Russian TV journalist fined for ‘discrediting army’ over Ukraine

Marina Ovsyannikova, previously fined for bursting into state TV studio, found guilty over social media posts

The Russian former state TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova has been fined 50,000 roubles (£681) 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 on Thursday after a short hearing in a Moscow administrative court. Ovsyannikova rejected the proceedings against her as “absurd”.

Continue reading...

Calls for Ukrainians living on cruise ship in Scotland to be quickly rehoused

MS Victoria is temporary solution to host refugees but there are concerns about small rooms and seasickness

Ukrainian refugees staying on a cruise ship docked in Edinburgh must be moved to more suitable accommodation within days, welfare groups have said, as those onboard already report concerns about small rooms and feeling seasick.

The first arrivals of mainly women and children displaced by the war in Ukraine boarded the MS Victoria passenger ship earlier this week. Chartered by the Scottish government, it is expected to host up to 1,700 people and is a temporary solution to a growing accommodation crisis, which earlier this month prompted the government to pause its Ukrainian refugee sponsorship scheme for three months.

Continue reading...

Falls in Europe’s crop yields due to heatwaves could worsen price rises

From Spain to Hungary, output of staples such as corn forecast to fall by up to 9%, adding to impact of Ukraine war on food security

Yields of key crops in Europe will be sharply down this year owing to heatwaves and droughts, exacerbating the impacts of the Ukraine war on food prices.

Maize, sunflower and soya bean yields are forecast by the EU to drop by about 8% to 9% due to hot weather across the continent. Supplies of cooking oil and maize were already under pressure, as Ukraine is a major producer and its exports have been blocked by Russia.

Continue reading...

Germany accuses Russia of ‘power play’ as gas pipeline supply drops by half

State-run Gazprom reduces flow through Nord Stream 1 to around 20% of its capacity

Germany has accused Moscow of engaging in “power play” over energy exports, as Russian state-run Gazprom further throttled gas supplies into Europe.

As announced two days earlier, the energy giant on Wednesday reduced the gas flow through Nord Stream 1 to 33m cubic metres a day – about 20% of the pipeline’s total capacity and half the amount it has been delivering since resuming service last week after 10 days of maintenance work.

Continue reading...

Russia will not take Donbas in ‘immediate future’, say western officials – as it happened

Moscow has ‘definitively’ lost initiative in battle for eastern region; Ukraine attacks key Russian held bridge in Kherson

Peter Beaumont in Kyiv has filed this report on a night when it appears that Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian-occupied Kherson:

A key Russian held bridge into the occupied southern city of Kherson was hit with a barrage of rocket fire by Ukrainian forces who appeared to be stepping up operations to isolate the city.

Continue reading...

Ukraine steps up attacks on Russian-occupied Kherson

Key bridge attacked using longer-range weapons in bid to cut off Russian supply routes

A key Russian held bridge into the occupied southern city of Kherson was hit with a barrage of rocket fire by Ukrainian forces who appeared to be stepping up operations to isolate the city.

Video and witness accounts showed up to 18 detonations on the Antonivskiy bridge over the Dnipro river, one of the main Russian resupply routes into Kherson, with Russian anti-missile air defences apparently failing to intercept the strikes.

Continue reading...

How does the EU plan to cut gas usage by 15% this winter?

Industry to feel pinch first after all countries in bloc except Hungary agreed to voluntary reduction

The EU has agreed to cut its gas consumption by 15% in an attempt to stave off a winter crisis triggered by a sharp reduction or total shutdown of Russian gas supplies to the bloc.

Continue reading...

Zelenskiy accuses Russia of using rising gas prices to terrorise Europe – as it happened

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here

The Russian state-controlled energy company Gazprom has announced a drastic cut to gas deliveries through its main pipeline to Europe from Wednesday.

The Russian gas export monopoly said it was halting the operation of one of the last two operating turbines due to the “technical condition of the engine”, cutting daily gas deliveries via the Nord Stream pipeline to 33m cubic metres a day – about 20% of the pipeline’s capacity.

Today we saw another gas threat to Europe. Even despite the concession regarding the Nord Stream turbine, Russia is not going to resume gas supplies to European countries, as it is contractually obligated to do.

All this is done by Russia deliberately to make it as difficult as possible for Europeans to prepare for winter. And this is an overt gas war that Russia is waging against a united Europe - this is exactly how it should be perceived. And they don’t care what will happen to the people, how they will suffer - from hunger due to the blocking of ports or from winter cold and poverty... Or from occupation. These are just different forms of terror.

Continue reading...

EU agrees plan to ration gas use over Russia supply fears

Despite most energy ministers backing the scheme the EU was forced to water down proposals

The EU has been forced to water down its plan to ration gas this winter in an attempt to avoid an energy crisis generated by further Russian cuts to supply.

Energy ministers from the 27 member states, except Hungary, backed a voluntary 15% reduction in gas usage over the winter, a target that could become mandatory if the Kremlin ordered a complete shutdown of gas to Europe.

Continue reading...

Insurance uncertainty poses challenge to Ukraine grain deal

Traders remain sceptical of UN-backed plan to export vital food supplies through mined Ukrainian waters

Worries over insurance are the biggest obstacle to grain ships leaving Ukraine’s Black Sea ports this week, exporters say.

Questions remain over whether insurance companies will be willing to insure the vessels as they navigate the mined waters, while buyers are hesitant to make new orders given the risk of Russian attacks.

Continue reading...

Ukraine grain exports set to start as Kyiv says US-supplied arms have slowed Russia

Grain exports to begin this week despite Russian attack on Odesa 12 hours after signing agreement

Ukraine has said it hopes to start exporting grain from its ports this week, despite Russia’s attack on Odesa 12 hours after Moscow agreed to allow Kyiv safe passage for the commodity.

The first ships may move from the country’s Black Sea ports within a few days, said deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq. Details of the procedures will soon be published by a joint coordination centre that is liaising with the shipping industry, said Haq.

Continue reading...

Lavrov’s African tour another front in struggle between west and Moscow

Analysis: Foreign minister seeks to win friends and influence people in countries where closeness can be traced back to USSR

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, is arriving in Uganda on the latest stop of his tour of Africa, aimed at rallying support on the continent for Russia as the war in Ukraine goes into its sixth month.

Many African leaders have refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and have accused the US and Nato of starting or prolonging the conflict.

Continue reading...

UK to host Eurovision song contest in 2023 on behalf of Ukraine

BBC says programme will have ‘glorious Ukraine at its heart’, with cities invited to bid to host event

The Eurovision song contest will be hosted in the UK next year after Ukraine’s public broadcaster dropped its objections and agreed to work with the BBC on the event.

Ukraine won this year’s Eurovision with the song Stefania by Kalush Orchestra, earning the right to host the 2023 edition. However, organisers concluded this could not be done safely while the country was at war with Russia – angering the Ukrainian government, which said it had submitted a workable safety plan.

Continue reading...

Ukraine claims it will recapture Kherson by September with aid of western weapons

Aide in southern region says a ‘turning point’ has been reached, heralding switch from defensive moves to long-awaited counterattack

Ukrainian military officials have claimed a “turning point” in the battle to retake the southern region of Kherson, saying they will use western weapons to liberate by September the first major city captured by Russian forces.

Sergiy Khlan, an aide to the administrative head of the Kherson region, said in an interview with Ukrainian television on Sunday: “We can say that a turning point has occurred on the battlefield. We are switching from defensive to counteroffensive actions.”

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine predicts it will recapture Kherson region; push to restart grain exports after missile attack – live

Aide to head of region says it will be liberate by September; minister says preparations to resume grain shipments ongoing as strikes on port draw international condemnation

Without port blockades, Ukraine would be able to export 60m tonnes of grain in eight to nine months, according to Ukraine’s economic adviser, Oleh Ustenko.

Ustenko said Russia’s strike on the port of Odesa showed it would definitely not be that easy, according to Reuters reports of his appearance on television.

Continue reading...

Russia rallies support in Africa as doubt cast on Ukraine grain deal

Russian foreign minister starts trip in Egypt, one day after Russian strike on Odesa put question mark over deal to restart exports

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has reassured Egypt over Russian grain supplies at the start of a four-country tour of Africa, amid uncertainty over the future of a deal to resume Ukrainian exports via the Black Sea.

Egypt, one of the world’s top wheat importers, bought 80% of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine last year, and has been torn between ties to Moscow and its close relationship to the west.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 151 of the invasion

Russian missiles hit Odesa hours after deal to allow resumption of grain exports; US accuses Russia of deepening global food crisis

Russia has targeted Ukraine’s main port of Odesa – through which grain shipments would take place – with cruise missile strikes, barely 12 hours after Moscow signed a deal with Ukraine to allow monitored grain exports from Ukraine’s southern ports. “The enemy attacked the Odesa sea trade port with Kalibr cruise missiles,” Ukraine’s operational command south wrote on Telegram, raising doubts about the viability of the deal that was intended to release 20m tonnes of grain to ward off famine in large parts of the developing world.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy claimed the strikes on Odesa showed Moscow could not keep its promises. “This proves only one thing: no matter what Russia says and promises, it will find ways not to implement it,” he said during a meeting with US lawmakers, according to a statement from the presidency.

The US secretary of state condemned the Russian attack against Odesa, accusing Russia of deepening the global food shortage. In a statement posted on Twitter, Antony Blinken said: “The United States strongly condemns Russia’s attack on the port of Odesa today. It undermines the effort to bring food to the hungry and the credibility of Russia’s commitments to the deal finalized yesterday to allow Ukrainian exports.”

Ukraine’s defence ministry has urged citizens in Enerhodar, a key area seized by Russia, to reveal where Russian troops are living and who among the local population was collaborating with the occupying authorities. “Please let us know as a matter of urgency the exact location of the occupying troops’ bases and their residential addresses … and the places of residence of the commanding staff,” it said on Saturday, adding that exact coordinates were desirable.

The governor of Zaporizhizhia has said that Russia is keeping 170 people captive in the Zaporizhizhia oblast, the Kyiv Independent reports. According to the governor, Oleksandr Starukh, Russian forces have abducted at least 415 people in the southern region since 24 February – the day Russian forces invaded Ukraine – and at least 170 individuals are still being kept captive.

The UNHCR says 3.7 million Ukrainian refugees have received temporary protection status in the European Union. In a new report released Friday, the UNHCR cited that 3.7 million Ukrainians have registered for Temporary Protection or similar national protection schemes in Europe.

Video footage has emerged of a powerful explosion that took place in the Russian-occupied territory of Horlivka on Saturday in the Donetsk oblast, Euromaidan reports. Reports from outlets have been claiming that Ukrainian armed forces have hit a Russian ammunition depot.

The former deputy secretary of Ukraine’s Security Council has been suspected of high treason, the Kyiv Independent reports. According to a report released on Saturday by the Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigations, Volodymyr Sivkovych is suspected of collaborating with Russian intelligence services and managing a network of agents in Ukraine that spied on behalf of Russia.

Germany has delayed weapons delivery to Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent reports. The outlet, sourcing German media organisation German Welt, reported that anonymous Ukrainian officials had reported that Ukraine’s application for eleven IRIS-T air missile defence systems is currently being held up by Germany’s Federal Security Council.

Hungary’s nationalist prime minister Viktor Orbán called for US-Russian peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, lashing out at the European Union’s strategy on the conflict. In a speech in Romania on Saturday, the 59-year-old rightwing leader also defended his vision of an “unmixed Hungarian race” as he criticised mixing with “non-Europeans”. Orban has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, but maintains an ambiguous position on the conflict.

Two US citizens recently died in the Donbas region, CNN reported on Saturday, citing a US state department spokesperson. The spokesperson, not named in the report, did not provide any details about the individuals or the circumstances of their deaths but said the US administration was in touch with the families and providing “all possible consular assistance,” according to CNN.

Continue reading...

Kherson’s secret art society produces searing visions of life under Russian occupation

Painters, playwrights and photographers have defied the threat of arrest in southern Ukrainian city to share their experiences

Under the threat of imprisonment, interrogation and the constant pressure of searches by Russian soldiers, six artists secretly met in a basement studio in the occupied Ukrainian city of Kherson.

In the months after their homes were taken over by Putin’s forces, the artists formed a residency during which they created dozens of works, including drawings, paintings, video, photography, diary entries and stage plays.

Continue reading...