UKRAINE WRAP | Putin says Russia just starting in Ukraine, peace talks will get harder with time

July 7 2022 — 20:10

Putin says Russia just starting in Ukraine, peace talks will get harder with time

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had barely got started in Ukraine and dared the West to try to defeat it on the battlefield.

In an ultra-hawkish speech to parliamentary leaders more than four months into the war, Putin said the prospects for any negotiation would grow dimmer the longer the conflict dragged on.

"Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say, let them try," he said.

"We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is heading towards this."

Russia accuses the West of waging a proxy war against it by hammering its economy with sanctions and stepping up the supply of advanced weapons to Ukraine.

But while boasting that Russia was just getting into its stride, Putin also referred to the possibility of negotiations.

"Everyone should know that, by and large, we haven't started anything yet in earnest," he added.

"At the same time, we don't reject peace talks. But those who reject them should know that the further it goes, the harder it will be for them to negotiate with us."

It was the first reference to diplomacy in many weeks after repeated statements from Moscow that negotiations with Kyiv had totally broken down.

Since invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian forces have captured large swathes of the country, including completing the seizure of the eastern region of Luhansk last Sunday.

But Russia's progress has been far slower than many analysts predicted, and Russian forces were beaten back in initial attempts to take the capital, Kyiv, and second city, Kharkiv.

Reuters 

July 7 2022 — 19:14

Russia's Putin: If West wants to beat us on battlefield, let them try

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that if the West wanted to defeat Russia on the battlefield, it was welcome to try."

Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say, let them try. We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is heading towards this," Putin said in televised remarks to parliamentary leaders.

Reuters 

July 7 2022 — 17:19

One killed as Russian missile hits Ukraine's Kramatorsk - governor

At least one person was killed and six wounded in a Russian missile strike in the heart of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Thursday, the top regional official said.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region, said the missile had damaged six buildings including a hotel and an apartment bloc in the large industrial hub.

"A Russian missile hit the centre of Kramatorsk. It's known for sure that one person was killed and six wounded, but these figures may change," he said. "This is a deliberate attack on civilians. ... This will continue until we drive them out."

A Reuters reporter in Kramatorsk saw a crater several metres deep where the missile had landed, in a courtyard between residential buildings. Trees had been ripped up and several cars turned over and badly damaged. Every window in the surrounding homes had been destroyed. Residents, some with bandages over fresh wounds, collected rubble from their apartments and threw it out into the courtyard. A soldier combed the crater for remnants of the missile.

The nearby city of Sloviansk, also in the Donetsk region, also came under fire. Mayor Vadym Lyakh said there had been casualties but gave no further details.

Russia did not immediately comment on the situation in Kramatorsk or Sloviansk. It has denied deliberately targeting civilians. After effectively establishing control of the neighbouring Luhansk region, Moscow has made clear it is planning to capture parts of the Donetsk region that its forces have not yet seized.

Ukrainian officials have said they expect Kramatorsk and Sloviansk to become the next focus of Russia's offensive. Three civilians were also wounded by Russian fire in the Kharkiv region next to both the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the Kharkiv region administration said.

– Reuters

July 7 2022 — 15:48

US basketball player Griner pleads guilty to drugs charges in Russian court

US basketball player Brittney Griner pleaded guilty in a Russian court on Thursday to drugs charges that could see her face 10 years in prison, a Reuters journalist reported from the courtroom. Griner's family have called on US President Joe Biden to step up efforts to secure the WNBA star's release. – Reuters

July 7 2022 — 15:45

Senegal sees growing support for African gas amid Ukraine war

Senegalese President Macky Sall said on Thursday there is growing international support for developing gas resources in Africa as part of the continent's energy transition.

African leaders have bristled at pledges by Western countries to eliminate or reduce development financing in Africa for gas projects in the name of fighting climate change, even as those same countries tout gas as a "transition fuel" at home.

On Wednesday, the European Parliament backed EU rules labelling investments in gas and nuclear power plants as climate-friendly. Gas is a fossil fuel that produces planet-warming emissions, but far less than coal.

"We need to salute the positive evolution of partner countries and institutions on the financing of gas projects," Sall said in a speech at a World Bank-sponsored conference in the capital Dakar. "We are starting to come to our senses on this question," he said, without citing specific examples.

Western development finance institutions have in recent years announced measures to restrict financing to gas projects. The European Investment Bank has ended financing to gas projects entirely. But the war in Ukraine and efforts by developed economies to reduce their reliance on Russia have led to renewed interest in African gas. The German government, for example, said in May that it might help explore a gas field in Senegal.

The extent to which that interest in African gas for export could translate into support for domestic gas-fired power production is not yet clear, and donor countries have not reversed previously announced policies on development financing. Nevertheless, World Bank managing director for operations, Axel van Trotsenburg, told Reuters in an interview at the conference that there was mounting recognition of gas' role as a transition fuel in Africa. "Given that a lot of the OECD countries are increasing gas use, there is more sympathy for this argument," he said.

– Reuters

July 7 2022 — 14:55

Russia rejoices over Boris Johnson's downfall: the 'stupid clown' has gone

Russian politicians lined up to celebrate the downfall of Boris Johnson on Thursday, casting the British leader as a "stupid clown" who had finally got his just reward for arming Ukraine against Russia.

Johnson, the face of the 2016 Brexit campaign who won a resounding electoral victory in 2019 before leading the United Kingdom out of the European Union, announced he was quitting on Thursday after he was abandoned by ministers and most of his Conservative lawmakers over a series of scandals.

The Kremlin said it didn't like Johnson either. "He doesn't like us, we don't like him either," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said shortly before Johnson stood in Downing Street to announce his resignation.

In his speech announcing he was stepping down as Conservative Party leader but planned to stay on as prime minister until a replacement was picked, Johnson addressed the people of Ukraine, pledging that Britain would "continue to back your fight for freedom for as long as it takes".

Russians were brutal in their assessment of Johnson, who just recently was telling colleagues that he wanted to stay in power longer than Margaret Thatcher - a steady foe of the former Soviet Union who served as British prime minister from 1979 to 1990.

Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska said on Telegram that it was an "inglorious end" for a "stupid clown" whose conscience would be blighted by "tens of thousands of lives in this senseless conflict in Ukraine".

"The clown is going," said Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament. "He is one of the main ideologues of the war against Russia until the last Ukrainian. European leaders should think about where such a policy leads."

– Reuters

July 7 2022 — 13:37

Russian missile hits tanker drifting in Black Sea, Ukraine says

A Russian missile has hit a tanker that has been drifting in the Black Sea for over four months and had been carrying diesel, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Thursday, citing Ukraine's military which called the ship an "ecological bomb".

The Moldova-flagged tanker Millennial Spirit has now been struck twice since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. It was first hit with a missile fired from a warship days after the invasion. Moldova said at the time that the ship had a Russian crew and two were seriously wounded. Ukraine's southern military command said when the vessel was struck in February it had more than 500 tonnes of diesel on board and that since then it had been drifting without a crew.

"Probably the remainder of the cargo is burning," the military said in a statement cited by Interfax-Ukraine, saying the tanker had been hit for a second time. It called the vessel a "delayed-action ecological bomb" and blamed the fact it was drifting without a crew on a Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports. It said a Russian Kh-31 air-to-surface missile had struck the ship.

Details of the attack could not immediately be confirmed independently by Reuters.

Ukraine says Russia's invasion has resulted in huge environmental damage and plans to seek compensation in international courts. Environmental threats from the invasion cited by Ukraine include pollution of water basins.

– Reuters

July 7 2022 — 13:34

Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk hit by air strike, casualties reported - mayor

Russian forces fired missiles at the centre of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk in an air strike on Thursday, and there were casualties, the city's mayor said. "Air strike with missiles on central parts of Kramatorsk, there are casualties," mayor Oleksandr Goncharenko wrote on Facebook, without providing details of the casualties. He urged residents to remain in shelters. – Reuters

July 7 2022 — 12:02

Ukraine summons Turkish ambassador over released Russian vessel

Ukraine summoned the Turkish ambassador, citing an “unacceptable situation” after authorities in Turkey released a Russian vessel that Kyiv said was shipping grain seized from the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk. “The Ukrainian side has received this information with deep disappointment,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday, calling for an investigation and a “comprehensive answer” to the events. Turkey had begun a probe into the origin of the grain aboard the ship, the Zhibek Zholy, which was anchored off the Turkish Black Sea port of Karasu following Ukraine’s accusation. – Bloomberg

July 7 2022 — 11:40

Africa needs $424bn to recover from pandemic devastation

African nations need $424bn (R7.13-trillion) this year to help them cope with the devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the head of the continent’s top multilateral lender.

After decades of progress in the continent’s fight against poverty, Covid-19 plunged 30-million Africans into “extreme poverty” in 2020. Meanwhile, Russia’s war on Ukraine has fuelled inflation and left millions hungry.

Surging prices along with slowing economic growth are also increasing indebtedness in the region. 

July 7 2022 — 11:03

Russian defence ministry says warplane hit Ukrainian troops on Snake Island

Russia's defence ministry said on Thursday that a Russian warplane struck Ukraine's Snake Island in the Black Sea overnight, shortly after Ukrainian troops claimed to have raised their flag over the island. Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, posted a video on Telegram on Thursday of three soldiers raising a large Ukrainian flag on the island, from which Russian forces withdrew on June 30. – Reuters

July 7 2022 — 10:20

Russia to take Sakhalin 1 project under its control - lawmaker

Pavel Zavalny, the head of the energy committee in Russia's lower house of parliament, said on Thursday that the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in the country's far east, will be put under Moscow's jurisdiction, just like the neighbouring project, Sakhalin-2. President Vladimir Putin signed last week a decree that seizes full control of the Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project, a move that could force out Shell and Japanese investors. Four companies — Rosneft, ExxonMoobil, Japan’s SODECO and India’s ONGC Videsh — are partners in the Sakhalin-1 group of fields. – Reuters

July 7 2022 — 10:17

Amid Brittney Griner trial, Russia says prisoner swaps 'difficult'

Russia said on Thursday that it was difficult to exchange prisoners with the United States and suggested Washington be silent about the fate of Brittney Griner, the US basketball player detained in Russia on drugs charges.

Referring to a letter that US President Joe Biden that NBC news reported he intends to send to Griner, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said that "hype" around the case does not help, and that "this kind of correspondence does not help".

In April, former US marine Trevor Reed was released from a Russian prison, where he had been convicted of assaulting two police officers. He was freed in exchange for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot who had been jailed on drug trafficking charges in the US.

Griner was arrested on February 17 at Moscow's Sheremteyevo Airport, after cannabis-infused vaporiser cartridges were allegedly found in her lugggage. She faces 10 years in prison on drugs charges.

– Reuters

July 7 2022 — 10:12

Ukraine Doubts Deal to Unblock Grain Exports Will Happen Soon

Ukraine’s top diplomat cast doubt on a near-term breakthrough in talks to unblock crop exports from the war-ravaged nation’s Black Sea ports, as fears of a global hunger crisis intensify.

Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said a number of logistical details need to be worked out in talks brokered by Turkey and the UN between Ukraine and Russia, though breaking the deadlock will be difficult. The comments contrast with those of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who on Tuesday echoed media reports that a deal could be reached in a week to 10 days.

“We are just about a few steps from the deal, but these steps are the most difficult,” Kuleba said in an interview in his office in Kyiv on Tuesday. “I don’t want to join the chorus of those who say the agreement will take place next week.”

The blockade of Ukraine’s agriculture exports has raised fears over escalating global hunger, as the country fending off the Russian invasion is one of the world’s largest shippers of corn, wheat and sunflower oil. Nations across Asia and Africa are particularly reliant on its supplies, and the war has limited its crop shipments to road, rail and river to neighbouring EU nations.

Kuleba said talks, being held at government-agency level, are centred on thrashing out delivery itineraries and mechanisms to secure cargo vessels. Negotiators haven’t yet reached an agreement on securing Odesa, Ukraine’s largest seaport, from Russian attack, as well as foreign patrols guarding non-military cargoes, Kuleba said. “We need firm guarantees,” the minister said. “Those are the ones that are being worked out.”

Still, Kuleba expressed skepticism that Moscow is willing to reach an agreement, since its blockade provides leverage over Ukraine. The government in Kyiv has accused Russian troops of pilfering metal and grain shipments to hit the economy as well as global food safety. “They don’t want to take off this stranglehold from our economy, that’s why they are delaying this,” Kuleba said. 

– Bloomberg

July 7 2022 — 10:12

Finland passes laws to strengthen security on Russian border

Finland's parliament on Thursday voted in favour of legislation that would allow barriers on the country's border with Russia and enable the closure of the 1,300km frontier from asylum seekers in case of "exceptional circumstances". – Reuters

July 7 2022 — 09:00

Russian rouble halts sharp slide to pull away from over 5-week lows

The Russian rouble strengthened on Thursday in jittery Moscow trade, pulling away from more than five-week lows hit against the dollar and euro after two sessions of sharp losses.

The rouble hit more than seven-year highs just over a week ago, but has shed around 20% since then against the greenback as several officials voiced concerns about its strength, which dents Russia's income from exporting commodities and other goods priced in dollars and euros.

By 0736 GMT, the rouble was 0.5% stronger against the dollar at 63.01, pulling away from its lowest point since May 30 of 64.9525, hit on Wednesday. It had gained 1% to trade at 64.14 versus the euro.

Bogdan Zvarich, chief analyst at banki.ru, said he expected the rouble to start recovering during this session. The currency's recent slide is not supported by fundamental factors, he said.

"Supply from exporters continues to stay elevated, while demand from importers and the population is low, which creates a supply overhang of foreign currency on the market and should contribute to the (rouble) strengthening," Zvarich said.

Despite the recent slide, the rouble is still the world's best-performing currency so far this year, boosted by measures - including restrictions on Russian households withdrawing foreign currency savings - taken to shield Russia's financial system from Western sanctions imposed after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.Analysts have said the market is anticipating that measures to rein in the currency, such as interventions, may soon be adopted.

Russian stock indexes were higher.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was up 1% to 1,112.7 points, after slipping to its weakest mark since May 6 in early trade. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 0.1% higher at 2,223.8 points. 

- Reuters

July 7 2022 — 05:04

Germany must speed up energy transition due to Ukraine war - Scholz

Germany must implement the transition to green energy faster because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday, adding that Russia was using energy as a political weapon.

"Energy policy is not just a question of price. Energy policy is also security policy," Scholz said at an event hosted by the Renewable Energy Association. "That's why we now have to turbo charge the expansion of renewable energy," he said. 

- Reuters