At least 15 civilians have been killed and more than 20 feared trapped after Russian rockets hit a five-story apartment building in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, reducing it to rubble. Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kirilenko said the strike on the apartment building took place on Saturday night in the city of Chasiv Yar. The regional emergency service put the death toll at 15 on Sunday afternoon, adding that another 24 people may be under the rubble. Russia is raising “real hell” in eastern Ukraine, according to a local governor. Serhyi Haidai, who heads Luhansk province, said “no operational pause” had been announced by Russian troops, who were “still attacking and shelling … with the same intensity as before.” The governor said there were 20 artillery, mortar and rocket attacks overnight in his province, whose last major resistance stronghold was captured by Russia last week. Deadly blows continue to fall elsewhere as Ukraine continues to fight the Russian invasion, which has now turned its attention to the East.
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Doubts grow over Ukraine’s grain harvest amid export blockade
Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports has called into question the fate of the upcoming harvest in Ukraine. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization says the ongoing invasion poses a huge threat to food supplies for many developing countries and could worsen hunger for up to 181 million people worldwide. Before Russia’s invasion, Ukraine could export up to 7 million tons of grain a month, but in June it shipped only 2.2 million tons, according to the Ukrainian Grain Union. Meanwhile, many farmers in Ukraine could go bankrupt. They are facing their most difficult situation since independence in 1991, according to the club’s chief. Read the full story here:
Stress is growing for Ukraine’s grain farmers as harvest begins
An estimated 22 million tonnes of grain are blocked in Ukraine and pressure is mounting as the new harvest begins Lamiat Sabin10 July 2022 22:00 1657483235
The war in Ukraine ‘may be contributing to the crisis in Sri Lanka’ – Blinken
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “may be one of the contributing factors” to food shortages in Sri Lanka, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said. During a visit to Thailand, he said the blocking of tens of millions of Ukrainian grain exports continues to threaten people’s food security in many developing countries around the world. Protesters outside Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office in Colombo (AFP via Getty Images) Meanwhile, thousands of protesters in Sri Lanka have occupied Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office and presidential palace amid an ongoing political and economic crisis that is the worst the island nation has experienced since independence from Britain in 1948. Earlier this week, Mr Rajapasksa had a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said he had “asked for an offer of credit support to import fuel” amid severe fuel shortages that have resulted in schools having to close for weeks. Lamiat Sabin10 July 2022 21:00 1657481435
Family of ‘Russian troops’ under state surveillance’ – report
Close relatives of troops killed in the invasion of Ukraine have been placed under surveillance by the Russian state, according to a report. The report by news website The New Voice of Ukraine cites the intelligence wing of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. A Russian tank was destroyed during fighting in the village of Dmytrivka near Kyiv (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Family members are considered by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) to be prone to “public dissemination of false information and actions to discredit the Russian armed forces,” according to a Ukrainian intelligence report. The crime of “deliberately spreading false information” about Russian troops is punishable by a fine of up to around £10,000 or up to three years in prison. The Russian legislation was enacted earlier this year weeks after Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine. Lamiat Sabin10 July 2022 20:30 1657479635
Siemens says it will acquire pipeline turbine in Russia as soon as possible
Siemens said Canada’s decision to allow a turbine from its Canadian repair shop to be shipped to Germany was a necessary first step in returning it to the Russian pipeline in operation, and that it aimed to get it there as soon as possible. “The policy decision on exports is a necessary and important first step towards the delivery of the turbine. Currently, our experts are working intensively on all further official approvals and logistics,” Siemens Energy said in a statement. “Among other things, this includes legally required export and import control procedures. Our goal is to get the turbine to its operating location as quickly as possible,” he added. Reuters10 July 2022 20:00 1657477835
One person was pulled from the rubble of the Chasiv Yar apartments – report
One more person was reportedly found under the rubble of an apartment building in Ukraine. Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne reported that the source is Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office. At least 15 people were killed after airstrikes hit the five-story apartment building in Chasiv Yar, in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Six people have now been rescued – but 23 people, including a child, remain trapped under the rubble, Suspilne also said. Russia claimed the block of flats housed “Ukrainian fighters” and denied its troops had targeted civilians. Lamiat Sabin10 July 2022 19:30 1657476035
Ukraine ‘deeply disappointed’ by Canadian decision to return turbine
Ukraine’s energy and foreign ministries said they were “deeply disappointed” by Canada’s decision to deliver to Germany a repaired Siemens turbine used for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. The statement, posted on the energy ministry’s website, called on the Canadian government to reverse its decision and said returning the turbine would be tantamount to adapting the sanctions imposed on Moscow “to the whims of Russia.” Reuters 10 July 2022 19:00 1657474235
Senegal secures £102m loan for emergency crops amid Ukraine war
The African Development Bank Group has approved a €121 million loan to Senegal for an emergency crop-growing program after the war in Ukraine severely curtailed food imports. The bank said the program will benefit 850,000 smallholder farmers, 35% of whom are women. Mohamed Cherif, the bank’s director for Senegal, said: “Senegal’s dependence on the outside world for basic goods and food is a real obstacle and threatens the country’s food sovereignty, which has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.” Dakar, capital of Senegal (Getty Images) He added: “This operation is aimed at mitigating exogenous financial, economic, social and climate crises and sustaining the upward trend in cereal production seen in recent years, particularly by focusing efforts on the availability of key inputs, including seeds and fertilizers in producers. “ This loan is the first approved under the bank’s $1.5bn (£1.25bn) plan – called the African Emergency Food Production Facility – set up in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Lamiat Sabin10 July 2022 18:30 1657472435
ICYMI: Zelensky fires Ukraine’s ambassadors to five countries
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed several of Kiev’s ambassadors abroad. Among them is Andriy Melnyk, Ukraine’s outspoken ambassador to Germany. Ukraine’s envoys to the Czech Republic, India, Norway and Hungary were also dismissed. Zelensky said the decision was “a normal part of diplomatic practice”. Read the full story here by Chiara Giordano
Zelensky fires Ukraine’s ambassadors to five countries, including Germany and India
The Ukrainian president says the move is “normal” and new candidates are being prepared Lamiat Sabin10 July 2022 18:00 1657470635
Russia claims Ukrainian troops fired shells into Donetsk regions
Russia claims Ukrainian troops have fired 26 artillery shells at residential areas in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. Russia’s state-run Tass news agency claims the Ukrainian military fired the 155mm artillery shells within 30 minutes on Sunday. It claimed that two civilians were injured when Ukrainian troops reportedly “opened fire in Donetsk’s Kievsky and Kuybyshesky districts.” The news agency said its source was the Moscow-backed separatist group Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Lamiat Sabin10 July 2022 17:30 1657468835
Chasiv Yar apartment building attack ‘should be considered an act of terrorism’
Airstrikes on an apartment building in eastern Ukraine should be considered a terrorist attack, said Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said in a Telegram post that the strike on the building in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, was “another terrorist attack” and that Russia should be labeled a state sponsor of terrorism. The attack on the five-storey block has killed at least 15 people, with up to 30 more people feared trapped under the rubble as rescue efforts continue. Russia denied that it had targeted civilians, denied that civilians were among the dead and claimed that Ukraine had “turned [the block] in military installations”. Lamiat Sabin10 July 2022 17:00
