Live blog: NATO to bolster Black Sea security after Russia's warning

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

2103 GMT — NATO has said it was stepping up surveillance of the Black Sea region as it condemned Russia’s exit from a landmark deal that allowed Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea.

The announcement came after a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, which was launched at a NATO summit in Lithuania earlier this month to coordinate cooperation between the military alliance and Kiev.

“Allies and Ukraine strongly condemned Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea grain deal and its deliberate attempts to stop Ukraine’s agricultural exports on which hundreds of millions of people worldwide depend. ... NATO and allies are stepping up surveillance and reconnaissance in the Black Sea region, including with maritime patrol aircraft and drones," read the NATO statement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier said the Black Sea Grain Initiative would be suspended until demands to get Russian food and fertiliser to the world are met.

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2009 GMT — Ukraine admits role in 2022 Kerch bridge explosion

Ukraine has confirmed its involvement in the explosion that took place on the Kerch Bridge in October 2022.

“There are many different special operations. We will be able to talk about some of them after the victory, we won't talk about some of them at all ... This is one of our implemented operations, namely the destruction of the Crimean bridge on October 8 last year,” Vasyl Maliuk, the head of Ukraine’s Security Service, said during a presentation in the capital Kiev.

At least three people were killed on October 8, 2022, when an explosion occurred on the road and rail crossing that connects Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which it illegally annexed in 2014.

1945 GMT — US working to facilitate overland Ukraine grain shipments after deal falters

The US is working with international allies and partners to facilitate overland grain shipments from Ukraine to world markets after a key deal fell apart, the White House has said.

"You can use rail, you could use truck routes. You could also look at perhaps other EU ports, but you got to get it out of Ukraine to be able to use other EU ports," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

The comments come after Russia unilaterally withdrew from what was known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative — a UN and Türkiye-brokered pact that saw grain shipments depart from Ukrainian ports late last year for the first time since Moscow began its war against its eastern European neighbour in February.

1852 GMT — Ukraine counteroffensive is moving, US says while pledging support

Ukraine's counteroffensive is "not a stalemate" even if it is not progressing fast enough, White House national security spokesman John Kirby has told reporters.

Kirby made the remarks when asked about the pace of Ukraine's counteroffensive in a press briefing.

"President Zelenskyy himself has said that he that it's not progressing as fast as he would like and they're not moving as far every day as they would like. The United States is not going to take a position on that," Kirby said.

He added, "That said they are moving, it's not a stalemate. They're not just frozen. The Ukrainians are moving."

1847 GMT — Ukraine 'destroys' 36 Russian cruise missiles

The Ukrainian Air Force has said it had intercepted 36 cruise missiles fired by Russia during a new wave of attacks.

"On July 26, 36 enemy cruise missiles were destroyed," said Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk on the air force's official Telegram channel. He did not specify whether Russian missiles had hit their target during the attack.

According to the air force, Ukrainian forces intercepted three Kalibr missiles during a first series of strikes in the afternoon, and 33 X-101 and X-555 missiles in the early evening.

The missiles were fired by eight Tu -95 bombers from the southeast heading towards western Ukraine, it said.

1624 GMT - Russia targeted the regions of Kiev, Khmelnytskiy and Kirovohrad in a second missile strike on Ukraine, the air force said after air raid sirens sounded across the country.

It was not immediately clear if there was any damage. Authorities in the western Khmelnytskiy region confirmed the sound of explosions.

"We have registered high-speed targets, probably also ballistic missiles, the enemy is using different weapons types," air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said in televised comments.

He said some missiles had travelled towards the city of Starokostiantyniv which is the location of a Ukrainian military airfield. He said the missiles had taken a highly convoluted route, even making a 180 degree turn at one point.

Ukrainian air defences thwarted an earlier attack in the afternoon, shooting down two Kalibr cruise missiles over the central city of Vinnytsia that appeared to have been fired by a submarine in the Black Sea, the air force said.

1604 GMT - NATO slams Russia's 'dangerous' Black Sea grain block

NATO condemned Russia's "dangerous" moves to block Ukrainian grain exports in the Black Sea, after urgent consultations with Kiev following Moscow's withdrawal from a UN-backed deal.

"Allies and Ukraine strongly condemned Russia's decision to withdraw from the Black Sea grain deal and its deliberate attempts to stop Ukraine's agricultural exports on which hundreds of millions of people worldwide depend," a statement from NATO said.

"They also condemned Russia's recent missile attacks on Odesa, Mykolaiv, and other port cities, including Moscow's cynical drone attack on the Ukrainian grain storage facility in the Danube port city of Reni, very close to the Romanian border."

1332 GMT - Zelenskyy says Ukraine received reinforcement for air defence systems

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kiev received reinforcements to its air defence systems.

"I heard the current reports on the supply of weapons and ammunition. There is reinforcement of our air defence system. It will be directed to where it is most needed right now," he wrote on Telegram.

Forbes magazine reported July 24 that according to its data, Western countries supplied Kiev with about 20 SAMP-T, Patriot, Iris-T, NASAMS, Crotale and other air defence systems.

The US also intends to buy 12 MIM-23 Hawk air defence systems from Taiwan to transfer to Ukraine, according to media reports.

1300 GMT - Moldova to cut number of Russian diplomats over ‘hostile actions’

Moldova said it was sharply reducing the number of diplomats Russia can have in Chisinau, citing years of "hostile actions" by Moscow and a media report about possible spying kit installed on the embassy's rooftop.

Relations between ex-Soviet Moldova and Russia have reached new lows after President Maia Sandu strongly condemned Moscow's offensive on neighbouring Ukraine and accused Russia of plotting to overthrow her, as well as Moldova's application to join the European Union.

"We agreed on the need to limit the number of accredited diplomats from Russia, so that there are fewer people trying to destabilize the Republic of Moldova," Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said at a cabinet meeting.

Embassy personnel numbers will be reduced to 25 from more than 80, the foreign ministry said in a separate statement, bringing Russia's embassy in line with Moldova's diplomatic mission in Moscow.

Russia should implement the decision by August 15, it said.

1206 GMT - Russian court jails man who blew up rail tracks for Ukraine

A military court in Moscow has sentenced a dual Russian-Ukrainian citizen to 22 years in jail for blowing up rail track in Russia's Bryansk region last summer at the behest of Ukraine, the state TASS news agency reported.

It said Sergei Belavin, who it said had confessed to his crimes, had been convicted of terrorism and other charges.

State prosecutors said Belavin, whom they accused of working for Ukrainian military intelligence, had entered Russia last summer and placed an explosive device on a stretch of railway near Russia's border with Ukraine and Belarus.

1100 GMT - Top Russian, Pakistani discuss revival of Black Sea grain deal

The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Russia discussed the Black Sea grain deal, with Islamabad hoping all stakeholders engaging in dialogue to restore the agreement.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari telephoned his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to discuss the impact of the suspension of the deal, officially known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, on global food supply chain, and food security-related challenges for the developing world in particular, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Zardari underscored the need for concerted efforts to find viable solutions that would in particular benefit developing countries already under economic strain," it added.

0957 GMT - Ukraine's top diplomat on third wartime tour of Africa

Ukraine's top diplomat has visited Liberia on a third wartime tour of Africa as Russia prepares to host a summit with leaders from the continent this week after the demise of the Black Sea grain deal.

The Liberia trip by Dmytro Kuleba, the first such visit in the history of Ukrainian diplomacy, according to the foreign ministry, comes amid a concerted push by Kiev to challenge Russian influence in Africa and the wider "Global South".

Foreign Minister Kuleba will hold talks with Liberian leaders to discuss "ensuring the export of Ukrainian grain to Africa" as well as the vision for peace in Ukraine set out by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the ministry said.

"Against the backdrop of Russia's food blackmail, Ukraine is maximizing its consolidation of support from African countries to continue exporting Ukrainian grain to the Black Sea," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said this week.

0620 GMT - North Korea gives Russian defence ministry delegation 'warm welcome'

North Korea rolled out the red carpet for the Russian defence minister, state media said Wednesday, with delegations from Moscow and Beijing set to attend Korean War anniversary events, the country's first known foreign visitors since its pandemic border closure.

Pyongyang on Thursday will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the signing of the July 27, 1953 Korean War armistice, which ended open hostilities and is marked as Victory Day in the North.

The Russian national anthem blared throughout Pyongyang International Airport, which was "wrapped up in a warm welcome atmosphere" to greet Moscow's Sergei Shoigu and his delegation Tuesday evening, the Korean Central News Agency said.

"Flags of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation were fluttering at the flagstaffs and the guards of honor of the Korean People's Army (KPA) lined up at the station before the terminal," KCNA said.

0029 GMT - Ukraine says allies pledge $244M, demining aid

Ukraine's allies have committed to allocating $244 million in addition to special equipment for the country's humanitarian demining needs, First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has said.

"Our task is not only to demine the entire territory in order to save people's lives but also to speed up this process," Svyrydenko, who is also economy minister, said in a statement on the government's website.

"This is a question of economic recovery because the sooner we return potentially mined lands to circulation, the faster business will develop on them."

Russia left large areas of land filled with mines after it halted its initial full-scale attack in Ukraine in the first half of last year and moved its forces to the east.

For our live updates from Tuesday (July 25), click here.