Russia-Ukraine war live news: Moscow targets Odesa, Mykolaiv
- Russia launched overnight attacks on the Ukrainian port cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv, killing one and wounding 27.
- The Ukrainian military says it shot down five cruise missiles and 13 attack drones overnight.
Russia says it continued ‘retaliatory strikes’ on Ukraine
Russia’s Defence Ministry says it continued “retaliatory strikes” on Ukraine days after Moscow quit the Black Sea grain deal.
Moscow had promised pay back for an attack on the Kerch Bridge in Crimea on Monday.
The defence ministry said it had “continued to deliver retaliatory strikes with high-precision sea and air-based weapons at workshops and storage sites for unmanned boats in the regions of Odesa and Chornomorsk”.
“In the area of the city of Mykolaiv, fuel infrastructure facilities and ammunition depots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed,” it added.
Ukraine calls to restore grain deal
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for the restoration of the Black Sea grain initiative to help global food insecurity.
During a two-day trip to Islamabad, Kuleba’s Pakistani counterpart, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, endorsed his comments, adding that he was planning to take the issue up with the secretary general of the United Nations.
“We had to find the way to export our grain to the global market,” said Kuleba, adding, “land corridors cannot export the full amount of cereals available for export, this is the issue, which means prices will go up because of shortages of delivery.”
Price of wheat hits three-week high, days after Russia left grain deal
Chicago wheat futures hit a three-week high as Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal on Monday.
In the three days since, Moscow has ramped up attacks on Ukrainian port cities and warned that any incoming ships could be considered military targets.
Poland’s aggression is a ‘cause for concern’: Kremlin
The Kremlin says Poland’s decision to increase its forces along its border with Belarus as Russian Wagner fighters arrive is “a cause for concern”.
Poland, a member of the Western NATO military alliance, moved more than 1,000 soldiers, along with military hardware, to the east earlier this month.
Asked about Poland’s move, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “Of course, it is a cause for concern. The aggressiveness of Poland is a reality.
“Such a hostile attitude towards Belarus and the Russian Federation requires heightened attention [from our side].”
Earlier, the Belarusian defence ministry said Wagner mercenaries had started to train Belarusian special forces at a military range just a few miles from the border with Poland.
Chinese consulate in Odesa damaged after Russian attacks
A building at the Chinese consulate in Odesa was damaged during Russia’s latest attack on the Ukrainian port city, regional Governor Oleh Kiper said
Kiper posted a photograph online showing minor damage to the building.
“The aggressor is deliberately hitting the port infrastructure – administrative and residential buildings nearby were damaged, also the consulate of the People’s Republic of China. It shows the enemy does not pay attention to anything,” Kiper said on Telegram.
Zelenskyy said in his nightly video that 60,000 tonnes of agricultural products destroyed in a Russian air attack on the Odesa port were intended for China.
EU ministers meet to discuss $22bn in support for Kyiv
European Union foreign ministers have met to discuss support for Ukraine, including a plan to spend up to 20 billion euros ($22.4 bn) on weapons, ammunition and other military aid over four years.
“We’ll discuss how to continue supporting Ukraine in the long run,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on arrival at the meeting in Brussels.
“I presented a plan in order to ensure financial support for Ukraine in the next years, which will amount to quite an important amount of money. I hope the ministers will support it,” he told reporters.
The move would be part of an international drive to give Ukraine long-term security assurances, as announced by members of the Group of Seven (G7) on the sidelines of last week’s NATO summit.
What happened in week 73 of the war?
In the 73rd week of the war, Ukraine made small counteroffensive gains and attacked the Crimean Bridge.
In retaliation, Russia announced it was withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal.
At least one person killed in Odesa
At least one person has been killed and 27 injured in Russia’s latest attack on Odesa and Mykolaiv, Ukrainian officials said.
Regional authorities said that one person was also killed in Russian shelling in Kharkiv.
Ukraine’s military added that Russian forces launched 19 missiles and 19 drones overnight and that five missiles and 13 of the drones had been shot down.
Regional governor Vitaliy Kim said 19 people were wounded in the city of Mykolaiv, and several residential buildings were damaged.
In Odesa, the regional governor Oleh Kiper said a security guard was killed, and at least eight others were hurt.
‘Russian terrorists’ continue to destroy lives: Zelenskyy
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on Thursday’s attacks in Odesa and Mykolaiv and said the “Russian terrorists” continue to destroy lives.
On Twitter, he wrote, “The evil state has no missiles that are more powerful than our will to save lives, support each other and win. I thank everyone who defends our cities, our people, our sky! I am grateful to all our warriors, rescuers, doctors, local authorities, volunteers… to everyone involved in eliminating the consequences of Russian terror!”
China, Ukraine discuss bilateral trade cooperation
China is willing to increase imports from Ukraine, the Chinese commerce ministry says.
China is willing to “establish cooperative relations between the investment promotion agencies of the two countries, and continuously expand the space for trade and investment cooperation,” Ling Ji, vice commerce minister, said in a meeting co-chaired with Ukraine’s deputy economy minister, Taras Kachka, in Beijing.
Kachka said Ukraine hopes to expand the export of agricultural products to China.
“We are willing to work together with China to promote the healthy and sustainable development of economic and trade relations between the two countries,” Kachka said.
Germany working to ensure Ukrainian grain does not rot: German FM
Germany is working with allies to ensure that Ukrainian grain is not left to rot in silos after Russia pulled out of the grain deal, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.
Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, Baerbock accused Russia of blackmail and trying to use the grain as a weapon.
“Hundreds of thousands of people, not to say millions, urgently need the grain from Ukraine, which is why we are working with all our international partners so that the grain in Ukraine does not rot in silos in the next few weeks, but reaches the people of the world who urgently need it,” Baerbock said.
Ukrainian official calls for stronger Russian sanctions
The head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Yermak, calls for stronger Russian sanctions to drastically affect its economy.
On Twitter, he wrote: “We must unite against Russian evil. Russia’s economy should suffer a devastating sanctions blow, the military-industrial complex should be limited in its ability to produce weapons, and Ukraine should receive more weapons for defense of the sky and offensive actions.”
Russia out to ‘destroy’ global food supply chains, says Ukrainian official
Head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office has described the latest strikes as “Russian terror” and asserted they were meant to disrupt food supplies in the global south.
“Russian terror is perpetrated against peaceful people and infrastructure facilities … aiming to destroy the food supply chain to the countries of the Global South,” Andriy Yermak posted on Twitter.
In a separate but related tweet minutes later, he said Russia’s economy should suffer a “devastating sanctions blow” and that Ukraine should “receive more weapons for defense of the sky and offensive actions”.
Grain deal unlikely to cause spike in wheat prices: Economist
Economist Simon Baptist says while “everybody” around the world will be affected negatively by Russia pulling out from the grain deal, the price of wheat is unlikely to spike by much.
“The price and supplies of wheat are driven by the global harvest, and the accessibility of that to market,” Baptist, chief global economist at Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), told Al Jazeera.
“With Ukrainian supplies now going down we can expect some small increase in the wheat price. But wheat price hit a high of about $500 per tonne just after the invasion, and is now down to about $350 where at the EIU were expecting that to soften a bit further to $340. So it’ll probably now stay at about $350 or maybe go to $360.”
However, the Singapore-based analyst said there was “plentiful supply” around the world, with Australia and Canada reporting big harvests.
“And actually Russia’s harvest is also at a record high and probably wanting to sell that harvest from Russia was part of their motivation for closing the deal,” he said.
Belarus says its troops conducting military exercises with Wagner fighters
The Belarusian defence ministry has said in a statement the country’s military was continuing exercises with fighters from Russia’s Wagner Group mercenary force at a military base near the city of Brest, on the border with Poland.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was shown in a video on Wednesday welcoming his fighters to Belarus, telling them they would take no further part in the Ukraine war for now but ordering them to gather their strength for Africa.
Wheat jumps to three-week high
Chicago wheat futures rose 1.6 percent to hit a three-week high, amid Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea export deal earlier this week which analysts say will increase global wheat prices.
Corn gained more than 1 percent, while soybeans were little changed on forecasts of hot and dry weather in the US Midwest.
Ukraine says it destroyed five missiles, 13 drones
Five cruise missiles and 13 attack drones launched by Russian forces overnight at the southern Mykolaiv and Odesa regions were destroyed, Ukraine’s air force has said.
It said Russia fired 19 cruise missiles and 19 drones in total, but did not specify exactly where the others struck.
Russia bombs Odesa, Mykolaiv in Ukraine
Russia launched attacks on the Ukrainian port cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv, injuring at least 20, local governors said early on Thursday.
“Russians hit the city centre. A garage and a 3-story residential building are on fire,” Mykolaiv governor Vitaliy Kim wrote on Telegram.
Earlier, Ukraine’s air force had announced an air alert for Mykolaiv, Odesa and several other regions. It said it had detected the launch of “missiles” towards the Odesa region.