Live blog: Ukraine's MI-17 helicopter, SU-25 aircraft shot down - Russia

Sunday, July 17, 2022

Russia says it shot down Ukrainian MI-17 helicopter, SU-25 aircraft

Russia's defence ministry says its aircraft has shot down a Ukrainian MI-17 helicopter near the eastern town of Sloviansk and a SU-25 aircraft in Kharkiv region, with Moscow stepping up its military operation.

The army also said that its long-range air-based missiles have destroyed a depot in an industrial zone in southern Ukrainian city of Odessa that stored Harpoon anti-ship missiles delivered to Ukraine by NATO countries. Reuters could not immediately verify the claims.

Moscow said on Saturday that it would intensify its military operations. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu "gave the necessary instructions to further increase" military pressure, according to his ministry.

UK military chief says Putin health rumours are 'wishful thinking'

The head of Britain's armed forces has dismissed as "wishful thinking" speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin is suffering from ill-health or could be assassinated.

"As military professionals we see a relatively stable regime in Russia. President Putin has been able to quash any opposition, we see a hierarchy that is invested in President Putin and so nobody at the top has got the motivation to challenge President Putin," Admiral Tony Radakin said in a BBC interview. "And that is bleak."

Radakin said the Ukraine fighting has killed or wounded 50,000 Russian soldiers and destroyed nearly 1,700 Russian tanks, as well as some 4,000 armoured fighting vehicles. "But Russia continues to be a nuclear power. It's got cyber capabilities, it's got space capabilities and it's got particular programmes under water so it can threaten the underwater cables that allow the world's information to transit around the whole globe."

Russia raises quota for sunflower oil exports

Russia has increased the quota for its exports of sunflower oil and sunflower meal, the government has said, citing sufficient domestic supplies.

The country banned exports of sunflower seeds from the end of March until the end of August and imposed an export quota on sunflower oil to avoid shortages and ease pressure on domestic prices.

The government on Sunday said that the export quota for sunflower oil has been increased by 400,000 tonnes from the previous cap of 1.5 million tonnes while the restriction on exports of sunflower meal was raised by 150,000 tonnes from a previous limit of 700,000 tonnes. The restrictions are in place until August 31.

Russia strikes south Ukraine city, presses attacks in east

Russian missiles have hit industrial facilities at a strategic city in southern Ukraine as Moscow continued efforts to expand its gains in the country's east.

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said that the Russian missiles struck an industrial and infrastructure facility in the city, a key shipbuilding centre in the estuary of the Southern Bug river. There was no immediate information about casualties.

Mykolaiv has faced regular Russian missile strikes in recent weeks as the Russians have sought to soften Ukrainian defences. 

EU mulls sanctions as Russia accused of shelling Ukraine from nuclear plant

The European Union will discuss tightening sanctions against Russia, as Moscow is accused of using the continent's largest nuclear power plant to store weapons and launch missiles on the surrounding regions of southern Ukraine.

The situation at the captured Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is "extremely tense", Ukraine's atomic energy agency chief Petro Kotin said, adding that the Russians had installed missile launchers and used the facility to shell the Dnipro region.

Describing "a deluge of fire", regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said Grad missiles had pounded residential areas. 

Russia reinforces defensive positions in occupied southern Ukraine

Russia is reinforcing its defensive positions across the areas it occupies in southern Ukraine, the British defence ministry said.

The reinforcements include movement of manpower and equipment, defensive stores between Mariupol and Zaporizhzhia, and in Kherson, while Russian forces in Melitopol are also increasing security measures, the ministry wrote on Twitter in a regular bulletin.

Ukraine conflict shows West's dominance is ending as China rises: Blair

The Ukraine conflict shows that the West's dominance is coming to an end as China rises to superpower status in partnership with Russia at one of the most significant inflection points in centuries, former British prime minister Tony Blair said.

The world, Blair said, was at a turning point in history comparable with the end of World War Two or the collapse of the Soviet Union: but this time the West is clearly not in the ascendant.

"We are coming to the end of Western political and economic dominance, " Blair said in a lecture entitled "After Ukraine, What Lessons Now for Western Leadership?" according to a text of the speech to a forum supporting the alliance between the United States and Europe at Ditchley Park west of London. 

Russia gets ready for next offensive — Ukraine

Russia is preparing for the next stage of its offensive in Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said, after Moscow said its forces would step up military operations in "all operational areas".

Russian rockets and missiles have pounded cities in strikes that Kiev says have killed dozens in recent days.

"It is not only missile strikes from the air and sea," Vadym Skibitskyi, a spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence said. "We can see shelling along the entire line of contact, along the entire front line. There is an active use of tactical aviation and attack helicopters.

For live updates from Saturday (July 16), click here