UKRAINE WRAP | Ukraine hits key Kherson bridge with US rockets
July 19 2022 - 21:57
US Senate committee backs accession of Finland, Sweden to NATO
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday backed Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO, paving the way for the full Senate to vote on the most significant expansion of the 30-member alliance since the 1990s.
The 22-member panel approved the expansion by voice vote, with just one member - Republican Senator Rand Paul - asking to be recorded as "present."
The accession documents need to be ratified by all 30 North Atlantic Treaty Organization members before Finland and Sweden can be protected by Article Five, the defense clause that states that an attack on one member is an attack against all.
The full 100-member U.S. Senate is expected to approve Finland and Sweden's membership by more than the two-thirds majority required.
"They are ideal candidates for membership and will strengthen the alliance in countless ways," Senator Bob Menendez, the committee's Democratic chairman, said before the vote.
"Finland and Sweden will be excellent allies, will strengthen NATO politically and militarily and offer the alliance new capabilities, most specifically in the Arctic," said the committee's top Republican, Senator Jim Risch.
Ratification by every member is likely to take up to a year but in the meantime Helsinki and Stockholm can already participate in NATO meetings and have greater access to intelligence.
The countries applied for membership in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but were met with opposition from Turkey, which accused the Nordic countries of supporting groups it deems terrorists.
Finland, Sweden and Turkey signed an accord at the NATO summit in Madrid last month to lift Ankara's veto in exchange for pledges on counterterrorism and arms exports. Turkey has said it will closely monitor the implementation of the accord to ratify their membership bids.
Russia has repeatedly warned both countries against joining NATO.
-Reuters
July 19 2022 - 17:57
Retired military leaders to help supply protective gear to Ukraine
A panel of retired military leaders from the US, Canada and the Netherlands will advise a pro-Ukraine campaign on the procurement of protective gear for Ukrainian defence forces, a Canada-based nonprofit group said on Tuesday.
The panel of four includes former commander of US forces in Afghanistan David Petraeus, former Nato commander Wesley Clark, as well as former Dutch defence chief Dick Lodewijk Berlijn, according to the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC). The panel, expected to grow in size, is chaired by retired Canadian chief of defence staff Rick Hillier.
It would focus on helping supply Ukraine's territorial defence force with protective gear, such as helmets, body armour, ballistic goggles and medical kits, the UWC said in a statement.
"If we can help get them [Ukrainian defence forces] the equipment from the West ... we can help them win this war" Hillier said at a news conference.
.The UWC's campaign has so far raised funds to source and deliver $24m (R409.2m) worth of protective equipment, including the largest nongovernmental delivery of Israeli bandages, which are used to stop bleeding from traumatic injuries, and gas masks. The group, which represents Ukrainians globally, has also sought a judicial review of a decision by the Canadian government to return a turbine to Germany that is needed for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.
Canada has one of the world's biggest Ukrainian diasporas outside of countries that border Ukraine and the community has successfully pressured Ottawa to impose increasingly strict sanctions against Russia.
– Reuters
July 19 2022 - 17:52
US prosecutors seek broader powers to seize Russian oligarchs' assets
The US department of justice is seeking broader authority from Congress to seize Russian oligarchs' assets as a means to pressure Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, a top prosecutor said on Tuesday.
In testimony to the US senate committee on the judiciary, Andrew Adams, who leads the department's KleptoCapture task force, said Congress should let prosecutors seek forfeitures of assets used to evade US sanctions, not just proceeds of sanctions evasions. Adams also said statutes of limitations for some financial crimes, such as money laundering, should be doubled to 10 years to give prosecutors "time to follow the money."
Adams' testimony comes as Congress considers legislation to allow proceeds from seized assets to help the people of Ukraine.
The task force was launched in March to enhance the US's ability to punish wealthy Russians whom Washington accuses of enabling Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine. Prosecutors have since won warrants to seize two yachts belonging to sanctioned Russians and planes owned by billionaire Roman Abramovich, among other assets. Before those assets can be liquidated, prosecutors must win permanent forfeiture orders, through often-lengthy court proceedings.
– Reuters
July 19 2022 - 17:20
Ukraine signs association pact with US-aligned energy watchdog
Ukraine joined the US-aligned International Energy Agency (IEA) as an association country on Tuesday, the watchdog said, binding Kyiv closer to the mostly Western countries which oppose Russia's invasion. The Paris-based IEA consists of 31 big energy consuming member countries but not Russia and has a second tier of 11 so-called association states such as China, India and Indonesia.
"In these particularly challenging times following Russia's unprovoked invasion, we are further strengthening the relationship to support Ukraine's significant reconstruction needs and help it build a new energy future," IEA executive director Fatih Birol said a signing ceremony in Warsaw. "Ukraine has an important energy security role in Europe and beyond."
Ukraine has remained a major transit route for Russian gas to Europe even after Moscow's invasion.
Founded around the time of the Arab oil embargo as a bulwark against energy shocks and forum to share information on supply, the IEA now seeks to insulate its members and the global economy from an energy crunch which has raised recession fears.
Bans on imports of Russian oil by its members which have helped drive up prices and inflation have not been implemented by the association countries.
– Reuters
July 19 2022 - 17:15
Poland to give households one-off payment to offset rising coal prices
Poland will offer households a one-off payment of 3,000 zlotys (about R11,000) to help cover the rising cost of coal amid surging energy prices prompted mainly by the war in neighbouring Ukraine.
Polish households and heating plants in smaller towns mostly used Russian coal on account of its high quality but imports were banned by Warsaw in April in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The subsequent spike in prices caused by the shortfall has left many Poles fearing they will be unable to heat their homes this coming winter.
"Coal contracted by state-controlled companies and private buyers is coming to Poland and there will be enough fuel for the winter. On the other hand we are protecting families from high prices," climate minister Anna Moskwa told reporters in Warsaw.
The subsidy will be available to households where coal is the main source of heat, and the deadline for submitting applications will be November 30, Moskwa said.
The government approved the proposal on Tuesday but it has still to be approved by parliament. Poland relies on coal for some 80% of its electricity generation. Although it is the EU's largest producer of the fuel, it still imported more than 8-million tonnes of Russian coal in 2021 and is facing a shortfall of as much as 11-million tonnes this year due to declining local production.
This month it introduced subsidies designed to keep prices for smaller buyers at last year's level, but retailers are reluctant to participate in the system as payments do not compensate for the surge in market prices. It has also taken steps to boost imports from other sources.
– Reuters
July 19 2022 - 14:35
Ukraine hits key Kherson bridge with US rockets: Russian-backed official
Ukrainian armed forces have struck a key bridge in Russia-controlled territory in the south of the country with US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) rockets, a Russian-installed regional official said on Tuesday.
Military analysts say the newly arrived HIMARS, which are more accurate and have a longer range than other artillery, could be a gamechanger for Kyiv in its attempt to launch a counteroffensive in the south of the country.
In a video posted by the TASS news agency, the deputy head of the Russian-installed administration in the southern Kherson region, Kirill Stremousov, said Ukraine hit the Antonivskyi bridge in Kherson with HIMARS, damaging the road but not injuring anybody.
The kilometre-long bridge is one of only two crossing points to Russian-controlled territory on the Western side of the river, including the region's main city of Kherson, home to 280,000 people before Russia invaded on February 24.
Russia captured Kherson and the surrounding area with little resistance in the early days of the invasion, but Ukrainian officials have in recent weeks talked up a planned counter-offensive, backed by Western-supplied weapons, to retake the territory.
Stremousov said the damaged bridge, which appeared to have four large holes in the asphalt, would be repaired.
– Reuters
July 19 2022 - 14:34
Kremlin 'expects talks on safe passage for Ukrainian grain to resume soon'
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday Russia expects talks on safe passage for Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea to continue in the near future, Russia's state-owned TASS news agency reported. TASS cited Peskov as saying Russia was willing to do its best to ensure that Ukrainian grain can reach global markets. – Reuters
July 19 2022 - 14:33
Shelling of Ukraine power station risks disrupting Dnipro navigation: TASS
Ukrainian shelling of a hydroelectric power station in Russian-controlled territory in southern Ukraine could lead to a complete shutdown of navigation on the Dnipro River, the country's largest waterway, the TASS news agency reported on Tuesday, citing Russian-installed authorities in the occupied Kherson region.
Russian forces took the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, located in the Kherson region just north of Russian-annexed Crimea, in the first days of Russia's invasion.
Russian-installed authorities in Kherson have said Ukraine's armed forces have accelerated shelling of the town and power station in recent days as part of a counteroffensive by Kyiv.
There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian authorities.
– Reuters
July 19 2022 - 14:30
IMF warns of severe recession in Europe in event of gas embargo: FT
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday warned that a Russian gas embargo would lead to severe recessions in eastern Europe and Italy if countries around the world hoarded their own scarce supplies, the Financial Times reported.
The IMF predicted that unless liquid natural gas was shared and prices were artificially held down, any Russian action to stop supplying Europe would trigger economic contractions of more than 5% over the next year in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Italy, the newspaper added.
Reuters reported on Monday that Russia's Gazprom had told customers in Europe it could not guarantee gas supplies because of "extraordinary" circumstances, adding to fears that Moscow may not restart the Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Thursday.
– Reuters
July 19 2022 - 12:40
Russia says it will fine Apple for violating antitrust laws
Russia's competition authority said on Tuesday it would fine US tech giant Apple for violating Russian antitrust laws and abusing its dominant position in the app store market. The federal anti-monopoly service (FAS) said it would levy a turnover-based fine against Apple, the size of which would be determined during the course of an administrative investigation.
Moscow has long objected to foreign tech platforms' influence in the Russian market, but the simmering dispute has escalated since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
"The company has abused its dominant position in the iOS app distribution market," the FAS said in a statement. "Apple prohibits iOS app developers from telling clients inside the app about the possibility of paying for purchases outside the App Store or using alternative payment methods."
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Moscow has hit Western firms with a string of fines for violating internet laws that critics say are an attempt by the Kremlin to exert more control over the online space. They include rules to store customer data on Russian servers, delete content upon request by Russia's communications regulator and open local offices in the country.
The decision to move against Apple on antitrust grounds echoes the European Commission's high-profile pursuit of the company for what it has called a "closed ecosystem" that "unfairly shielded" Apple from competition.
After initially hitting firms with fines in the tens or hundreds of thousands, Russia is significantly ramping up its financial penalties. On Monday, Russia fined Google $370m (R6.29bn) for what it says were repeated refusals to remove content.
– Reuters
July 19 2022 - 12:37
Ukraine's parliament votes to remove security chief, prosecutor-general
Ukraine's parliament dismissed the domestic security chief and prosecutor-general on Tuesday, two days after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suspended them for failing to root out Russian spies. Ivan Bakanov was fired from his position at the helm of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) by a comfortable majority, several lawmakers said on the Telegram messaging app. The head of Zelenskyy's political faction said Iryna Venediktova had also been voted out as prosecutor-general. In a statement published on Telegram minutes before his dismissal was confirmed, Bakanov said "miscalculations" had been made during his tenure, but that he was proud of his record. – Reuters
July 19 2022 - 12:34
EU to soften sanctions on Russian banks to allow food trade
The EU will amend its sanctions on Moscow on Wednesday by allowing the unfreezing of some funds of top Russian banks that may be required to ease bottlenecks in the global trade of food and fertilisers, a draft document showed. The move comes amid criticism from African leaders about the negative impact of the sanctions on the trade, which may have exacerbated shortages chiefly caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its blockading of ports in the Black Sea.
Under the changed regulation, which is expected to be adopted by EU envoys on Wednesday, EU nations will be able to unfreeze previously blocked economic resources owned by top Russian lenders VTB, Sovcombank, Novikombank, Otkritie FC Bank, VEB, Promsvyazbank and Bank Rossiya, the document said.
Under the revised sanctions, the EU also plans to facilitate exports of food from Russian ports, which traders had stopped servicing after EU sanctions despite the measures explicitly exempting food exports, an official said. The EU has so far denied its sanctions affected food trade. The EU, along with the US, UK and others, imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
– Reuters
July 19 2022 - 11:46
EU to add Russia's biggest bank Sberbank and metals baron to black list
The European Union is set to add Russia's biggest bank Sberbank and the head of giant zinc and copper firm UMMC to its black list of individuals and companies accused of supporting Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, according a draft document seen by Reuters.
The new list of 48 officials and nine entities to be blacklisted, prepared by the EU foreign affairs service, also includes leaders of the Night Wolves motorcycle club, actors, politicians, the deputy head of a Russian security service, family members of sanctioned oligarchs and military people.
Adding Sberbank to the black list would freeze its assets in the West and completely prevent transactions, with the exception of financial operations for the trade in food and fertiliser, an EU official told Reuters. Russia's largest lender had already been excluded from the SWIFT bank messaging system, seriously hampering its ability to conduct business.
The head of zinc and copper giant UMMC, Andrei Kozitsyn, is being added to the blacklist because as a leading Russian businessman he is deemed to be "involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the government", the document said.
The move, expected to be adopted on Wednesday, would take to 1,229 the total number of individuals listed by the EU over the war in Ukraine, and would increase to 110 the number of listed companies.
– Reuters
July 19 2022 - 11:45
Russia says it destroyed Ukrainian arms depots near Odesa
Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday its forces had destroyed ammunition depots in Ukraine's southern Odesa region that were storing weapons supplied to Kyiv by the US and European countries. It did not say how many depots it had destroyed or what weapons were being stored there. Reuters was unable to verify the reports. – Reuters
July 19 2022 - 11:41
Ukraine picks chief anti-graft prosecutor after months of delay
Ukraine appointed a new head of the anti-corruption prosecutors’ office after months of delay, fulfilling a requirement from the European Union and other international financial donors. A commission picked up Oleksandr Klymenko, a former anti-graft bureau detective, to lead the office, according to an online broadcast of the meeting on Tuesday. His predecessor’s term expired in August 2020.
The former Soviet state, which is seeking closer integration with the West as it fights off a military invasion by Russia, has agreed to a demand by the EU and the International Monetary Fund to demonstrate progress in fighting endemic corruption as a condition to receiving financial aid. The government has created institutions aimed at rooting out graft, though little progress has been achieved so far, disappointing Ukrainians and their foreign partners.
Ukraine must also appoint a new head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, which has come under repeated political attack aimed at undermining its investigations into corrupt officials.
– Bloomberg
July 19 2022 - 11:35
Iran and Russia's Gazprom sign primary deal for energy cooperation
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Russian gas producer Gazprom signed on Tuesday a memorandum of understanding worth around $40bn, Iran's oil ministry's news agency SHANA reported. The deal was signed during an online ceremony by the CEOs of both companies on the day Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tehran for a summit with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts.
Gazprom will help NIOC in the development of the Kish and North Pars gas fields and also six oil fields, according to SHANA. Gazprom will also be involved in the completion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects and construction of gas export pipelines.
Iran sits on the world’s second-largest gas reserves after Russia, but US sanctions have hindered access to technology and slowed development of gas exports.
Putin's visit to Tehran is being watched closely as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has reconfigured the global oil and gas market, pushing prices to high levels which contribute to higher living costs and rising consumer inflation.
– Reuters
July 19 2022 - 11:06
Ex-Gazprom unit misses India deliveries as Russia chokes LNG
A former unit of Gazprom PJSC has missed shipments of contracted liquefied natural gas to India, according to people with knowledge of the matter. GM&T Singapore Pte has skipped five scheduled LNG shipments to GAIL India Ltd in the past two months, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the matter is private. The company has an agreement to deliver about 40 cargoes this year — typically three to four a month — to the Indian state-run utility under a long-term contract, they said.
Supply has been impacted by Moscow’s actions to block the lifting and trading of cargoes from Russia’s Yamal LNG project, where GM&T has an agreement for 2.9-million tons of supply annually under a 20-year contract. Russia halted dealings with GM&T’s parent Gazprom Germania GmbH after Germany’s regulator seized control of the company in April. GM&T Singapore is sending some shipments to GAIL from its international portfolio of supply and purchase deals, the people said. The shortfall has pushed the Indian utility to look for alternatives and the company is exploring options including direct purchases from Russia, according to some of the people.
A GAIL spokesperson declined to comment. GM&T didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
Missing scheduled cargoes is problematic as parties usually agree on a delivery schedule at the beginning of the year, and buyers arrange slots at import terminals to take the gas. India has a long-standing trade and strategic relationship with Moscow and has emerged as one of the biggest buyers of Russian oil and coal, complicating efforts by the US and Europe to punish President Vladimir Putin.
GAIL is talking to producers and traders to immediately sign long-term contracts for the purchase of 2-million tons of LNG a year to help meet rising local demand for the fuel, according to the people.
Russian gas giant Gazprom — which had already been curbing exports to Europe — earlier this month declared force majeure on at least three European gas buyers.
– Bloomberg
July 19 2022 - 11:03
Finnair rewrites strategy as Russia’s sky remains off limits
Finland’s national carrier Finnair Oyj is working to overhaul its strategy in an admission that access to Russian skies, which underpinned its previous focus on Asia, will likely not be restored any time soon.
“There’s no end in sight for the war in Ukraine,” chief executive officer Topi Manner said on a conference call on Tuesday following second-quarter earnings. “We’re preparing to see Russia’s skies closed to us for a long time, for years.”
Combined with the rapidly rising cost of fuel and the changing competitive environment, as well as years of losses stemming from the pandemic and related travel restrictions, the airline now needs a new strategy and a “significant structural renewal,” the Vantaa, Finland-based company said in an earnings report.
Finnair had carved out a niche providing transit passengers from smaller European cities the shortest flight times to Asia, and was the hardest-hit among European airlines from the closing of Russian airspace in the wake of its war against Ukraine.
The new strategy, due to be unveiled in the autumn, will build upon adjustments made to its network during the first six months of the year. That includes routes to Dallas and Seattle in North America as well as Mumbai in South Asia, Finnair said. Changes will be made to the network and fleet, cost structures, revenue streams and balance sheet, it said, without providing details.
Finnair shares declined as much as 9% in Helsinki trading following a wider-than-estimated second-quarter loss and guidance of a third consecutive year of operating losses.
– Bloomberg
July 19 2022 - 11:01
Russian spy chief meets Armenian PM days after CIA chief Burns did
The chief of Russia's foreign spy service met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan this week, just three days after CIA Director William Burns visited Yerevan for talks, the Armenian government said.
Sergei Naryshkin, the director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), met Pashinyan on July 18 in the same room where Pashinyan received Burns on July 15, according to pictures of the two meetings released by the Armenian government.
Armenian statements on the two meetings were similar: they discussed bilateral relations and also questions of international and regional security, including in the South Caucasus, the Armenian government said.
Russia's Sputnik state news agency quoted Naryshkin as saying: “My visit to Yerevan is definitely not connected with the arrival of my American colleague. But I don’t exclude that his visit is on the contrary connected with mine.”
Armenia is a Russian ally and Moscow has peacekeeping troops in Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian-controlled region of Azerbaijan, where Armenian forces were driven back in a disastrous war against Azerbaijan in 2020. In recent months, Armenia has held talks aimed at normalising relations with its Nato-member neighbour Turkey.
– Reuters
July 19 2022 - 10:15
Putin to meet Iranian and Turkish leaders with war centre stage
The leaders of Iran, Russia and Turkey hold summit talks in Tehran on Tuesday, formally on the conflict in Syria but with the turmoil caused by President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine far more in focus.
Putin is making his first trip outside republics of the former Soviet Union since Russia’s February 24 invasion to join Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and their Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the so-called Astana Format discussions on Syria. The agenda includes security inside Syria and the return of displaced Syrians to their homes, according to Iran’s foreign minister.
While the three leaders plan a joint statement on Syria, bilateral talks on the war in Ukraine may draw greater international attention. Turkey has been negotiating with Russia and Ukraine on a possible deal to unblock exports of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports to help ease soaring global prices and a deepening hunger crisis in many poorer countries. The US also warned last week that Iran is preparing to send Russia hundreds of drones, including ones capable of carrying weapons, amid significant losses by Putin’s military as his war approaches its sixth month.
Putin and Erdogan will “100%” discuss Ukrainian grain exports and work on the issue is proceeding “very actively,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said Monday, according to the state-run Tass news service. With Russia’s economy under unprecedented international sanctions over the war, Ushakov said the two sides will also discuss “the widest range of economic issues,” including payment in national currencies.
Putin plans to discuss with Raisi the stalled multiparty negotiations over reviving the 2015 international accord on Iran’s nuclear program, according to the Kremlin, as the Islamic Republic labours under massive sanctions.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday he was hopeful Russia and Ukraine could clinch a grain deal this week, adding that “the lives of tens of thousands of people depend on this agreement.”
Ukraine and its US and European allies have accused Russia of using food supplies as a weapon to try to force an easing of sanctions pressure on its economy, something the Kremlin denies. Ukraine has also accused Russia of stealing grain from occupied regions and exporting it. Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN said last week that grain negotiations between them in Istanbul had been constructive. Ukraine has demanded firm security guarantees that Russian troops won’t attack its Black Sea ports once it de-mines passages to them. Russian missiles have already damaged some Ukrainian grain terminals at ports, hampering future shipments.
Russia, Iran and Turkey have coordinated efforts to enforce a peace agreement in Syria, even as their geopolitical goals have often conflicted. Turkey has deployed troops across its border with northern Syria to target Kurdish forces it regards as terrorists, while Russia’s military has backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime against anti-government rebels. Putin in March urged his security officials to send thousands of Middle East fighters to help Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Putin’s visit to Tehran is “quite important and timely,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call Monday. “It is a good opportunity to discuss regional and international problems.”
– Bloomberg
July 19 2022 - 10:05
German chemical industry has no gas left to cut, warns association
Germany's chemical industry has already done everything it can to conserve gas use, said chemical association VCI on Tuesday, which warned that the only steps left for the industry would be to scale back or abandon production altogether.
"For our companies, we are currently once again doing everything we can to exploit every last potential gas saving," said VCI's chief executive, Wolfgang Grosse Entrup."But there's not much more we can save, as efficiency has already been the driving force in the past few years," he added.
According to VCI, which represents about 1,900 companies, Germany's chemical and pharmaceutical industries are the country's largest gas consumer, with 15% of total consumption.Industry leader BASF is considered Germany's largest industrial gas consumer.
VCI issued the warning and called for "a societal show of strength to conserve gas" to get through the winter unscathed as the gas supply from Russia grows increasingly uncertain.
Concerns have been growing that the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, a major route carrying gas from Russia to Europe via Germany, will not resume sending gas at full capacity after July 21, when its current maintenance phase is scheduled to end.
– Reuters
July 19 2022 - 09:58
Russia's Medvedev: We will set terms for peace in Ukraine
Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that Russia will prevail in Ukraine and will set the terms for a future peace deal with Kyiv. "Russia will achieve all its goals. There will be peace — on our terms," Medvedev, now deputy chair of Russia's Security Council, said in a post on Telegram. The former leader, once held up in the West as a possible partner, has becoming increasingly hawkish and outspoken in his criticism of the West since Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24. – Reuters
July 19 2022 - 05:30
Ukrainian farmers rush to harvest grain from fields near frontline
A plume of smoke rises from a burning field in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, an increasingly common sight across swathes of farmland in the south and east of the country that borders a frontline stretching more than 1,000km.
In nearby fields, farmers are racing to harvest crops before they too are devoured in fires sparked by Russian shelling from the fighting in neighbouring Donetsk.
"This is our harvest, burnt by Orcs [Russians], we have not managed to harvest it," said Dmytro, a Ukrainian soldier holding out a fistful of burnt wheat stalks he picked from blackened field. "This is territory that has nearly been captured by the Russians. They are 3km away from here."
A short ride away, a thick layer of ash covers the ground of what used to be a huge grain silo destroyed by a missile last month. Its contents — last year's crop — were burnt in the fire that followed the hit.
Since Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine, the world's fourth largest grains exporter, Kyiv has repeatedly accused Russia of attacking infrastructure and agriculture to provoke a global food crisis and pressure the West. Moscow, which calls the conflict a "special military operation", blames Western sanctions and sea mines laid by Ukraine for the drop in food exports and rising global prices.
Reuters