UKRAINE WRAP | Syrian ship carrying 'stolen Ukrainian barley, flour' docks in Tripoli -Ukrainian embassy

July 28 2022 - 20:18

Syrian ship carrying 'stolen Ukrainian barley, flour' docks in Tripoli -Ukrainian embassy

 A Syrian ship under US sanctions has docked in the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli carrying barley and wheat that the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut told Reuters on Thursday had been plundered by Russia from Ukrainian stores.

The Laodicea docked in Tripoli on Wednesday, according to shipping data website MarineTraffic."The ship has traveled from a Crimean port that is closed to international shipping, carrying 5,000 tonnes of barley and 5,000 tonnes of flour that we suspect was taken from Ukrainian stores," the embassy told Reuters.

"This is the first time a shipment of stolen grains and flour reaches Lebanon," the statement said.

Ukrainian ambassador Ihor Ostash met with Lebanese president Michel Aoun on Thursday to discuss the shipment, telling him that purchasing stolen Ukrainian goods would "harm bilateral ties" between Kiev and Beirut, the embassy told Reuters.

A Lebanese official confirmed that the issue had been raised during a Thursday meeting with Aoun and noted Ukraine's general concerns that Russia might try selling stolen Ukrainian wheat to a host of countries including Lebanon.

The head of Tripoli port did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Laodicia is one of a trio of ships owned by the Syrian port authority that Ukraine says have been transporting wheat plundered from stores in Ukrainian territory recently overtaken by Russia.

Russia has previously denied the allegations that it has stolen Ukrainian grain.

All three ships have been sanctioned by the United States since 2015. 

-Reuters

July 28 2022 - 19:00

Russian missile strike kills five people in central Ukraine - governor

Five people were killed and 25 wounded in a Russian missile strike on a flight school in the central Ukrainian city of Kropyvnytskyi on Thursday, the regional governor said.

Andriy Raikovych, governor of the Kirovohrad region, told a news briefing that two missiles had struck hangars at the National Aviation University Flight Academy around 12:20 p.m. (0920 GMT).

"There are victims, dead and wounded. Twenty-five have already been taken to medical institutions - they were wounded. Five were killed, one of them from the military," he said.

"There are material losses - two civilian aircraft and one AN-26 aircraft."

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb.24, did not immediately comment on the report.

-Reuters

July 28 2022 - 17:29

Ukraine appoints anti-corruption prosecutor, vows to meet EU demands

Ukraine appointed experienced investigator Oleksandr Klymenko as the head of its Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office on Thursday, answering a European Union request as it seeks EU membership.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said new prosecutor-general Andriy Kostin had signed off on Klymenko's appointment after the investigator was chosen by a special selection committee.

Klymenko was appointed after a long selection process following his predecessor's resignation nearly two years ago. He previously worked for the national anti-corruption bureau, another state body that tackles corruption.

The EU granted Ukraine candidate status this month, putting it on the long road to membership, but said Kyiv still had work to do in several areas including fighting corruption and called for the appointment of an anti-corruption prosecutor.

"Everything that we must do for this (EU membership), we will do," Zelenskyy told parliament on Thursday, underlining Kyiv's commitment to meeting the EU's entry requirements.

Matti Maasikas, the EU ambassador to Ukraine, welcomed Klymenko's appointment. "Ukraine delivers on one of the recommendations that accompanied the EU candidate status," he wrote on Twitter.

Underlining the importance of Klymenko's confirmation in office, Bridget Brink, the US ambassador to Ukraine, wrote on Twitter: "His office plays a crucial role in Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure and is a key element of Ukraine's defence against Russia's influence and aggression."

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, visiting Kyiv, promised continued military, humanitarian and financial assistance in Ukraine's war against Russia and support for Ukraine on the road to EU accession. "We will continue to provide expert assistance and work together to accelerate the start of negotiations on EU membership," he told the Ukrainian parliament.

Reuters

July 28 2022 - 17:25

'Putin' chants at Dynamo Kyiv soccer match in Turkey

Ukraine's envoy to Turkey said on Thursday he was saddened by a group of Fenerbahce fans chanting Russian President Vladimir Putin's name after their team conceded a goal at home to Dynamo Kyiv in a Champions League qualifier a day earlier. Fenerbahce's hopes of competing in Europe's elite Champions League soccer competition this season were dashed by a 2-1 extra-time loss to Kyiv in the second qualifying round tie in Istanbul on Wednesday.

Vitaliy Buyalskyi put the Ukrainian side ahead in the 57th minute, shortly after Fenerbahce midfielder Ismail Yuksek was sent off in a tense match.The game ended 1-1 after 90 minutes but Kyiv knocked out Fenerbahce with a 114th minute winner by Oleksandr Karavaev. Buyalskyi's celebration after scoring was met with chants of "Vladimir Putin" by many Fenerbahce fans, prompting an online backlash condemning the Istanbul side's fans and calling on European governing body Uefa to take action against the club.

Vasyl Bodnar, Ukrainian Ambassador to Ankara, said on Twitter he was saddened by the chants but thanked those who stood against the "inappropriate actions" of the fans. "Football is a fair game. Dynamo Kyiv was stronger yesterday," he said. Bodnar added that it was "very saddening" to hear the reaction of the Fenerbahce fans at a time when civilians in Ukraine were dying in Russian attacks on the country.

The Russian embassy declined to comment.

In a statement on Thursday, Fenerbahce said the chants made by "some" fans did not represent the club, its position, or its views, adding that it stood firmly against the war in Ukraine. Fenerbahce said the chants lasted 20 seconds and were prompted by the "exaggerated" celebrations of some Kyiv players after the goal. "Whatever the reason may be, we as the Fenerbahce Sport Club absolutely reject the reaction coming from parts of our stands," the club said, adding it was unfair to put blame on all its fans or the club for an act that "never represents our values."

Reuters

July 28 2022 - 17:19

ANTON HARBER: RT to open African headquarters in Joburg

When MultiChoice dropped RT, the television voice of Vladimir Putin, earlier this year there was debate about whether it was a good thing. Was it valuable to get Putin’s perspective on the Ukraine war, or was it just misleading propaganda?

Now RT is gearing up to open an African headquarters in Johannesburg, having shifted its plan from Nairobi. It will be headed by South African Paula Slier, a familiar television face and radio voice. Slier ran the RT bureau in Jerusalem for some time, and has more recently worked for RT in Moscow.

When many of her Western colleagues at RT, not comfortable to be promoting Putin’s line, left the broadcaster early in the war, Slier stayed at her post. She wrote that she was “conflicted” but believed there was “value in hearing the [Moscow] government’s perspective and justification for the war”. She said Western media was presumed to be “objective, free from manipulation and truthful”, but it was also subjective and at least RT was upfront about it.

July 28 2022 - 15:54

Russian missile strike kills five people in central Ukraine - governor

Five people were killed and 25 wounded in a Russian missile strike on a flight school in the central Ukrainian city of Kropyvnytskyi on Thursday, the regional governor said.

Andriy Raikovych, governor of the Kirovohrad region, told a news briefing that two missiles had struck hangars at the National Aviation University Flight Academy around 12.20pm (0920 GMT).

"There are victims, dead and wounded. Twenty-five have already been taken to medical institutions - they were wounded. Five were killed, one of them from the military," he said. "There are material losses: two civilian aircraft and one AN-26 aircraft."

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Russia did not immediately comment on the report.

Reuters

July 28 2022 - 15:35

Britain's national grid warns of tight electricity supply this winter

Britain's National Grid said on Thursday there could be periods where electricity supply is tight this winter, given uncertainty over supplies of Russian gas to Europe, but that it expects to be able to meet demand.

Countries across Europe are making contingency plans for winter after Russia reduced natural gas flows and said supplies could be cut further or even stop. Many European leaders believe those actions are a reaction to Western sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

“While Britain is not reliant on Russian gas to the extent that the rest of Europe is, it is clear that the cessation of flows of gas into Europe could have knock-on affects, including very high prices,” National Grid's Electricity System Operator (ESO) said in an early winter outlook published on Thursday.

July 28 2022 - 15:33

Volkswagen seeks purchaser for Russian car production plant

Volkswagen is looking to sell its car assembly plant in the Russian city of Kaluga and a Kazakh automaker could be a potential purchaser, Russia's Vedemosti newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Vedemosti, citing an unnamed source familiar with the company's intentions, said Volkswagen would finalise its plans for the facility by the end of the year.

In an e-mailed response, Volkswagen spokesperson Nicolai Laude said: “We are constantly monitoring current developments and are considering various future scenarios. However, no decision has been made.”

July 28 2022 - 15:29

Ex-journalist fined again for discrediting Russian army over Ukraine

Former Russian TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova was fined 50,000 roubles ($820) on Thursday after being found guilty of discrediting the country's armed forces in social media posts condemning Russia's actions in Ukraine. The ruling was passed after a short hearing in a Moscow administrative court.

Ovsyannikova rejected the proceedings against her as "absurd".

"The evidence confirms Ovsyannikova's guilt. There is no reason to doubt its authenticity," the judge said.

Ovsyannikova gained international attention in March after bursting into a studio of Russian state TV, her then employer, to denounce the Ukraine war during a live news bulletin. At the time she was fined 30,000 roubles for flouting protest laws.

Thursday's hearing was over subsequent social media posts in which she wrote that those responsible for Russia's actions in Ukraine would find themselves in the dock before an international tribunal. Russia passed a law against "discrediting" the armed forces, with a sentence of up to 15 years, in early March, soon after President Vladimir Putin launched what he calls his "special military operation" against Ukraine.

In court, Ovsyannikova repeated her protest and said she would not retract her words. She said she did not understand why she was there and what she was being judged for. "What's going on here is absurd," she said. "War is horror, blood and shame."

She went on: "Your accusations are like accusing me of spreading monkeypox," she said. "The purpose of the trial is to intimidate all the people who oppose the war in the Russian Federation." She described Russia as an aggressor country, saying: "The beginning of this war is the biggest crime of our government."

A lawyer for Ovsyannikova said she had the right to speak out under article 29 of the Russian constitution which protects the right to freedom of expression, but the judge dismissed the lawyer's arguments.

Reuters

July 28 2022 - 13:14

Russia's media regulator asks for Novaya Gazeta's registration to be revoked

Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor has filed a lawsuit to revoke the registration of the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, state-owned news agency TASS reported on Thursday.

Novaya Gazeta, a stalwart of Russia's beleaguered independent media since 1993, suspended operations inside the country in March after receiving warnings from the communications regulator and being forced to remove material from its website on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Part of the paper's staff have set up a European edition from Riga, Latvia. Novaya Gazeta's longtime editor in chief, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dmitry Muratov, has remained in Russia despite his vocal opposition to the conflict in Ukraine. 

Reuters

July 28 2022 - 12:54

H&M to sell Russian business to local or foreign company - ministry

H&M, the world's second-biggest fashion retailer, has decided to sell its assets in Russia, the Russian ministry of industry and trade said on Thursday.

The potential buyer could be a Russian company or an entity from a "friendly" country — one of those that have not imposed sanctions against Russia, the ministry added.

H&M said earlier this month it had decided to initiate a process of winding down its business in Russia.

Reuters

July 28 2022 - 11:16 

Russia says prisoner exchange talks with US ongoing, no concrete results yet

Negotiations between Moscow and Washington on exchanging prisoners are ongoing, but have not yielded any results yet, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday he will speak with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov by phone in the coming days and press him to respond to an offer Washington has made to secure the release of American citizens detained by Moscow.

Reuters 

July 28 2022 - 10:49

Russia fines WhatsApp, Snapchat owner over data storage violations - agencies

A Russian court on Thursday fined Meta Platforms Inc's WhatsApp messenger and Snapchat owner Snap Inc for an alleged refusal to store the data of Russian users domestically, news agencies reported.

Moscow has clashed with Big Tech over content, censorship, data and local representation in disputes that have escalated since Russia sent forces into Ukraine on February 24.

Moscow's Tagansky District Court fined WhatsApp 18-million roubles ($301,255) and Snap 1-million roubles, news agencies reported. WhatsApp was fined for the same offence last August.

Meta and Snap did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Russia restricted access to Meta's flagship platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as fellow social network Twitter, soon after the conflict in Ukraine began, a move critics have cast as an effort by Russia to exert greater control over information flows.

Meta was found guilty of "extremist activity" in Russia and saw an appeal against the tag rejected in June, but Moscow has permitted WhatsApp to remain available.

According to the ruling, when referring to Meta in the public sphere, organisations and individuals are required to include the disclaimer that Meta's activities are banned on Russian territory.

Microsoft's LinkedIn has been blocked in Russia for years after a court found it breached the data-storage rule, which was passed in 2015.

Reuters 

July 28 2022 - 09:50

Russia fines Snapchat owner for data law violation - Ifax

A Russian court on Thursday fined Snapchat owner 1-million roubles ($16,667) for an alleged refusal to localise Russian user data on the country's territory, the Interfax news agency reported.

Moscow has clashed with Big Tech over content, censorship, data and local representation in a simmering dispute that has erupted into a full-on battle since Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine on February 24.

Snap did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Reuters

July 28 2022 - 07:00

Stranded teenage sailor hopes to head home from Ukraine after grain deal

Stranded sailors hope a deal to allow Ukraine to resume grain exports will also soon allow them to return home following months stuck in the war-torn country.

July 28 2022 - 06:20

Russia tells Nasa space station pullout less imminent than indicated earlier

Russian space officials have informed US counterparts that Moscow would like to keep flying its cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) until their own orbital outpost is built and operational, a senior Nasa official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Taken together with remarks from a senior Russian space official published on Wednesday, the latest indications are that Russia is still at least six years away from ending an orbital collaboration with the US that dates back more than two decades.

A schism in the ISS programme seemed to be closer at hand on Tuesday, when Yuri Borisov, the newly appointed director-general of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, surprised Nasa by announcing that Moscow intended to withdraw from the space station partnership "after 2024."

Kathy Lueders, Nasa's space operations chief, said in an interview that Russian officials later on Tuesday told the US space agency that Roscosmos wished to remain in the partnership as Russia works to get its planned orbital outpost, named ROSS, up and running.

"We're not getting any indication at any working level that anything's changed," Lueders told Reuters on Wednesday, adding that Nasa's relations with Roscosmos remain "business as usual.

"The space station, a science laboratory spanning the size of a football field and orbiting some 250 miles [400km] above Earth, has been continuously occupied for more than two decades under a US-Russian-led partnership that also includes Canada, Japan and 11 European countries.

It offers one of the last vestiges of cooperation between the United States and Russia, though its fate has been called into question since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, straining bilateral relations on a variety of fronts as the Biden administration imposed economic sanctions on Moscow.

The Ukraine conflict also sparked tensions between Roscosmos and the European Space Agency (ESA).

A formal agreement to extend Russia's ISS participation beyond 2024 has not yet been reached. Nasa, Roscosmos, ESA and the station's other partners plan to discuss the prospect of extending each other's presence on the laboratory to 2030 during a periodic meeting on Friday of the board that oversees the station's management, Lueders said.

Roscosmos published on its website on Wednesday an interview with Vladimir Solovyov, the flight director for the space station's Russian segment, who was quoted as saying Russia must remain on the station until ROSS is operating.

Solovyov said he expected ROSS would be fully assembled in orbit sometime in 2028."We, of course, need to continue operating the ISS until we create a more or less tangible backlog for ROSS," Solovyov said.

"We must take into account that if we stop manned flights for several years, then it will be very difficult to restore what has been achieved.

"The American and Russian segments of the space station were deliberately built to be intertwined and technically interdependent, so that any abrupt withdrawal of Russian cooperation aboard the ISS could seriously disrupt a centerpiece of Nasa's human spaceflight programme.

Reuters 

July 28 2022 - 06:00

Russia captures power station, redeploys troops toward southern Ukraine

Russian forces took over Ukraine's second-biggest power plant and are conducting a "massive redeployment" of troops to three southern regions, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said, amid expectations of a Ukrainian counter-offensive.

Russian-backed forces said on Wednesday they had captured the Soviet-era coal-fired Vuhlehirsk power plant intact, in what was Moscow's first significant gain in more than three weeks.

Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, confirmed the capture of the plant in the eastern Donetsk region, but said it was only a "tiny tactical advantage" for Russia.

The Russian redeployment to the south appeared to be a switch to strategic defence from offence, he added, with troops sent to Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Ukraine has made clear it intends to recapture the southern city of Kherson, which fell to Russia in the early days of the war.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, earlier tweeted that Russia was concentrating "the maximum number of troops" in the direction of the Kherson but gave no details.

Ukrainian forces in the south said they had killed 66 enemy troops and destroyed three tanks and two arms dumps in the past 24 hours. Russian forces attacked the city of Mykolaiv with multiple rocket launchers, they added.

Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield reports.

Ukraine also shelled an important bridge straddling the Dnipro river in Kherson, closing it to traffic. Russian officials had earlier said they would turn instead to pontoon bridges and ferries to get forces across the river.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine would rebuild the Antonivskyi bridge over the Dnipro and other crossings in the region.

"We are doing everything to ensure that the occupying forces do not have any logistical opportunities in our country," he said in a Wednesday evening address.

Reuters