Russia-Ukraine war updates: Moscow port attack ‘successful’, says Kyiv

Media organisations in Ukraine are urging the government to give them more freedom to report on the war.

Since the invasion, the government has taken control of most media channels and now broadcast only the official version of the war, 24 hours a day, in what is known as the United News Marathon.

Sevgil Musaieva, editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda, says the marathon should end and journalists should be free to hold their government accountable, particularly during wartime.

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The former Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, told Al Jazeera that the counteroffensive is not a Hollywood movie.

“Every success of the Ukrainian army is a great effort, [a] great sacrifice of Ukrainian soldiers, and we understand what it means for the whole world. We [are] stopping the aggressor, we do not give the ability of Russia to attack freedom and democracy in the whole world,” Poroshenko said.

The former leader thanked Kyiv’s allies for their support during the 18-month war.

Ahead of a peace initiative hosted by Saudi Arabia this weekend, Poroshenko thanked the government for helping create a framework for peace negotiations.

“The only precondition for peace negotiations is to restore the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine’s territory in the internationally recognised border, very clear,” he said.

Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was sentenced to an additional 19 years in a case that he and his supporters said had been increased to keep him behind bars and out of politics for even longer.

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US Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie has visited Ukraine, met with Zelenskyy and emphasised Washington’s support for Kyiv.

The former New Jersey governor met with Zelenskyy at the presidential palace in Kyiv after visiting a mass grave in Bucha and touring the damage in Iprin outside the capital.

Ukraine has accused Russia of committing atrocities in Bucha after Kyiv’s forces recaptured the town last year.

Christie also toured a child protection centre in Kyiv.

His message during the visit was clear: The US supports and should continue to support Ukraine.

Christie, a one-time ally of former President Donald Trump, is challenging him for a second time for their party’s 2024 presidential nomination, presenting a sharp contrast with Trump on Ukraine.

A Ukrainian official says the drone attack on a Russian landing ship at the Novorossiysk naval base in southern Russia has been “successful”.

The French news agency AFP cited a Ukrainian security source as saying the Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship was the target of the strike.

Click here for a roundup of the war’s key events from day 527.

KEEP READING

• US urges nations to tell Russia to stop using grain as ‘blackmail’
• Ukraine keeps up Russia pressure as drone raids intensify psychological war
• Another 20 years for jailed Russian critic Navalny? What you should know
• ‘I don’t live in fear’: Poles defiant as Wagner operates near border

The UN nuclear watchdog found no explosives at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after being granted access after months of requests.

Last month, Russia and Ukraine traded accusations of planning to stage an attack on Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant.

“[IAEA] experts have observed no mines or explosives on the rooftops of Unit 3 and Unit 4 reactor buildings and the turbine halls … after having been given access yesterday afternoon,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

The watchdog said while there were no signs of explosives in the areas it had been able to visit, there were mines outside the perimeter that appeared to pose no danger to the plant’s safety.

Chinese Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui will visit Jeddah for talks on a Ukraine peace settlement, the foreign ministry said

“China is willing to work with the international community to continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine,” Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson at the Chinese ministry, said in a statement.

China has remained neutral in the conflict and maintains its close ties to Russia.

Lithuania declares more than 1,000 citizens of Russia and Belarus living in the country to be threats to national security.

The move comes after the government asked the Russians and Belarusians to answer a questionnaire with questions about their views on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the status of Crimea.

The migration department said that it had established that 1,164 people posed a threat to national security; 910 of those were Belarusian citizens while 254 were Russian.

How people answered the questionnaire was taken into consideration in deciding whether to grant or deny residence, according to the department.

More than 58,000 Belarusians and 16,000 Russians currently reside in Lithuania.

Ukraine and its allies aim to rally international support during a peace summit in Saudi Arabia this weekend.

The meeting in Jeddah of national security advisers and other senior officials from about 40 countries is expected to agree on fundamental principles for a future peace settlement to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Russia was not invited to attend the meeting, but the Kremlin said it would monitor the discussions.

On Wednesday, Zelenskyy said he hoped the initiative will lead to a “peace summit” of international leaders this autumn to endorse the principles based on his 10-point peace formula.

Zelenskyy’s peace plan calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops and the restoration of its borders.

But Ukrainian, Russian and international officials say there is no prospect of direct peace talks between the warring countries at the moment.

Since the Wagner Group arrived in Belarus, Polish leaders have taken significant security steps after calling the move “extremely dangerous”.

But Poles remain divided on the issue and whether the proximity of the Russian fighters poses a threat.

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The Kremlin has said Poland’s statement on Wagner forces in Belarus is “odd”, as Warsaw warns that the mercenary group is seeking to unsettle NATO’s eastern flank.

Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “There are a lot of oddities, in general, the Poles are prone to provoking the situation, escalating tension. This line is not new and has only been progressing in recent years.”

“Indeed, the fighters of this group are on the territory of Belarus within the framework of existing agreements. Near the border – not near [their] border, this is the territory of Belarus, Belarus is a sovereign state.”

Russia says it needs actions, not promises, from the United States to meet the conditions it has set to return to the Black Sea grain deal.

Moscow quit the deal on July 17 after saying not enough had been done to remove obstacles to its exports of food and fertiliser.

“If they want to contribute to fulfilling the part of the grain deal that is due to Russia, the Americans must fulfil it, not promise that they will think about it,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“As soon as this is done, this deal will immediately be renewed.”

The Kremlin’s comments come after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Thursday that Washington would do “whatever is necessary” to ensure the safety of food exports if Russia returns to the deal.

Ukraine has accused Russia of preparing to stage a “false flag” attack at the Mozyr oil refinery in Belarus to blame Ukrainian saboteurs in an effort to draw Belarus into the war.

In a statement, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said its allegations were based on information from several sources, including a captured Russian serviceman.

The Kremlin has published a joint statement with the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of several African countries participating in a peace mission to end the war, the Tass news agency reported.

In the statement, the leaders pointed out the progress made on proposals in their first meeting on June 17 on humanitarian issues, including children in war zones and prisoner exchanges.

The statement added that: “The leaders called for concrete steps to remove barriers to Russian grain and fertiliser exports, allowing full implementation” of the grain deal to resume.

They also called on the UN “to take the necessary measures to release 200 thousand tons of Russian fertilisers blocked in the seaports of the European Union for immediate and free delivery to African countries”.

Putin met with members of the African peace mission at the end of July on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit.

The British defence ministry said Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian grain ports in the past few weeks are likely an attempt to stop international trading via the ports.

In the ministry’s daily intelligence update, it found that “OWA UAVs have struck targets as close as 200 metres from the Romanian border, suggesting that Russia has evolved its risk appetite for conducting strikes near NATO territory”.

“There is a realistic possibility that Russia is using OWA UAVs to strike this area in the belief they are less likely to risk escalation than cruise missiles: Russia likely considers them as acceptably accurate, and they have much smaller warheads than cruise missiles.”

Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski has announced that Warsaw detained a suspected member of a Russian spy network, bringing the total number of people arrested as part of an investigation to 16.

“(The Internal Security Agency) detained another, already sixteenth person suspected of participating in a Russian spy network,” Kaminski wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Belarusian Mikhail A took part in reconnaissance of military facilities and ports. He also carried out propaganda activities for Russia. He was taken into custody.”

A German government official says there have been positive signals about Chinese participation during this weekend’s Ukraine peace summit in Saudi Arabia.

While the official added that it was unclear exactly what form any Chinese participation would take, Beijing has a crucial role in any peace settlement due to its relationship with Russia.

The official said the conference’s aim, where more than 30 countries will take part, was to “consolidate” peace plans on the table and bring countries of the Global South into closer dialogue with Kyiv.

Ships have begun moving in the Russian port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea after being suspended earlier due to a Ukrainian drone attack, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) said.

The CPC, the leading shipper of Kazakh oil exports, said it was already preparing to load a new tanker at one of its mooring points.

Ukraine damaged a Russian naval vessel during a sea drone attack at the Russian port of Novorossiysk that was conducted by the security service of Ukraine and the Ukrainian navy, a Ukrainian intelligence source said.

“As a result of the attack, the Olenegorsky Gornyak received a serious breach and currently cannot conduct its combat missions,” the source told Reuters.