WAR IN UKRAINE: July 24, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 151
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has said that the grain export deal reached in Turkey fully takes into account Kyiv’s security interests. “The initiative fully takes into account the security interests of the southern regions of Ukraine and guarantees a strong position of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Black Sea - control over all activities in Ukrainian territorial waters will be carried out only by Ukraine," the ministry said.
Hours after the agreement was signed, Ukraine says Russian forces sent cruise missiles towards Odesa, one of 3 ports to be used for exports. Two of them damaged port infrastructure. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a Tweet that he “unequivocally condemns” the reported strikes in Odesa. He added: “The full implementation of the commitments made yesterday by the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Turkey is imperative.”
The chief of staff of the Office of the President, Andrij Yermak, blasted Moscow for firing on Odesa hours after signing the grain export deal. “The Russians bombarded Odesa with rockets. Yesterday, Ukraine agreed to export grain by sea, and today the Russians are attacking the Odesa port. This is a Russian diplomatic dichotomy," Yermak said. He emphasized that the Russians are systematically creating a food crisis, "doing everything to make people suffer." Odesa is one of the three Ukrainian ports identified in the agreement for the export of grain.
Nonetheless, Ukraine said it will continue preparations for launching the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports through the Black Sea, despite the fact that the Russian Federation launched a missile attack on the Odesa port.
Russian troops deliver ammunition to Kherson Oblast under guise of humanitarian aid. According to Ukraine's Defense Ministry Intelligence Directorate, over 20 trucks with ammunition and other heavy weaponry drove to the oblast under the pretext of civilian cargo - Kyiv Independent
CNN gets first look at a captured Russian drone. Nic Robertson shows how Western technology used in drones is helping Russia to track and kill Ukrainian forces. Watch here
The New York Times opens an office in Ukraine to cover the war. It follows a decision by the Washington Post to do likewise. Recently it’s become more difficult for western news agencies to operate freely out of Moscow. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s bureau in Moscow was recently shuttered.
Two American citizens recently died in the Donbas region of Ukraine, the State Department confirmed Saturday. In a statement to CNN on Saturday, a State Department spokesperson did not provide any details about the individuals or the circumstances of their deaths, but said they "are in touch with the families and providing all possible consular assistance."
Required reading…
Putin Confidential
Eight questions with Philip Short, the author of a new Putin biography, on the Russian president’s early years—and what Bill Browder got wrong
Read the full Air Mail interview here
“Even as a child, Putin would never give up—when thwarted, he doubled down.”