Live blog: UN chief calls on Russia to return to Black Sea grain deal

Monday, July 24, 2023

1639 GMT - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Russia to return to the Black Sea grain deal after suspending its participation last week.

"For my part, I remain committed to facilitating the unimpeded access to global markets for food products and fertilizers from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation, and to deliver the food security that every person deserves," Guterres said at the opening session of the three-day UN Food Systems Summit 2 in Rome.

"I call on the Russian Federation to return to the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative, in line with my latest proposal," he said.

"I urge the global community to stand united for effective solutions in this essential effort."

He underlined that Russia and Ukraine are “both essential to global food security.” The two accounted for roughly 30 percent of global wheat and barley exports, a fifth of all maize, and more than half of all sunflower oil, he noted.

"With the termination of the Black Sea Initiative, the most vulnerable will pay the highest price," he stressed.

"The dire picture has grown bleaker with the Russian Federation’s termination of the Black Sea Initiative that enabled the safe export of more than 32 million metric tons of food on more than 1,000 vessels from Ukrainian ports," Guterres said.

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1634 GMT - Russia says Moscow and Crimea hit by Ukrainian drones while Russian forces bombard Ukraine's south

Russian authorities accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on Moscow that saw one of the aircraft fall near the Defense Ministry’s main headquarters, while the Russian military unleashed new strikes on port infrastructure in southern Ukraine.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there were no casualties when the drones struck two nonresidential buildings in Moscow. Separately, a Ukrainian drone struck an ammunition depot in Russian-annexed Crimea, forcing a halt in traffic on a major highway, Russian authorities said.

1559 GMT - Extension of ban on grain exports from Ukraine to EU would be 'unacceptable': Zelenskiyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy said that the extension of a European Union ban on Ukrainian grain imports in September would be "unacceptable".

Five central European countries want the EU ban extended at least until the end of the year. The ban is set to expire on Sept. 15.

"Our position is clear: blocking (Ukrainian) exports by land after September 15, when the relevant restrictions expire, is unacceptable in any form," he said on the Telegram messaging app.

"We believe in the agreement with the European Commission, but we are preparing for any scenario," Zelenskiyy said.

He added that his country, which is not a member of the EU but wants to join the bloc, was in contact with all stakeholders to seek a solution that would suit everyone.

1432 GMT - Nearly 30 ships stop around Ukraine's Izmail gateway after Russian Danube strikes

Almost 30 ships dropped anchor near Ukraine's crucial Izmail port terminal after Russia destroyed grain warehouses on the Danube River, data showed, although it was unclear exactly what had caused them to stop.

Monday's pre-dawn Russian air strikes wounded seven people and hit infrastructure along the Danube, a vital alternative route for Ukrainian grain since the demise last week of a year-old deal allowing safe exports via the Black Sea.

Kiev said the attack was an expansion of an air campaign Russia launched last week after pulling out of the grain deal.

1302 GMT - Russia must choose ‘non-standard targets’ for strikes on Ukraine: Medvedev

Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev said that Moscow must choose “non-standard targets” for its strikes on Ukraine.

“We need to choose non-standard targets for our strikes. Not only storage facilities, energy hubs and oil bases. There are other places where we are not yet expected. And where the effect will be very significant,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram.

He argued that Ukraine has been choosing “peaceful, civilian targets” for its strikes against Russia as it has failed to “achieve success in the course of the counteroffensive,” which began last month.

“This means that informational victories are needed … Therefore, strikes on civilian targets are also acceptable,” said Medvedev, who is known for making shocking or provocative statements.

0926 GMT - Ukraine claims drone attack in Moscow a 'special operation'

Ukraine has claimed a drone attack in central Moscow, the latest in a series of attacks revealing Russian vulnerabilities, while Kiev said Russian forces again hit grain facilities near Odessa.

Police wearing masks cordoned off on Monday streets near the defence ministry in Moscow where one of the drones crashed, while the second shredded floor-to-ceiling glass walls of an office building in a southern district.

A Ukrainian defence source told AFP the attack - one day after Kiev vowed to "retaliate" for a Russian missile strike in the UNESCO-protected city of Odessa - was a "special operation" carried out by Ukraine's military intelligence.

AFP reporters at the scene of the strike near the ministry on Komsomolsky Prospekt saw a two-storey building whose sloping, metal sheeted roof had been torn up by the impact of the drone's crash.

0920 GMT - Kremlin denies Russia hit Odessa cathedral, blames Ukraine

The Kremlin has denied that Russian forces had struck a cathedral in the Ukrainian city of Odessa and said, without providing evidence, that a rocket launched by Ukraine had hit it.

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy on Sunday said a Russian missile had slammed into Odessa's Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Cathedral, or Transfiguration Cathedral.

Russia's Defence Ministry has said the cathedral was probably struck by a Ukrainian air defence missile.

0725 GMT - Ukraine says retook over 16sq km from Russia in east, south last week

Ukraine said Monday its forces over the past week had recaptured more than 16 square kilometres (six square miles) from Russian forces in the south and east of the country.

Kiev last month began its highly anticipated counteroffensive against Russian troops after stockpiling Western weapons and building up its offensive forces.

"During the week... the liberated area (in the south) increased by 12.6 square kilometres," Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said in televised remarks.

She added that Kiev's forces had wrested another four square kilometres near the embattled city of Bakhmut in the east.

Malyar also said that Russian forces had "conducted assaults" in the Kupyansk area of the eastern Kharkiv region, "aiming to push our units beyond the Oskil river".

0615 GMT - Russia says Ukraine fired 17 drones at Crimea

The Russian Defence Ministry has said that Ukraine tried to attack Moscow-annexed Crimea overnight using 17 drones, but that the attack was foiled and that there were no casualties.

It said eleven of the drones crashed into the Black Sea after being repressed by anti-drone equipment, three fell on Crimean territory and three were destroyed by air-defences.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the report.

0513 GMT - Russian strike destroys Odessa region grain hangar: Kiev

A Russian overnight drone strike on port infrastructure in Ukraine's Odessa region destroyed a grain hangar, according to Ukrainian military.

"Tonight an almost four-hour attack by 'Shahed-136' drones was directed at the port infrastructure of the Danube" in the Odessa region, Ukraine's southern military command said on Telegram.

"As a result of the strikes, a grain hangar was destroyed, tanks for storing other types of cargo were damaged."

Three of the Iran-made Shahed attack drones used in the attack were destroyed by air defences, the military said.

"According to initial reports, about four workers of the port were injured, but the information is still being clarified," it said.

Attacks on Ukraine's Odessa region have increased since Russia pulled out last week of a key deal which had allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain on the Black Sea.

0459 GMT - Ukrainian strike hits ammunition depot in Crimea

A Ukrainian drone strike hit an ammunition depot in Russian-annexed Crimea, its Moscow-backed governor said on Monday.

"In the sky over the Crimea, 11 enemy UAVs were shot down by air defense forces and suppressed by electronic warfare," Sergei Aksyonov said on Telegram.

"There was a hit in the ammunition depot in the Dzhankoy district.”

He did not provide further details on any damage resulting from the hit.

Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, has been targeted by Kiev throughout Moscow's Ukraine offensive but has come under more intense, increased attacks in recent weeks.

Kiev has repeatedly said it plans to take back Crimea.

0035 GMT - Putin says Russia will replace Ukrainian grain shipments to Africa

Russia will replace exports of Ukrainian grain to Africa, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday, after Moscow exited the Black Sea grain deal allowing their safe shipment.

"Russia will continue its energetic efforts to provide supplies of grain, food products, fertilisers and other goods to Africa," Putin said in a statement published on the Kremlin's website.

"I want to give assurances that our country is capable of replacing the Ukrainian grain both on a commercial and free-of-charge basis."

Moscow's military campaign blocked Ukraine's Black Sea ports with warships until a deal brokered by Türkiye and signed in July 2022 allowed for the passage of critical grain shipments.

2230 GMT - Russia says UNESCO takes ‘biased approach’ toward Ukraine

Russia said that the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is taking a “biased approach” with regards to Ukraine.

“Representatives of the bureaucracy of this organization refuse to notice the lawlessness that has been going on in Ukraine for many years,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Telegram.

Zakharova said UNESCO “kept silent” in December when Ukraine took down the monument in Odesa to Catherine the Great, who is believed to be the southern Ukrainian city’s founder.

She added that the historical center of the city, which UNESCO decided to start “culturally protecting” soon after, cannot be called “historical” anymore.

For our live updates from Sunday (July 23), click HERE.