July 8, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has told the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting that Russia has embarked on a "a well-thought and cynical strategy" to destroy Ukraine's agriculture.

Kuleba addressed the G20 meeting in Indonesia by video link.

Kuleba said that Russian forces had struck Ukraine’s second largest grain terminal complex at the port of Mykolaiv in June, claiming that "Russia knew exactly where it fired its missiles." The strike was aimed at causing destruction in Ukraine and "blackmailing the world," he added.

Kuleba told the foreign ministers that for decades, Ukraine -- often described as "a global breadbasket" -- has been essential to worldwide food security, but is now being "attacked, bombed, and looted by Russian criminals."

Responding to Russian claims that Ukraine was blocking its own ports, Kuleba said: "Their accusations defy basic logic. How can we be interested in blocking our own food exports when they provide one of our main sources of revenues for the budget? We are interested in exporting our food products just as much as our consumers are interested in getting them as soon as possible."

Separately, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry has alleged that Russia is using munitions to set farmland on fire as harvest season gets underway. A recent video shows combine harvesters in parts of southern Ukraine trying to gather in grain as fires burn through fields.

Some background: The UN has said Russia's blockade of Ukrainian ports has already raised global food prices and threatens to cause a catastrophic food shortage in some parts of the world. 

On Thursday, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said the release of a Russian ship allegedly carrying stolen Ukrainian grain from Turkish waters was "unacceptable." Turkey ignored a request to arrest the vessel and cargo and the ship was released on July 6, according to a ministry statement. The Russian merchant ship, Zhibek Zholy, had carried the grain from the occupied port of Berdiansk to the Turkish port of Karasu.

Russia has repeatedly denied it is blocking the ports or stealing grain.

More than forty towns and villages in Donbas have come under attack in the last 24 hours, the Ukrainian military has reported, acknowledging the "partial success" of a Russian attempt to advance on one front.

The General Staff said that Russian forces were now trying to advance west of the Luhansk-Donetsk border towards the cities of Bakhmut and Sloviansk, and "the enemy led an offensive in the direction of Verkhnokamianske, with partial success." The Russians were also advancing "in the area of ​​the Spirne settlement," it added.

Verkhnokamianske and Spirne are adjacent to the main highway leading westwards from the city of Lysychansk, which fell last week.

The Ukrainians also said that "the occupiers are advancing in the direction of Vesela Dolyna," which is close to Bakhmut. 

The General Staff said the Russians were using artillery, mortars, multiple launch rocket systems and air strikes as they tried to eliminate Ukrainian defenses.

In its analysis of the military situation on Friday, international security consultancy the Cavell Group tweeted:  "Fighting continues to be heavy on many of the roads and settlements around Siversk now with heavy artillery exchanges also in this region. The situation is very fluid here as Russia pushes forces west." Siversk is the last town of any size on the roads west towards Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. 

Cavell added: "A similar situation is occurring towards Bakhmut with Russia making slow gains against heavy resistance, but slowly securing more of the highway to Lysychansk and closing in on Bakhmut defences."

The Institute for the Study of War said: "Russian forces still conducted limited ground offensives and air, artillery, and missile strikes across all axes on July 7, and will likely continue to confine themselves to small-scale offensive actions as they rebuild forces and set conditions for a more significant offensive."

Besides trying to push west from the Luhansk border, the Russians have sustained artillery fire on settlements north of Sloviansk, with the Ukrainian General Staff that saying "our defenders inflicted losses on the enemy during its next offensive attempt and pushed the invaders back near Bohorodychne," some 20 kilometers north of the city.

Serhiy Hayday, head of Luhansk region military administration, said "in order to reach the administrative border of Luhansk region, the Russians are destroying the surrounding villages with artillery....they do not stop firing from all types of heavy weapons " on the few villages not already under their control.

"But our armed forces hold the fort," Hayday said, indicating that resistance continues along the regional border.

Elsewhere, the Ukrainian General Staff reported further artillery attacks against settlements north of Kharkiv, and local authorities said there had been civilian casualties in a rocket attack on the eastern outskirts of the city.

Regional military administrations reported incoming fire in both Sumy, in the north, and against Kryvyi Rih, in the south, without causing casualties. 

Also in the south, Russian forces continue to shell areas of Kherson and Mykolaiv in an effort to retrieve recently lost territory, according to regional administrations, and several villages were on "the verge of destruction."

The Cavell Group assessed that "north of Kherson there were phases of intensive artillery shelling yesterday [Thursday], but no significant changes on the ground. Around Kherson City Ukrainian [forces] fired coordinated artillery onto some Russian fortified defensive positions."

Watch for background here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN that Ukraine is unwilling to cede any of its land to Russia, standing firm that a concession of Ukrainian territory won't be part of any diplomatic negotiations to end the war.

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Bali on Thursday ahead of the G20 ministerial meeting, China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The G20 meeting kicked off Friday morning on the Indonesian island. In addition to China and Russia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be in attendance, along with other foreign ministers. 

Prior to the G20 officially starting, China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Beijing and Moscow "have eliminated interference, maintained normal exchanges."

It said cooperation between the two sides has “demonstrated the strong resilience and strategic determination."

They also exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine. According to the statement, Wang said China will uphold an objective and fair position, focus on promoting peace and talks, and support all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful resolution of the crisis.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday the Russian government is an ally in issues regarding a country's sovereignty.

The Brazilian leader, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in February a week before he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, also said economic sanctions imposed by Western countries did not work to stop Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Russia and Brazil's relationship is a matter of concern to the United States Congress.

A bill proposal for the military activities budget for 2023 made by Congress on July 1 asks the State Department to provide a "detailed description" of the Russian government's relations with Brazil and Argentina.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday that Ukraine is unwilling to cede any of its land to Russia, standing firm that a concession of Ukrainian territory won't be part of any diplomatic negotiations to end the war.

Russia's war with Ukraine has now lasted for more than four months, with no sign of either side backing down soon. Ukraine's early successes forced Russia to scale back its initial aims of toppling Kyiv, and Moscow's forces have now focused on taking territory in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces have now occupied most of the Luhansk region, outside of a few pockets of resistance, and are pressing toward cities in Donetsk.

CNN reported last week that White House officials are losing confidence Ukraine will ever be able to take back all of the land it has lost to Russia since the war began, even with the aid of heavier and more sophisticated weaponry that the US and its allies plan to provide Kyiv.

Zelensky acknowledged that Russia controls "almost all the Luhansk region," saying that his forces are now "fighting on the outskirts of this region." He said that Kyiv retreated to avoid mass losses of troops.

"I don't even understand what exactly they're controlling there. They ruined towns, school. They are the occupiers of the rubble?" Zelensky said.

Read more from Zelensky's interview here.

At least three people have been killed and five others injured following shelling in one of Kharkiv’s districts in northeastern Ukraine, according to Serhii Bolvinov, the head of the investigation department of the National Police in the Kharkiv region.

Bolvinov said Russian troops carried out an attack on a residential quarter in the Nemyshliansky district of the city, “repeatedly shelling Kharkiv city” using Uragan multiple launch rocket systems and high-explosive shells.

Oleh Syniehubov, head of Kharkiv region military administration, said on Telegram that rescue officers are on location and investigators on the ground are establishing more details. 

Syniehubov urged residents to “be as careful as possible, do not stay on the streets of the city without an urgent need.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday issued a warning to the West and Ukraine, saying the war might drag on until the “last Ukrainian is left standing.”

“Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. Well, what can I say? Let them try,” Putin said during a meeting with the heads of the State Duma party factions that aired on state-run television channel Russia-24. 

Putin has also blamed the West for “encouraging and justifying genocide against people in Donbas.” 

The eastern Donbas region has became the key centerpiece of Putin’s military ambition in Ukraine after his troops failed to take over the Ukrainian capital Kyiv earlier this year.

Two-time US Olympic basketball gold medalist Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty to drug charges in a Russian court near Moscow, her lawyers confirmed to CNN on Thursday.

Griner, whom the US State Department has classified as wrongfully detained, faces up to 10 years in prison under the charge. Supporters of the Phoenix Mercury player have called for her release over fears she is being used as a political pawn amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Griner's lawyers expect the court to take into account the 31-year-old athlete's guilty plea and hope for leniency, Alexander Boykov and Maria Blagovolina told journalists Thursday.

Samples taken from Griner did not show any traces of drugs, Boykov added. "She was clean, and she was tested," the lawyer said.

It was her decision to plead guilty, Griner's Russian legal team said in a statement, adding that she "sets an example of being brave."

Her lawyers said they expect the trial to end around the beginning of the August.

Griner left the courtroom Thursday without giving any comment to reporters. Her next hearing is set for July 14.

Read more here.