Live blog: Ukraine claims Russia effectively stopped Black Sea grain deal

Monday, May 8, 2023

Russia has effectively stopped the Black sea grain deal by refusing to register incoming vessels, Ukraine's reconstruction ministry said.

Ukrainian Black Sea ports were blockaded last year, but access to three of them was cleared last July under a deal between Moscow and Kiev that was brokered by Türkiye and the United Nations.

"The Russian Federation once again effectively stopped the Grain Initiative by refusing to register incoming vessels and carry out their inspections. This approach contradicts the terms of the current agreement," the ministry said in a statement on Monday.

It said that 90 ships, including 62 vessels for loading, were waiting in Türkiye's territorial waters for approval to go to Ukrainian ports.

The deal expires on May 18 but Türkiye and the UN are working to extend the deal.

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1139 GMT — Russian shelling wounds eight people in Ukraine's Kherson region

Russian artillery shelling has wounded eight people, including a nine-year-old boy in two villages in Ukraine's southern region of Kherson, regional officials said.

Six civilians were wounded in the village of Stanislav on the right bank of the Dnipro estuary, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Two others were hurt in Antonivka on Kherson's outskirts, said military administration chief Roman Mrochko.

The two people in Antonivka had been near one of the many "invincibility points" that Ukraine set up nationwide to provide access to electricity, heating, water and other basic services for civilians facing outages caused by Russian air strikes.

1129 GMT — EU prepares new sanctions against Russia

EU envoys are set to discuss new sanctions related to Russia’s war on Ukraine as the European Commission has prepared a new package, an official has announced.

Speaking at the daily news briefing, the European Commission’s chief spokesperson Eric Mamer confirmed that the EU executive body’s “proposal for the 11th package of sanctions was sent out to the member states” on Friday.

The EU ambassadors will discuss the draft on Wednesday, he added.

“This package will be focusing on the implementation of sanctions, their effectiveness and how we avoid the evasion of sanctions,” Mamer explained.

He said the new measures will address trade with Russia as the EU wants to “ensure that Russia isn't receiving imports from other countries.”

1108 GMT - EU aims to blacklist several Chinese firms to tighten Russia sanctions

The European Union's executive has proposed blacklisting several Chinese companies and curbing exports to nations seen as involved in bypassing Russia trade restrictions under the latest set of sanctions against Moscow for the war against Ukraine.

Seven companies in China would be subject to an asset freeze in the EU, said diplomats familiar with the proposal, in what would be a first for the bloc to punish China over accusations of Beijing's role in aiding Russia's war in Ukraine.

On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China was urging the EU not to take the "wrong path", and that it was prepared to take action to safeguard its rights and interests.

"China opposes actions that use China-Russia cooperation as a pretext to impose illegal sanctions or long-arm jurisdiction against China," Wang said at a regular news conference.

1104 GMT - Ukraine looms over Chinese foreign minister's European visit

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang will visit Europe this week, Beijing has said, as China pushes to act as a mediator in the Ukraine conflict and rebuild ties with the continent.

Beijing has sought to portray itself as a neutral party in Russia's war in Ukraine, with President Xi Jinping last month holding his first call with Kiev's leader since Moscow's offensive began.

But recent comments by China's ambassador to France questioning the sovereignty of ex-Soviet states threw its neutral stance into question, and a position paper from Beijing on ending the conflict was met with scepticism by the United States and NATO.

1025 GMT - Ukraine downs Russian drones in overnight strikes

Ukraine air defenses have shot down 35 Iranian-made drones over Kiev in Russia’s latest nighttime assault, as attacks across Ukraine by the Kremlin's forces killed three civilians, officials said.

Five people in the capital were injured by falling drone debris, according to Serhii Popko, head of the Kiev City Military Administration. Air raid alarms sounded for more than three hours during the night.

Drone wreckage struck a two-story apartment building in Kiev’s western Svyatoshynskyi district, while other debris struck a car parked nearby, setting it on fire, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a Telegram post.

1003 GMT - Russian shelling hits power networks

Russian shelling has damaged electricity distribution networks in five Ukrainian regions overnight, Ukraine's state grid operator said.

"The night attack by drones did not damage the main energy infrastructure," Ukrenergo said in a statement.

"However, due to Russian shelling along the frontline and border shelling, there is again damage to distribution networks in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy and Chernihiv regions."

Ukraine's energy system has survived months of Russian missile and drone attacks that have at times left millions without power or heating during the cold winter months.

But fast repairs, equipment supplied by Ukraine's Western partners and favourable weather for hydro-power stations have allowed Kiev to restore power supplies and even start small electricity exports to neighbouring countries.

0540 GMT - Russia launches large-scale strikes across Ukraine

Russia has launched a wave of drone, missile and air strikes on Kiev and other Ukrainian cities, officials said, as Moscow steps up attacks while preparing for its cherished Victory Day holiday celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.

As many as 16 missile strikes had targeted the cities of Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions, in addition to 61 airstrikes and 52 rocket salvos on Ukrainian positions and populated areas, the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said in its morning update on the fighting.

Kiev's mayor said at least five people were wounded in the capital amid damage to a fuel depot, cars, buildings and infrastructure. A food warehouse was set ablaze in the Black Sea city of Odesa.

The reports have not been independently verified.

0539 GMT - Central Asian migrant workers targeted

Russian military recruiters have been targeting central Asian migrant workers in Russia to serve in Ukraine, according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence in its latest intelligence update.

The update says: "Recruiters have visited mosques and immigration offices to recruit. At immigration offices, staff who speak Tajik and Uzbek routinely attempt to recruit migrants.

Radio Free Europe reported recruiters offering sign-up bonuses of USD $2,390 and salaries of up to USD $4,160 a month. Migrants have also been offered a fast-track Russian citizenship path of six months to one year, instead of the usual five years.

The high monthly salary and sign-up bonuses will entice some migrant workers to sign up. These recruits are likely sent to the Ukrainian frontlines where the casualty rate is extremely high.

Recruiting migrants is part of the Russian Ministry of Defence’s attempts to fulfil its target of 400,000 volunteers to fight in Ukraine.

The authorities are almost certainly seeking to delay any new overt mandatory mobilisation for as long as possible to minimise domestic dissent."

2258 GMT - Drone wreckage hits Kiev's Sviatoshyn district - mayor

Drone wreckage has hit Kiev's Sviatoshyn district, the city's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, adding that there was no immediate information on potential casualties or damages.

"All services are on their way to the site," Klitschko said on his Telegram messaging channel. Sviatoshyn, on the western edge of Kiev, is a historical neighbourhood of the capital.

2239 GMT - Over 1,600 evacuated from areas near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Some 1,679 people, including 660 children, have been evacuated from areas near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, a Moscow-backed official in the Russia-controlled parts of the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine said.

The head of the UN's nuclear power watchdog warned on Saturday that the situation around the plant has become "potentially dangerous" as Moscow-affiliated officials began evacuating people from nearby areas.

Ukraine is expected to start soon a much-anticipated counteroffensive to retake Russian-held territory, including in the Zaporizhzhia region.

"(The evacuees) have already been placed in the temporary accommodation centre for residents of the front-line territories of the Zaporizhzhia region in Berdiansk," Yevgeny Balitsky, Russian-backed governor of the Russia-controlled part of Zaporizhzhia region, said on his Telegram messaging channel.

2150 GMT - Russia steps up fight for Bakhmut, hopes to capture it soon: Ukraine

Russia has intensified shelling of Bakhmut hoping to take it, Ukraine's top general in charge of the defence of the besieged city said, vowing to do everything to prevent it.

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Ukrainian commander of ground forces, said that Russian forces increased the intensity of shelling with heavy weapons of the city, began to use more advanced equipment and are regrouping troops.

"Today, it is important to make decisions as quickly as possible and predict the actions of the enemy," Syrskyi said on his Telegram channel after what he said was a visit to the troops along the Bakhmut frontline.

"The Russians still hope to capture the city by May 9. Our task is to prevent this."

2120 GMT - Brussels plans sanctions on Chinese companies aiding Russia's offensive

The European Union has proposed sanctions on Chinese companies accused of selling equipment that could be used in weapons to support Russia's war machine, the Financial Times reported.

Seven Chinese businesses have been listed in a new package of sanctions that will be discussed by EU member states this week, the report said, citing a copy of the sanctions list seen by the FT.

According to the FT, the sanctions list includes two mainland Chinese companies, 3HC Semiconductors and King-Pai Technology, along with five from Hong Kong including Sinno Electronics, Sigma Technology, Asia Pacific Links, Tordan Industry and Alpha Trading Investments.

2047 GMT - Ukrainian media report explosion in Odessa, widespread air raid alerts

An explosion was heard following a missile attack that hit the Black Sea city of Odessa overnight, a local Ukrainian official said, while air raid alerts rang out in other regions of the country including the capital, Kiev.

"There has been an enemy missile attack," Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Odessa military administration, said on his Telegram channel.

"Air defence is working on the outskirts of Kiev!" Kiev's military administration said on its Telegram channel shortly after midnight on Monday local time.

"Stay in the shelters until the air raid alarm goes off!"

For our live updates from Saturday (May 7), click here.