Uncertainty remains on July 17 on the future of the grain agreement in the Black Sea, considered crucial for world food. The latter is due to expire at midnight in Istanbul, Türkiye. Silence and discretion surrounded all weekend the last-ditch maneuvers, led by Turkey and the UN, to convince Moscow to extend the agreement.
On the ground, as fierce fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, traffic has been halted on a major bridge linking Crimea to Russia’s Krasnodar region, Sergei Aksionov, Russia’s governor of Crimea, said.
kyiv says it recaptured 7 km2 from the Russians near Bakhmout last week
Ukraine said on Monday it had retaken seven square kilometers from Russian forces last week around the devastated city of Bakhmout (east), which fell under Russian control in May after months of deadly clashes.
“During the past week, as a result of improved operational (tactical) positioning and alignment of the front line towards Bakhmout, (a) territory of seven km2 has been liberated,” the police said. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar on Telegram.
Putin casts doubt on the grain deal
Signed in July 2022 on the Bosphorus, the agreement guaranteed the safe passage of cargo ships to and from Ukrainian ports despite the war. It transported a total of nearly 33 million tonnes of grain destined for world markets. But Russia has not announced its green light and the Black Sea Grain Initiative is now de facto at a standstill. Since June 27, no request for passage has been approved by all parties,” according to a statement from the Joint Coordination Center (JCC), which oversees the agreement in Istanbul.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shows his confidence: he assured Friday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “agreed” with him on the extension of the agreement. But the Kremlin spokesman immediately replied that no such statement had been made. Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denounced the obstacles to the export of Russian food products and fertilizers, which was to accompany that of Ukrainian products. He also ruled on Saturday that “the main objective of the agreement, the delivery of cereals to countries in need, particularly on the African continent, has not been achieved”.
The European Union and Latin America are trying to strengthen ties
The leaders of the countries of the European Union meet Monday and Tuesday with their counterparts from Latin America and the Caribbean. Organized in Brussels, this third EU-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) summit aims to strengthen ties, despite significant differences over the war in Ukraine.
The last such summit dates back to 2015. Both sides are trying to make up for lost time, but the rapprochement is not without difficulties. Disagreements emerged from the start of negotiations on a joint declaration, in particular because of the willingness of Europeans to mention the war in Ukraine. The 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries do not have a common position on the issue.
The intervention of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the summit, a time anticipated, will ultimately not take place. “Our objective […] it is that all the countries of the region support Ukraine, provide support to the Ukrainian government at least in their declarations, to point out the violations of international law with which the country is confronted. ‘Elysium.
Traffic stopped on a bridge in Crimea
Traffic has been halted on a major bridge linking Crimea to Russia’s Krasnodar region, Sergei Aksionov, Russian governor of Crimea, said. “An emergency has occurred in the area of the 145th pillar from the Krasnodar Territory,” he said on Telegram, without specifying the nature of the incident. “The police and all the competent services are hard at work.” A coordination center has been set up within a Crimean ministry, Russian state agency TASS reported.
Crimea, a peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014, serves as a rear base for Russian forces, in particular for sending reinforcements and maintaining equipment. The few bridges connecting the peninsula to occupied southern Ukraine are essential to the conduct of Moscow’s military operations.
Intense fighting on the eastern front in Ukraine
Ukraine reported intense fighting on the eastern front with Russian forces on Sunday, with Vladimir Putin saying for his part that the counter-offensive of the Ukrainian army, launched in June, had been defeated. The Ukrainian general staff said on Sunday that the army “continues to carry out offensive action in the areas of Melitopol and Berdyansk” in the southeast, where it seeks to advance towards the Sea of Azov to cut the Russian lines and isolate Crimea.
In the east, further north, “the situation has intensified somewhat”, due to the efforts of the Russian forces to counter-attack in several areas, where the Ukrainian army finds itself in a “defensive” position, has his side indicated the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Ganna Malyar.
The Russian state takes control of assets of Danone and Carlsberg
The Russian state has taken control of the assets in Russia of the French groups Danone and Danish Carlsberg, which had announced their intention to leave the Russian market after the offensive in Ukraine, indicated a decree published on Sunday. According to a decree signed by Vladimir Putin and published on the official Russian legal portal on Sunday, 98.56% of the shares of the Russian brewery Baltika, belonging to Carlsberg, and tens of thousands of shares belonging to Danone are placed “temporarily” under Russian state control. In detail, this decree specifies that 83,292,493,000 shares of “Danone Russia”, owned by the group “Produits Laitiers Frais Est Europe”, still according to the decree, are placed under the control of the Russian State, as well as 85,000 other shares belonging to the “Danone Trade” group.
In October 2022, Danone announced its decision to cede control of its dairy and plant-based products branch. A disengagement which was to lead to a loss of 1 billion euros. However, the firm indicated that it would keep its small infant milk production activity in the territory. As for the Carlsberg group, it announced in March 2022 the withdrawal of its activities in the country, a few hours after its Dutch competitor Heineken.