Russia claimed on Friday, August 4, to have repelled Ukrainian drone attacks against its naval base in Novorossïysk, on the Black Sea. The annexed peninsula of Crimea was also targeted. This is the first attack of this kind against Novorossiysk, a major oil port and the terminus of an oil pipeline of around 1,500 km. Most Kazakh oil for export passes through this pipe.
“The unmanned boats were visually detected and destroyed,” the defense ministry said. Quoted by the Russian media, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which operates the pipeline, said that no damage had been reported and that the oil continued to be transported normally on board ships at the dock.
As for Crimea, Russian forces shot down 13 drones attacking the peninsula overnight from Thursday to Friday, the Defense Ministry said. No casualties or damage to report. Ukrainian attacks in Russia have multiplied since the beginning of the counter-offensive, while the Kremlin, for its part, is attacking the Odessa region.
The Russian Defense Minister in the area of operation in Ukraine
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited the area of the operation in Ukraine to inspect a command post. He also spoke with senior military officials, the Russian military said. Sergei Shoigu “thanked the commanders and the military […] for successful offensive actions” in the Lyman area in eastern Ukraine, the Russian army continued. It did not specify when this move took place.
The last appearance of Sergei Shoigu on the front dates back to the end of June. He had been shown inspecting Russian forces in Ukraine, in a video released by the Russian army, a few days after the failed rebellion of the paramilitary group Wagner.
African leaders call for unblocking grain exports
African leaders involved in peace talks over Ukraine have called for the unblocking of Russian grain and fertilizer exports. The objective is to revive the agreement on grain exports via the Black Sea, South Africa said on August 3. The group also called on the United Nations to take action to release 200,000 tonnes of Russian fertilizers stuck in European Union ports.
“Leaders called for specific measures to remove obstacles to Russian grain and fertilizer exports, allowing the resumption of full implementation” of the Black Sea agreement, the spokesman said. the South African Presidency. Last month, Russia withdrew from a UN-brokered deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea, leading to a spike in grain prices that hit hard the poorest countries.
Fighting ‘tough’ but Ukraine ‘dominates’, says Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted on Thursday that his counter-offensive was difficult. “The occupiers are trying with all their might to stop our guys. The fighting is very violent,” he acknowledged in his daily message, nevertheless assuring that “whatever the enemy does, it is the Ukrainian army who dominates”.
Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in June to repel Russian forces from eastern and southern territories, but has since made modest progress. President Zelensky spoke on Thursday of the fighting in the key areas of Lyman, Bakhmout and Avdiivka, in the east of the country, but also on the southern front. By 2022, Ukraine had recaptured swaths of territory around Kherson and Kharkiv in rapid counter-offensives. But Ukrainian forces are now facing entrenched Russian defensive positions over the past few months.
Three Baltic countries to disconnect from Moscow-controlled power grid
Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia reached an agreement on Thursday to disconnect from the Russian-controlled electricity grid. They will instead connect to that of the European Union. The Prime Ministers of these Baltic countries, members of NATO, have pledged to complete this transition by February 2025.
“The fact that the Baltic States continue to be part of the BRELL electricity system, managed by Russia, constitutes a threat to the energy security” of these three small nations, said the heads of their governments in a joint statement. In order to end their energy dependence on Russia, which dates back to the Soviet era, they will plug into the European Union’s electricity grid through Poland.
EU tightens sanctions against Belarus
The European Union has announced that it is tightening its sanctions against Belarus because of its support for Moscow in its war in Ukraine. It is thus extending its blacklist and restricting exports, in particular for technologies intended for drones. These new sanctions, approved unanimously by the Twenty-Seven, aim to “guarantee that Russian sanctions cannot be circumvented via Belarus”, by targeting “highly sensitive” goods and technologies, explained the Commission. European.
Thus, they strengthen the ban on the export of firearms and ammunition, as well as components and technologies potentially intended for aviation and the space industry, including to manufacture drones. In these areas, it was for the European Union to align the sanctions against Belarus with the regime of European sanctions weighing on Russia.
The European Union will also restrict exports to Belarus of dual-use goods and technologies (civilian and military) as well as components used by Russia to wage its war: semiconductor devices, electronic integrated circuits, equipment manufacturing and testing, optical components, etc.