Kyiv: Russia will once again cut gas supplies to Europe, in a blow to countries backing Ukraine, as it was expected this week that a resumption of Black Sea grain exports could ease economic pressure. Ukraine’s first ships could leave in days under a deal agreed on Friday, despite Russian air strikes over the weekend against the Ukrainian port of Odessa. Rising energy costs and the threat of hunger facing millions in poor countries show that the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II, now in its sixth month, is impacting far beyond Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military on Tuesday reported Russian cruise missile strikes in the south, adding that Ukrainian forces had struck enemy positions. Russia’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to an after-hours request for comment. President Vladimir Putin warned the West earlier this month that sanctions could lead to a huge spike in global energy prices.
Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Monday that gas flow into Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would drop to 33 million cubic meters per day from Wednesday, citing instructions from industry watchdogs. This is half of the current flowing, which is already only 40% of the normal capacity. Before the war, Europe imported about 40% of its gas and 30% of its oil from Russia.
The Kremlin says the gas disruption is the result of maintenance issues and Western sanctions, while the European Union has accused Russia of energy blackmail. Germany said it did not see any technical reason for the latest shortage.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that the Kremlin is waging an “open gas war” against Europe. Politicians in Europe have repeatedly said Russia could cut gas this winter, a move that would push Germany into recession and hurt consumers already reeling from rising inflation. Moscow says it is not interested in completely cutting off gas supplies to Europe.
grain ship
Before the invasion and subsequent sanctions, Russia and Ukraine accounted for about a third of global wheat exports. Officials from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations agreed on Friday that there would be no attacks on trading ships from the Black Sea to Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait and markets.
Moscow on Saturday dismissed concerns of a deal derailing by a Russian attack on Odessa, saying it only targeted military infrastructure. The White House said the strike casts doubt on Russia’s credibility and is watching closely to see if the commitments will be met. “We will continue to actively explore other options with the international community to increase Ukraine’s exports via overland routes,” the statement said.
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has blocked grain exports from Ukraine since the February 24 invasion of Moscow. Moscow blames Ukraine for Western sanctions and mining access to its ports to slow its food and fertilizer exports. Under Friday’s deal, pilots will guide ships along safe channels through naval minefields.
A Ukrainian government official said he expected the first grain shipment to be made from Kornomorsk this week, with shipments from other ports within two weeks. Zelensky was adamant that trade would resume: “We will start exporting, and let the partners take care of security,” he said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on a visit to African countries that there are no barriers to grain exports and that nothing in the deal prevents Moscow from attacking military infrastructure. The Kremlin also said the United Nations should ensure sanctions on Russian fertilizer and other exports were removed in order for the grain deal to work.
air strikes
The Kremlin says it is engaged in a “special military operation” to demilitarize and “demilitarize” Ukraine. Both Kyiv and the West maintain that the war is an unprovoked act of aggression.
Thousands of civilians were killed and millions fled during the war. Russian artillery barrages and air strikes devastated entire cities. With Western arms boosting Ukrainians, Putin’s forces are making slow progress, but are believed to be ready for a new push to the east.
Ukraine said on Monday that its forces had used US-supplied HIMARS rocket systems to destroy 50 Russian ammunition depots since receiving the weapons last month. Russia did not comment, but its defense ministry said its forces had destroyed an ammunition depot for the HIMARS system.
Ukraine-Russia war: what you need to know right now
Russia will once again cut gas supplies to Europe, in a blow to countries backing Ukraine, as it was expected this week that a resumption of Black Sea grain exports could ease economic pressure.
fighting
* The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights put its latest civilian death toll from the Ukraine war so far at 5,237, with more than 7,000 wounded.
* Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces destroyed a depot for the US-made HIMARS rocket system in Ukraine’s western Khmelnitsky region. Ukraine said its HIMARS rockets had destroyed 50 Russian ammunition depots.
* Ukrainian military reports Russian cruise missile strikes in the south. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the battlefield reports.
diplomacy, economy
* Russia tightens its gas squeeze on Europe as Gazprom said supplies to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would fall to only 20% of capacity.
* The first ships to export grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports could move within days under an agreement agreed by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations, a UN spokesman said.
* The Kremlin said Saturday’s Russian missile strikes in Odessa targeted military bases and would not affect grain exports.
* Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said there were no barriers to grain exports from Ukrainian ports and that Russia would continue to attack military infrastructure in Ukraine.
* The White House said Russia’s attack on Odessa cast doubt on the grain deal and that the United States was exploring options to increase Ukrainian exports via underground routes.
* Leclerc’s boss warned that the French supermarket chain could reduce its opening hours as part of emergency measures to tackle the risk of war-linked power shortages.
mention
“This (strike on Odessa) should not affect – and will not affect – the start of (grain) shipments,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.