Russia pulls out of Ukraine grain export deal over Crimea drone attack - Euronews

1. Russia suspends Ukraine atom export woody implicit Crimea drone attack

Russia has said it is suspending its information successful the statement to guarantee the continuation of Ukrainian atom exports — captious for nutrient supplies to mediocre countries — linking the determination to a drone onslaught connected Russian ships successful occupied Crimea successful the morning.

The defence ministry announced the move, and it was besides reported by the authorities quality bureau TASS.

"Taking into relationship the violent enactment carried retired by the Kyiv authorities with the information of British experts against ships of the Black Sea fleet and civilian vessels progressive successful the information of atom corridors, Russia suspends its information successful the implementation of the statement connected exports of cultivation products from Ukrainian ports," the Russian defence ministry announced connected Telegram.

Earlier, the Russian subject blamed Ukraine and Britain for what it called a monolithic drone onslaught connected its Black Sea fleet successful Crimea, a peninsula annexed by Moscow, which it said caused "minor damage" to 1 of the ships.

A defence ministry connection blamed "British specialists based successful Ochakov, Mykolaiv region" for preparing a "terrorist act" and grooming Ukrainian subject personnel.

London denied involvement, while Kyiv has not commented officially. Moscow said the Russian ships were progressive successful protecting convoys exporting Ukrainian grain.

An advisor to Ukraine's interior ministry, Anton Gerashchenko, claimed successful his Telegram transmission that "careless handling of explosives" successful occupied Crimea led to explosions aboard 4 warships belonging to Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

The conflicting claims from Ukraine and Moscow could not instantly beryllium reconciled.

Russia's defence ministry besides said British navy unit blew up the Nord Stream state pipelines past month, without providing immoderate evidence.

Britain's defence ministry said the Russian claims were false and designed to distract from Russian subject failures successful Ukraine.

"To detract from their disastrous handling of the amerciable penetration of Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defence is resorting to peddling mendacious claims of an epic scale," it said connected Twitter.

"This invented story, says much astir arguments going connected wrong the Russian authorities than it does astir the West."

The Russian-installed politician of the metropolis of Sevastopol described a drone onslaught aboriginal connected Saturday connected Russian Black Sea fleet installations arsenic the astir "massive" of the struggle successful Ukraine.

"The astir monolithic onslaught by drones and remotely piloted aboveground vehicles connected the waters of the Bay of Sevastopol successful the past of the struggle took spot past night," Mikhail Razvojaev was quoted arsenic saying by the TASS agency.

Earlier, Razvojaev said the Russian navy had repelled a drone attack, saying nary facilities had been deed and the concern was nether control. All the drones progressive successful the onslaught had been "shot down", Razvojaev added connected Telegram.

The larboard of Sevastopol was "temporarily" closed to ships and ferries aft the attack, the city's authorities said.

On Thursday, Razvojaev said the Balaklava thermal powerfulness works had been targeted by a drone attack.

In April, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet — the Moskva — was sunk by Ukrainian forces successful a large stroke to Moscow. Earlier this month, an detonation struck Russia's span to Crimea, a awesome of Moscow's annexation. 

Russian claims of a caller drone onslaught successful Sevastopol travel arsenic Ukrainian forces person launched a counter-offensive to regain crushed successful the southbound of the country.

Both sides person exchanged rocket, mortar and artillery occurrence from trench lines northbound of the Russian-held metropolis of Kherson, wherever 1 of the war's astir consequential battles is looming.

The Russian defence ministry said its forces had repelled attempted Ukrainian advances successful the eastbound and had destroyed a Ukrainian subject mill adjacent the municipality of Pavlograd.

Russia, which launched an violative successful Ukraine connected 24 February, annexed Ukraine's confederate Crimean peninsula successful 2014.

2. Russia says US lowering 'nuclear threshold' with newer bombs successful Europe

Russia said connected Saturday that the accelerated deployment of modernised US B61 tactical atomic weapons astatine NATO bases successful Europe would little the "nuclear threshold" and that Moscow would instrumentality the determination into relationship successful its subject planning.

The United States told a closed NATO gathering this period that it would accelerate the deployment of modernised weapons arriving astatine European bases respective months earlier than planned, according to Politico.

Its study said that an upgraded mentation of the B61, the B61-12, would beryllium delivered successful December.

"We cannot disregard the plans to modernize atomic weapons, those free-fall bombs that are successful Europe," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told authorities RIA quality agency.

"The United States is modernising them, expanding their accuracy and reducing the powerfulness of the atomic charge, that is, they crook these weapons into 'battlefield weapons', thereby reducing the atomic threshold."

The 12-ft B61-12 gravity weaponry carries a little output atomic warhead than galore earlier versions but is much close and tin penetrate beneath ground, according to research by the Federation of American Scientists published successful 2016.

A Pentagon spokesperson quoted by Politico said atomic details would not beryllium discussed but that the modernisation of B61 weapons had been underway for years.

Russia's penetration of Ukraine has triggered the gravest confrontation betwixt Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis erstwhile the 2 Cold War superpowers came closest to atomic war.

3. EU has 'frozen €17 cardinal successful assets' of Russian oligarchs and elites

Some €17 cardinal successful assets of Russian oligarchs and entities person been frozen successful the European Union crossed 7 subordinate states pursuing sanctions against Russia successful effect to the warfare successful Ukraine, according to Brussels.

"So far, the assets of 90 radical person been frozen, amounting to much than €17 cardinal successful 7 subordinate states, including €2.2 cardinal successful Germany," EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders told German media radical Funke, including the regular Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.

At the opening of July, Reynders enactment a fig of immoderate €13.8 billion, chiefly successful 5 countries, connected the freezing successful the EU of assets held by oligarchs oregon members of the Russian elite sanctioned by the EU27.

"If it is transgression wealth confiscated by the EU, it tin beryllium transferred to a compensation money for Ukraine," the commissioner besides said successful the interrogation published connected Saturday.

Ukrainian officials are calling for these frozen assets to beryllium utilized to rebuild their state aft the war. "However, this magnitude is acold from capable to concern reconstruction," Reynders warned.

Western sanctions person besides led to "the freezing of €300 billion" of Russian Central Bank overseas speech reserves astir the world, a sum that could beryllium utilized arsenic "collateral", the commissioner said.

"Ukraine besides wants to usage this wealth for reconstruction. From my constituent of view, it is astatine slightest imaginable to support these €300 cardinal arsenic a warrant until Russia voluntarily participates successful the reconstruction of Ukraine," Didier Reynders stressed.

In total, and since the 2014 penetration of Crimea, 1,236 individuals — including Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, but besides members of the Duma and oligarchs specified arsenic Roman Abramovich, Mikhail Fridman oregon Petr Aven — and 115 entities are taxable to plus freezes and bans from entering the EU.

4. Zelenskyy doubts Russian mobilisation thrust is truly over

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed uncertainty implicit Russia's declaration that its partial mobilisation was over, saying the mediocre show of pro-Moscow forces meant much men could beryllium needed.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu earlier said the call-up of 300,000 reservists to combat successful Ukraine was complete.

"We person reports the force has completed its mobilisation, arsenic if determination is nary longer a request to nonstop caller waves of Russian citizens to the front. We consciousness precise otherwise connected the beforehand lines," Zelenskyy said successful his nightly video code connected Friday.

"Even though Russia is trying to summation the unit connected our positions by utilizing conscripts, they are truthful poorly prepared and equipped, truthful brutally utilized by their command, that it allows america to presume that precise soon Russia whitethorn request a caller question of radical to nonstop to the war."

Shoigu told Putin astatine a televised gathering successful the Kremlin that the president's bid to mobilise 300,000 radical had been carried out, with 82,000 already sent to the combat portion portion the remainder were training.

The mobilisation Putin ordered past period aft his forces suffered large battlefield setbacks was the archetypal clip astir Russians faced a nonstop idiosyncratic interaction from the war. It prompted tens of thousands of men to fly the state and gave emergence to the archetypal sustained nationalist protests against the war.

5. Four cardinal affected by powerfulness blackouts, Zelenskyy says

Ukraine announced connected Friday "unprecedented" powerfulness cuts affecting a full of 4 cardinal people, particularly successful the Kyiv region, arsenic Ukrainian vigor facilities person been heavy damaged by galore Russian strikes successful caller weeks.

"In galore cities and districts of our country, powerfulness cuts person been introduced to stabilise the situation," President Zelenskyy said successful his regular address. Ukrainian relation DTEK warned that the coming days would bring "more terrible and longer cuts".

In the Kyiv region, arsenic wintertime looms, the latest harm to utilities volition mean outages of 4 oregon much hours a day, according to Ukrenergo, the authorities relation of Ukraine’s high-voltage transmission lines.

Kyiv determination politician Oleksiy Kuleba warned “more terrible and longer shutdowns volition beryllium applied successful the coming days". City mayor Vitali Klitschko said the powerfulness grid was operating successful “emergency mode,” adding that helium hoped Ukrenergo would find ways to code the shortage “in 2 to 3 weeks”.

In the Kharkiv region, location to Ukraine's second-largest metropolis of the aforesaid name, politician Oleg Syniehubov said regular one-hour powerfulness outages would statesman connected Monday.

Officials crossed Ukraine person urged radical to conserve by reducing energy depletion during highest hours and avoiding the usage of high-voltage appliances.

AFP visited a Ukrainian powerfulness works connected Thursday, wherever repair enactment was underway pursuing a Russian attack.

"We don't cognize however agelong it volition take," said 1 employee, adding that the works had been targeted doubly by missiles and a 3rd clip by an Iranian-made termination drone.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on Tehran to stop arms deliveries to Russia during a telephone speech with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian.

“I demanded that Iran instantly halt supplying Russia with weapons that are utilized to termination civilians and destruct captious infrastructure successful Ukraine,” Kuleba tweeted connected Friday.

Iran has denied supplying Russia with explosive drones and different weapons utilized successful the penetration of Ukraine.

6. UN's Guterres calls connected Russia and Ukraine to renew atom deal

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging Russia and Ukraine to renew the woody that has seen much than 9 cardinal tons of atom exported from Ukraine and brought down planetary nutrient prices.

He is besides calling for different countries, chiefly successful the West, to expedite the removal of obstacles blocking Russian atom and fertilizer exports.

The UN chief’s spokesperson said Friday that Guterres underlines the urgency of renewing the woody truthful arsenic “to lend to nutrient information crossed the world.”

The Ukraine and Russia are large suppliers of atom astir the globe. The statement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey successful July is owed to expire Nov. 19.

Russia’s UN ambassador said Wednesday that earlier Moscow discusses a renewal “Russia needs to spot the export of its atom and fertilizers successful the satellite market, which has ne'er happened since the opening of the deal.”

He said the hurdles facing Russia's exports see getting security for vessels, conducting fiscal transactions, uncovering ports of telephone for Russian ships, and freeing up fertilizer connected ships detained astatine European ports.

Guterres says the resumption of Ukrainian atom exports from 3 Black Sea ports “has importantly contributed to little prices of wheat and different commodities”.

7. Stick to Moscow clip and don't enactment clocks back, impulse pro-Russian officials

Kremlin-appointed officials successful an occupied portion of confederate Ukraine person urged residents not to power to daylight redeeming clip on with Kyiv and the remainder of the country.

“In the Zaporizhzhia region, the aged clip remains. The clocks volition not spell backmost successful 2022,” the medication connected Friday said successful a station connected its authoritative Telegram channel.

The Russian-installed politician of Enerhodar, wherever the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power works is located, called connected residents to disregard the clip power successful a abstracted video connection posted connected Telegram.

“We unrecorded successful the Russian Federation, and our metropolis lives by Moscow time,” Alexander Volga said successful the video.

The Zaporizhzhia portion is 1 of 4 Ukrainian provinces that Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed past period and subsequently enactment nether Russian martial law. Kremlin-backed officials successful occupied areas person sought to regenerate the Ukrainian currency with Russia’s ruble, and to align section laws with Russian legislation.

Russia switched to imperishable wintertime clip successful 2014. The determination came aft nationwide surveys recovered that Russians mostly disapproved of an earlier authorities determination to enactment clocks connected year-round summertime time, and struggled to set to agelong hours of acheronian successful the mornings.