WAR IN UKRAINE: July 22, 2022
The pain of war: in Kharkiv a man prayed over his son and held his hand for two hours after he was killed during Russian live fire
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 149
Russian forces have reportedly parked explosive materials and weaponry near critical parts of the nuclear power plant in Zaporyzhzhia. Staff also say that fire engine routes have been blocked and that some colleagues have been taken away. “The Russian military has dragged at least 14 units of heavy military equipment of ammunition, weapons and explosives to the engine room of the first power unit of the plant,” Energoatom says a Telegram post.
The Office of the President of Turkey confirmed on Thursday that the agreement on exporting grain from Ukraine by sea will be signed on Friday in Istanbul.
As of early Thursday there were reports of about 19 wounded and two dead in a renewed Russian attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. One man was filmed praying and holding his dead son’s hand for two hours after he was killed in the live fire
Russia is looting $600m (£500m) worth of steel from plants and ports in Ukraine, according to the boss of Ukraine's largest steel firm Metinvest. Chief executive Yuriy Ryzhenkov said steel was being transferred to Russia and sold on, some of which had been bound for customers in the UK. "What they're doing is basically looting. They're stealing not only our products, but also some of those products already belong to the European customers. So basically, they're not only stealing from us, they're stealing from the Europeans as well," Mr Ryzhenkov told the BBC.
Deutsche Bahn will start transporting Ukrainian grain to German ports The German railway concern plans to send several warehouses worth of Ukrainian grain per week - most of the cargo will arrive via Romania.
CNN: European countries have expelled over 400 Russian agents since Feb. 24. Richard Moore, head of MI6, the U.K.'s foreign intelligence service, told CNN’s Jim Sciutto at the Aspen Security Forum that Russia’s ability to spy in Europe has been cut in half. A number of Russian spies posing as ordinary citizens were also exposed and detained - Kyiv Independent
Putin Building Anti-West Global Alliance as He Tries to Reshape World Order. "Putin's visit to Iran cements the new alliance: Russia-Iran-Syria-China-North Korea. Not a terribly salubrious group," tweeted BBC broadcaster John Simpson. Read the full Newsweek article here
Required reading…
Once a leafy suburb, the Ukrainian city of Irpin has become a byword for the $105.5bn in infrastructural damage caused by Russia’s invasion. One street tells the story of the destruction, and we take a look at the impact it has had on the local community
Read the FT story here