#War #Ukraine #Developments
Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:
– Grain talks with high stakes –
Russia and Ukraine are holding their first direct talks since March to break a deadlock on grain exports, with no immediate signs of a breakthrough.
Turkey’s Defense Ministry says in a one-sentence statement that talks in Istanbul, which involved representatives from the UN and Turkey, are “over” and gives no indication of whether progress has been made.
The talks come at a risk of food shortages spreading to the poorest parts of the world.
– Five dead in the Mykolaiv region –
At least five people have been killed in Russian shelling in the region around the embattled Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv near the Black Sea, the Ukrainian Council Presidency said.
Deputy Presidential Chief of Staff Kyrylo Tymoshenko said multiple strikes damaged a hospital and homes in the region.
– Kaliningrad standoff –
The European Union says Baltic member Lithuania is obliged to allow the passage of sanctioned goods, except arms, between Russia and its Kaliningrad exclave.
Since mid-June, Vilnius has restricted the EU-sanctioned transit of goods to Kaliningrad, a Russian region between NATO members Lithuania and Poland.
The move has enraged Moscow, which has threatened reprisals.
– Gazprom says no guarantees –
Russian energy giant Gazprom says it cannot guarantee Nord Stream’s proper functioning and does not know if a “critical” turbine engine will be returned from repairs in Canada.
Gazprom began 10-day maintenance on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Monday, with the EU — particularly gas-dependent Germany — concerned that taps may not be turned back on as relations between Russia and the West are at their lowest stand for years.
– Russia activist arrested –
A Moscow court has ordered one of the last remaining opposition figures in Russia, Ilya Yashin, to be jailed for two months before trial for denouncing Moscow’s Ukraine offensive.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison for spreading “false information” about Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.
The investigation was started because Yashin spoke on April 7 on his YouTube channel about “the murder of civilians in Bucha,” says his lawyer.
– The calm before the storm? –
The Ukrainian army warns that Russia is preparing its heaviest attack yet on the Donetsk region – the larger of the two areas that make up the Donbass zone.
The Russian army has not conducted any major ground offensives since capturing the smaller Lugansk region in early July.
Analysts believe the Russians are upgrading and regrouping their forces ahead of an attack on Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
– Deterioration of economic prospects –
The outlook for the global economy has “deteriorated significantly” and could deteriorate further, writes IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, citing Russia’s war in Ukraine and the rapid inflation it has caused.
The warning comes just months after the IMF lowered its global growth forecast for 2022 and 2023.
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