — Wagner is not recruiting now, may do so in future: Prigozhin

Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has said in a voice message that his Wagner group was not currently recruiting fighters but was likely to do so in future.

"Today we are defining our next tasks, whose outline is becoming clearer and clearer. Undoubtedly, these are tasks that will be carried out in the name of the greatness of Russia," a voice sounding like Prigozhin's said in the message.

It was published on Grey Zone, a Telegram channel affiliated with Wagner.

"As long as we don't experience a shortage in personnel, we don't plan to carry out a new recruitment," Prigozhin said.

0626 GMT - Ukrainian drone strikes police station: Russia

A Ukrainian drone has hit a police station overnight in the frontier Russian region of Briansk but there were no victims, the regional governor said.

"Ukrainian forces attacked the district of Trubchevsky at night," Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram. "A drone hit the police station in this district. No victims," but the windows and roof were damaged, he added.

Russia on Sunday said it had downed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and the Crimea peninsula in attacks that damaged two office towers in the capital and briefly shut an international airport.

0517 GMT — Russia to continue dialogue on peaceful resolution of Ukraine crisis with China, Brazil, Africa

The Russian Foreign Ministry has said that Russia would continue dialogue on prospects for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis with China, Brazil and African partners, Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported.

The statement followed a Russia-African summit last week at which some African leaders pressed President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

For our live updates from Sunday (July 30), click here.