US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday July 16 that stepping up support for Ukraine was the “best” way to help the global economy. After visiting Kyiv in February, Janet Yellen said she saw firsthand “the huge difference” foreign aid made, both for civilians and for the Ukrainian military.
In the meantime, the fate of the Ukrainian grain deal, which expires on Monday July 17, remains unclear. While international discussions are increasing for Moscow to sign the renewal of the text, which over the past year has made it possible to leave nearly 33 million tonnes of cereals from Ukrainian ports despite the conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to send negative signals.
Yellen rejects the idea of a “barter” between support for Ukraine and aid to the countries of the South
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen tried at a meeting of G7 big moneymakers in India to allay concerns that massive support for Ukraine would come at the expense of aid to developing countries. “I reject the idea of a barter” between these two issues, which are in fact closely associated, she declared during a press conference in Gandhinagar in western India, where a G7 Finance ahead of a similar G20 meeting on Monday and Tuesday.
A “key priority” is to “redouble our support for Ukraine” because “ending this war is first and foremost a moral imperative. But it’s also the best thing we can do for the global economy,” he said. estimated Janet Yellen, thus repeating remarks that she had already made in November just before the G20 summit in Bali. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – two major breadbaskets on the planet – has sent shockwaves through the global economy since last year by driving up food and energy prices.
‘Main’ goal of Ukrainian grain deal not ‘realized’, Putin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that the main objective of the Ukrainian grain agreement, which expires on July 17, had not been achieved, during a phone call with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa. “Vladimir Putin stressed that the obligations set out in the Russia-UN memorandum on the removal of obstacles for the export of Russian food products and fertilizers are still not fulfilled,” the Kremlin said.
“The main objective of the agreement, the delivery of cereals to countries in need, particularly on the African continent, is not achieved”, continues the Russian presidency in a press release reporting this conversation between Vladimir Putin and Cyril Ramaphosa. The South African presidency confirmed that Cyril Ramaphosa had discussed the issue with Vladimir Putin, following a call between the South African president and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. The day before, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, mediator between kyiv and Moscow, assured that Vladimir Putin was “agree” to extend this vital agreement on Ukrainian cereals.
Moscow says it foiled attacks on two media personalities
The Russian security services (FSB) claimed to have prevented the assassinations of Margarita Simonian, one of the main voices of the Kremlin media machine, and Ksenia Sobchak, a famous influencer critical of the offensive in Ukraine. In a press release, the FSB claims to have arrested, the day before, in Moscow and in the Russian region of Ryazan, members of a neo-Nazi group called “Paragraph-88” and recruited by the Ukrainian services, against payment, to kill these two targets.
AFP cannot confirm these allegations from an independent source. “If it’s the truth, then thank you to all the departments involved. But if it’s not true, and the idea was just to put me in the same sentence with Simonian, then it’s just ordinary meanness,” reacted Ksenia Sobchak on her Telegram account. The FSB released images showing the arrest of several suspects as well as weapons and books on Nazism that were discovered during these arrests.
Russia shoots down nine Ukrainian drones over Crimea, Moscow official says
Moscow official: Russia’s Air Defense Forces and Black Sea Fleet intercepted nine Ukrainian drones over the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Sunday morning, a Moscow-based official said. “No object, neither in the city nor in the aquatic area was damaged,” said Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Sevastopol based in Moscow. The information was taken up by the British daily The Guardian.
Two aerial drones were shot down over the sea, five were intercepted by Russian electronic warfare forces and two surface drones were destroyed on the outer shore, Razvozhayev added. The strikes targeted the port of Sevastopol and the city’s Balaklava and Khersones districts. Shipping, including passenger ferries, was suspended for several hours early Sunday, authorities said. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the attack on the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed to Ukraine in 2014.