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Video still (according to Russian data from July 17 on the Crimean bridge)
Photo: INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION / EPA
What happened in the past few hours
According to Ukrainian sources, the south and east of Ukraine became the target of Russian attacks from the air during the night. The port city of Odessa, as well as the regions of Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Dnieper, are threatened by Russian drone attacks, the Ukrainian Air Force said via Telegram.
Russia may also use ballistic weapons to attack the Poltava, Cherkasy, Dnieper, Kharkiv and Kirovohradska regions. The head of the military administration of the Odessa region, Oleh Kiper, expected several waves of attacks.
Location at the Crimean Bridge
Britain rejects Russia's accusations that British intelligence services may have been involved in an attack on the Crimean bridge. "This is unsubstantiated speculation by Russia, which we do not wish to comment on," a spokesman for the British Foreign Office said in an email.
The Russian deputy ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Dmitry Polyansky, told the Security Council on Monday that British intelligence services could have been involved in the attack. "I have not heard any condemnation of this terrorist act from any of the Western sponsors of the Kiev regime. And we have yet to find out to what extent Western, especially British, intelligence services were involved in the preparation and execution of this terrorist attack. Too many things point to it."
On Monday, there had been an incident at the bridge, presumably there were several explosions with civilian victims. The exact circumstances – and whether it was an attack – are still open.
According to Russian information, one lane on the bridge has been reopened for road traffic. "Car traffic on the Crimean bridge has been restored in the far right lane against the usual direction of travel," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin wrote on his Telegram channel.
Earlier, the government in Moscow had actually announced that the strategically important bridge between the Crimean peninsula and the Russian mainland would remain suspended until mid-September.
Wrangling over the grain agreement
The agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey with Russia to ship Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea officially expired on Monday at 23:00 CEST. Russia had terminated the agreement on Monday. Nothing was known about an extension late in the evening. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said that only when demands for the export of Russian grain were met could his country return to fulfilling the agreement.
The expiry of the agreement is lamented internationally. It reawakens fears of rising prices for grain and food. Thanks to the agreement, Ukraine had been able to export grain by sea since last summer, despite Russia's war of aggression. More than 1000 ships brought almost 33 million tons abroad. For the time being, the freighter "TQ Samsun" was the last ship to be inspected on its way to the Netherlands in Istanbul on Monday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has described Russia's withdrawal as "unscrupulous". This would use food as a weapon, Blinken criticized in Washington. This will mean that food will be harder to come by and more expensive in places where it is urgently needed. The market is already reacting. "That's unconscionable. This must not happen." Russia must reverse the decision.
The European Union also condemned the Kremlin's move. "With this decision, Russia is further exacerbating the global food security crisis it has caused by its war of aggression against Ukraine and its blockade of Ukrainian seaports," said High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell on behalf of member states. Russia must abandon the illegal blockade of Ukrainian ports and allow free navigation on the Black Sea.
This is what Kiev says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is counting on talks with the United Nations and Turkey to continue the grain deal without Moscow. To this end, he wrote letters to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Zelensky said in his video address on Monday evening.
Russia has destroyed the stable food supply, but the states in Asia, Africa and Europe have a right to stability. "The Black Sea Grain Initiative can and should continue – if without Russia, then without Russia." The agreement with the UN and Turkey remains in force. It just needs to be implemented. With the agreement, Ukraine had been exporting grain across the Black Sea since last summer, despite the war. However, Moscow no longer agreed to an extension.
International reactions
The UN's top diplomat Rosemary DiCarlo has warned of an expansion of the war. "The longer this war lasts, the more dangerous its consequences are – including the possibility of a major conflict," the UN Special Envoy for Political Affairs told the UN Security Council in New York on Monday.
For the "good of the Ukrainian people and for the good of our world community," the senseless, unjustified war must stop, the American continued. Russia had violated the UN Charter and international law with its invasion of the neighboring country. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also took part in the meeting of the UN's most powerful body.
Against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, Great Britain wants to improve the combat readiness of its military. This included spending around €2.9 billion to replenish ammunition and stockpiles depleted by the war in Ukraine, the government in London said. The new strategy also includes plans for a new "Global Response Force" that will allow the armed forces to "be the first on the ground," as well as an improved "Surge Capacity" force made up of former soldiers.
"We must adapt and modernize to address the threats we face, learning the lessons of President Putin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine," said Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
jok/dpa/Reuters