Ukrainian forces thwarted a new Russian drone attack in kyiv overnight from Monday to Tuesday, according to military authorities. No major casualties or destruction have been recorded at this stage. “Last night the enemy attacked kyiv” using drones, Serguii Popko, head of the local military administration, said on Telegram. “All air targets were detected and destroyed” as they approached kyiv.
The Russian army said on Tuesday that it had destroyed two Ukrainian naval drones during the night that attacked one of its patrol boats in the Black Sea, at the heart of increased tensions between kyiv and Moscow in recent days. The two drones were “destroyed with the armament of the Russian ship at a distance of 1000 m and 800 m, no injuries”, indicated the Russian Ministry of Defense, specifying that this patrol boat, the “Sergei Kotov”, was 370 km southwest of Sevastopol.
Kremlin accuses Westerners of putting ‘pressure’ on African countries
The Kremlin on Tuesday accused Westerners of subjecting African countries to “unprecedented pressure” to dissuade them from taking part in the Russia-Africa summit scheduled to start Thursday in Saint Petersburg.
“Virtually all African states have been subjected to unprecedented pressure from the United States, and French embassies have not been inactive (…) to prevent this summit from taking place,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Cereals: Paris and Berlin opposed to the extension of restrictions in the EU
France and Germany opposed on Tuesday a possible extension of the restrictions imposed since April by five eastern countries on imports of Ukrainian cereals, which the EU seeks to guarantee transit to the rest of the world.
Mines spotted on the site of the Zaporizhia power plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has seen “a few mines” in an area of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant occupied by Russian forces. According to her, these mines do not pose a danger to the safety of the installations. They are in a restricted area prohibited to personnel, added the IAEA, without communicating the exact number of mines seen by members of the agency.
“The IAEA is aware of past laying of mines outside the perimeter of the site and also in particular places inside (of it),” said Rafael Grossi, the organization’s director general. “The presence of such explosives at the site does not comply with IAEA safety standards and nuclear security guidance.”
Romania denounces Russian attacks on the Danube
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis denounced this July 24 “the serious security risks in the Black Sea” after the bombardment by Russia of port infrastructure on the Danube, on the border of Romania and Moldova. “I strongly condemn the recent Russian attacks against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure on the Danube, very close to Romania”, a NATO member country, he wrote on Twitter. Earlier in the day, a Romanian had posted images on social media showing an explosion on the opposite bank of the Danube. The Ukrainian port of Reni appeared to have been hit.
Wheat prices soar after bombing of port infrastructure
Wheat prices soared on Monday after Russia bombed Ukrainian port infrastructure. These allow the transit of cereals produced in Ukraine, essential to the world diet.
The price of US winter wheat variety SRW (Soft Red Winter Wheat) rose to 7.5750 dollars per bushel (about 27 kg), its highest level for five months. On the European market, soft wheat gained 7.07% to reach 264.75 euros per tonne, a peak that had not been seen for almost four months.
Lithuania offers to use Baltic ports to transit Ukrainian grain
The Lithuanian government has offered the European Union to use Baltic ports to support Ukrainian grain exports, as Russia withdrew from an agreement that allowed their transport via the Black Sea. In a letter to the European commissioners, seen by AFP, three Lithuanian ministers considered that the infrastructures of these countries could “serve as a viable and reliable alternative route for the transit of Ukrainian products, including cereals”.
kyiv claims drone attack on Moscow
Ukraine claimed responsibility on Monday July 24 for the drone attack that hit Moscow overnight. It was a “special operation of the GUR”, military intelligence, told AFP a source within the Ukrainian Defense. This rare claim from Kiev, which usually denies or does not comment, comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had promised retaliation for the Russian strikes on Odessa, carried out this weekend, which left two dead and ravaged a cathedral. Russia is considering “severe reprisals” after these attacks on Moscow and Crimea, for its part declared Russian diplomacy, accusing the West of being “behind the brazen acts” of kyiv.
The Moscow region had not been the target of drones for almost three weeks. The Russian army, which denounced a “terrorist act”, claimed that two Ukrainian drones had been neutralized and crashed without causing any casualties. One of the drones fell on Komsomolsky Prospekt, near the Russian Defense Ministry, while another hit a business center on Likhacheva Street, according to Russian news agency TASS.