The Turkish presidency announced, Thursday evening, that Russia and Ukraine will sign an agreement on the export of grain tomorrow, Friday afternoon, in Istanbul, while Moscow accused the US President of seeking to continue the Ukraine war to stay in power.

The presidency added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as well as representatives of Russia and Ukraine, will participate in the signing ceremony.

Earlier on Thursday, Deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq said that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to Istanbul at a time when Turkish and international officials are seeking to sign an agreement with Russia and Ukraine to resume Ukrainian grain exports and Russian exports of fertilizer and food. from the Black Sea ports.

Farhan Haq stressed that what Turkey and the United Nations are trying to do is to reach an agreement between Russia and Ukraine for the access of their grain and fertilizer products to the world market, adding that this is not just an agreement between the two countries, but an agreement for the benefit of the whole world.

In response to journalists' questions about the possibility of signing such an agreement on Friday, the deputy UN spokesman said, "We cannot set a date for signing the agreement, but we are moving forward in this regard."

Earlier on Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu expressed his optimism about reaching an agreement between Ukraine and Russia to export Ukrainian grain and food products to the world.

He stressed that his country is communicating with the warring parties at all levels.

For its part, the Ukrainian army revealed new details regarding negotiations related to the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

The Ukrainian army confirmed that the export will take place through 3 Ukrainian ports (Odessa, Neshornomorsk, and Yuzhny), adding that the ships' itinerary will take place under the auspices of the United Nations, expressing hope to expand export lines in the future.

On July 13, the city of Istanbul hosted a military meeting with the participation of officials from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations, to discuss transporting grain stuck in Ukrainian ports.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced that the meeting had agreed to establish a coordination center in Istanbul, which would include representatives of the concerned parties.

Many countries in the world are suffering from a grain crisis, as a result of the inability of cargo ships to leave Ukrainian ports due to the war that broke out since last February 24.

debt cancellation

In a related context, the group known as the "Creditors of Ukraine Group" decided to suspend the service of repaying the debts owed by the Ukrainian government, from the beginning of next August until the end of next year.

The group - which includes the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Britain - indicated that there is a possibility to extend this period for an additional year, in accordance with the laws of the creditor countries.

A statement by the group - published by the US Treasury - stated that this decision came at the request of Ukraine to postpone the service of outstanding debts, in a step aimed at supporting the Ukrainian government.

The group urged all other creditors to quickly reach an agreement with Kyiv on suspending debt servicing.


Penalties and aid

Politically, Politico quoted sources as saying that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had asked Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The website indicated that Pelosi told Blinken - during a phone call this week - that Congress will designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, if the US administration does not take that decision.

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the seventh package of European Union sanctions against Russia is in its final stage.

Zelensky added - in a televised speech - that his country will not stop its attempts to obtain an effective air defense system, until it forces Moscow to seek peace.

And on Western aid to Ukraine, the European Union's High Commissioner for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that the EU countries agreed to move the fifth batch of military aid, amounting to half a billion euros, to further support the Ukrainian armed forces.

Borrell stressed, in a tweet on Twitter, after his participation in the meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Ministerial Contact Group, that the European Union remains focused and steadfast in its support for Ukraine.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK would send tens of thousands of artillery shells and hundreds of anti-tank weapons to Ukraine.

He explained that this additional support includes 50,000 artillery shells and 1,600 anti-armor weapons.

The plans come after Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged last month additional £1 billion in military support to Ukraine.

Russian warnings

On the other hand, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that providing the West with long-range weapons to Ukraine would make the Russian military operation expand beyond its current area, and that Moscow would not allow foreign weapons to remain on Ukrainian soil threatening its security, as he put it.

In turn, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of the Russian National Security Council, blamed the West for the possibility that Ukraine would lose what remained of its sovereignty and disappear from the world map, as he put it.

As for the Russian Foreign Ministry, it said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European Union countries cannot track and control the weapons it sends to Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine reach the black market, which is actively used by extremists and terrorists all over the world, as she put it.

While the Speaker of the Russian State Duma (deputies), Vyacheslav Volodin, accused, on Thursday, US President Joe Biden of seeking to continue the war in Ukraine in order to stay in power.

Volodin said - through his account on Telegram - that Ukraine will be in the spotlight during the upcoming midterm elections for Congress, especially since Biden calls for "the continuation of the war until the last Ukrainian."


heavy bombardment

On the ground, Al-Jazeera correspondent quoted the head of the military administration in Kharkiv Province as saying that 3 people were killed, and 23 were wounded, in a missile attack on residential neighborhoods in the city of Kharkiv.

The reporter added that the city of Kharkiv was bombed with Uragan missiles that hit residential neighborhoods in the Saltavka area, east of the city.

One of the missiles also hit a medical center.

The head of the military administration in Kharkiv demanded that residents stick to shelters and homes.

In Mykolaiv, in the south, Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that the city was bombed in separate locations, targeting military and civilian facilities.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army confirmed the killing of 111 Russian soldiers, and the destruction of 6 Russian ammunition depots, in shelling of its forces on separate sites in Kherson, in the south of the country.

On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that more than 600 Ukrainian soldiers were killed during the bombing carried out by Russian planes on July 16.

Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that on Wednesday, Russian forces destroyed 9 control posts belonging to the Ukrainian forces.

limited progress

For his part, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, said that Russia has made limited progress in Donbass, eastern Ukraine, during the past three months, and indicated that the Ukrainian resistance is still coherent.

Burns added - during his participation in the "Aspen Security Forum" - that the number of Russian deaths in the Ukraine war is estimated at 15,000, and the number of casualties is 3 times that.

He added that the Ukrainians suffered losses in their ranks as well.

British intelligence said Russian forces and pro-Moscow separatists continue to launch small attacks along the Donbass front line.

It added that Russian forces are likely to approach Ukraine's second largest power plant, at Vohlherska, 50 kilometers northeast of Donetsk, as part of its plan to seize vital national infrastructure, such as power stations.