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🔴 Live: Russian strikes destroy 180,000 tons of grain in nine days, Ukraine says
Russian air strikes over nine days have destroyed around 180,000 metric tons of grain crops this month, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Monday. Earlier a Russian attack on Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih killed at least five people with more likely trapped under rubble, said the Ukrainian interior ministry. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
Issued on: 31/07/2023 – 08:35
7 min
Smoke billows from a residential building hit by a Russian missile strike in Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih on July 31, 2023.
Smoke billows from a residential building hit by a Russian missile strike in Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih on July 31, 2023. © Ukrainian emergency services via Reuters
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6:37pm: Ukraine signs agreement with Turkish company for drones repair
Ukraine’s defence ministry signed an agreement with Turkish company Baykar Makina to build a service centre for the repair and maintenance of drones, a ministry official said on Monday.
Ukraine is seeking to boost domestic production of drones to build an “Army of Drones” in its fight against Russian forces who invaded the country in February 2022.
Ukrainian media reported earlier this month, citing Ukraine’s minister of strategic industries Oleksandr Kamyshin, that Baykar Makina has started the construction of a plant to manufacture Bayraktar drones in Ukraine.
4:43pm: Russian opposition politican Kara-Murza loses appeal against treason sentence
Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza on Monday lost an appeal against his 25-year jail sentence, the RIA state news agency reported.
Kara-Murza, who holds Russian and British citizenship, was jailed for 25 years in April for treason and spreading “false information” about Russia’s war in Ukraine.
4:17pm: Ukraine and Croatia agree use of Croatian ports for grain exports, Kyiv says
Ukraine and Croatia have agreed on the possibility of using Croatian ports on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea for the export of Ukrainian grain, Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said after talks with his Croatian counterpart on Monday.
4:17pm: Five killed in central Ukraine as Moscow claims it has intensified strikes
A missile strike on a residential building in Ukraine killed five and wounded dozens on Monday, as Russia stated it had stepped up strikes against Ukrainian military facilities in response to attacks on its territory, including Moscow.
As FRANCE 24 reported earlier, among the dead were a 10-year-old girl and her 45-year-old mother, while 64 people were injured, according to local authorities.
Zelensky on Kryvyi Rih
3:22pm: Ukraine says 180,000 tons of grain destroyed in nine days of Russian strikes
Russian air strikes destroyed an estimated 180,000 metric tons of grain crops in the space of nine days this month, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said on Monday.
Russia has conducted air strikes on Ukrainian port infrastructure several times after withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal that had allowed Ukraine to safely export grain.
2:21pm: At a ‘stabpoint’ near Bakhmut, doctors battle to help the stream of wounded
As fighting continues to rage near the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, France 24’s Emmanuelle Chaze gained rare access to a medical facility known as a ‘stabpoint’, or ‘stabilisation point’ where the wounded are rushed straight from the front lines. Here, doctors are doing their best to cope with a growing number of often badly injured patients.
01:48
1:30pm: At least four killed in Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih
The death toll from a Russian missile attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih has risen to at least four, with a 10-year-old girl among the victims and several other people believed to be buried under rubble, Ukrainian officials say.
“Tragic news. Four people have already died in Kryvyi Rih,” Serhiy Lysak, the regional governor, wrote on the Telegram messenger app. Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said they included a 10-year-old girl and her 45-year-old mother.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who grew up in the steel-producing city, posted a video that shows smoke billowing from a gaping hole smashed in the side of a nine-storey residential building.
FRANCE 24’s Emmanuelle Chaze reports from Kramatorsk.
03:21
1:20pm: Russia says it has intensified attacks on Ukraine
Moscow has intensified strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure in response to attacks on Russian-controlled territory, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said.
“Against the background of the failure of the so-called ‘counteroffensive’, Kyiv… has focused on carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure,” Shoigu said, citing recent drone attacks targeting Moscow and the Crimean peninsula.
01:19
“The intensity of our strikes against Ukrainian military facilities.. has been considerably increased,” he added.
Earlier, the Kremlin described Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow as “an act of desperation” by Ukraine due to setbacks on the battlefield.
12:05am: Kremlin says it needs to understand aims of Saudi talks on Ukraine
Russia needs to find out the purpose of upcoming talks reportedly planned in Saudi Arabia about the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin has told reporters when quizzed on the matter.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that Saudi Arabia would invite Western states, Ukraine and major developing countries to the talks. The paper said Kyiv and Western countries hoped that the talks, which would exclude Russia, can lead to international backing for peace terms favoring Ukraine.
Asked about the WSJ report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Of course, Russia will follow this meeting. We need to understand what goals are set and what will be discussed. Any attempt to promote a peaceful settlement deserves a positive evaluation.”
However, Peskov also restated Moscow’s position that it currently saw no grounds for peace talks with Kyiv.
10:50am: At least two killed in Russian strikes on Kryvyi Rih
The death toll from Russian missile strikes on the city of Kryvyi Rih in southern Ukraine has risen to at least two, with Ukrainian officials warning that more people are trapped under the rubble.
Smoke billowed from a gaping hole smashed in the side of a nine-storey building, while another, four-storey building had been almost levelled, a video posted by President Volodymyr Zelensky showed.
“Two are dead and around five-seven people are under the rubble,” Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on television. The general prosecutor’s office said 25 people had been wounded, including four children.
Zelensky, who grew up in the steel-producing city that had a pre-war population of more than 600,000, said the strikes had hit a university building and a residential building.
10:15am: Two killed in shelling of Donetsk city, says Russian-installed official
Two people have been killed and four injured in Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk city, the Russian-installed head of Ukraine’s Donetsk region has said.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Denis Pushilin said the casualties occurred when Ukrainian shells hit a civilian bus. Donetsk’s Russian-installed mayor separately published on Telegram pictures of a burnt-out bus.
The city of Donetsk has been under Russian control since 2014, but Ukrainian troops continue to hold positions on its outskirts and the city regularly comes under artillery fire.
9:35am: Russian missile strikes on Kryvyi Rih kill at least one
Twin Russian missile strikes on the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih have killed at least one person with more likely trapped under rubble, the Ukrainian interior ministry has said.
The strikes hit a four-storey building of an educational institution and a nine-storey residential building, it said in a statement.
“The enemy conducted a missile strike on Kryvyi Rih. All the necessary agencies are working at the scene now,” the interior ministry said, urging people to remain in air raid shelters.
8:05am: Russia says Ukrainian drone strikes police station in Bryansk
A Ukrainian drone hit a police station overnight in the frontier Russian region of Bryansk but there were no victims, the regional governor has said.
“Ukrainian forces attacked the district of Trubchevsky at night,” Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram. “A drone hit the police station in this district. No victims,” but the windows and roof were damaged, he added.
The overnight strike came hours after three drones were shot down over Moscow in the latest attack on the Russian capital.
Zelensky on invasion
6:30am: Russia’s GDP to grow more than 2% this year
Russia’s economy will grow more than 2% this year, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has told the TASS news agency, adding that the federal budget deficit will reach 2.0%-2.5% of gross domestic product.
Siluanov said the Russian rouble’s recent weakness had been driven by the country’s trade balance, and the predictability of the exchange rate was very important to the ministry.
3:16am: Ukraine reports fierce fighting in northeast
A senior Ukrainian official reported heavy fighting in the northeast of the country on Sunday, with Kyiv’s forces holding their lines and making gains in some areas.
Russia’s military said it had pushed back Ukrainian forces in the area.
Read more
Counterattack or ploy? Kyiv vigilant despite heavy Russian shelling of northeast region
Ukraine’s President Zelensky described Sunday as “a good day, a powerful day” at the front, particularly near Bakhmut, where Ukrainian forces say they are retaking ground lost when Russian forces took the city in May.
Key developments from Sunday, July 30:
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Russia’s defence ministry said three Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow early on Sunday, two of which crashed near the capital. The attack damaged two buildings and temporarily suspended flights at Vnukovo airport.
Pope Francis called on Russia to revive the Black Sea grain deal, which allowed Ukraine to export grain from its seaports despite the war.
Meanwhile, officials in Kyiv said Saudi Arabia is preparing to host a summit in August to discuss Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s plan for peace in his country amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
Read yesterday’s liveblog to see how the day’s events unfolded.
