July 14, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Jessie Yeung, Jack Guy, Hafsa Khalil, Ed Upright, Aditi Sangal and Adrienne Vogt, CNN

Updated 3:14 a.m. ET, July 15, 2022
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8:26 a.m. ET, July 14, 2022

A moment of silence for victims of Russian aggression at a war crimes conference in The Hague

From CNN's Anastasia Graham-Yooll in London 

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks via video conference at the Ukraine Accountability Conference in The Hague, Netherlands, on July 14.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks via video conference at the Ukraine Accountability Conference in The Hague, Netherlands, on July 14. (Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a moment of silence as he addressed a war crimes conference in The Hague, Netherlands, via videolink on Thursday, just hours after a deadly missile strike landed on central Ukrainian town of Vinnytsia.

"This morning, Russian missiles hit our city of Vinnytsia — an ordinary, peaceful city. Cruise missiles hit two community buildings; houses were destroyed, a medical center was destroyed, the cars and trams were on fire. This is the act of Russian terror. People couldn’t do this, they are animals. Eight rockets, two of them targeted the city center. Twenty people died as of this moment, three children among them," Zelensky told the conference. 

In a closing statement, Zelensky referred to the meeting of prosecutors and judiciary in The Hague as an act of “rescue” for international law.

“It depends on you, on me, whether or not international law will work," Zelensky told the panel.

7:56 a.m. ET, July 14, 2022

It's mid-afternoon in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know

Russian air strikes continue to target civilians, with at least 20 people killed by missiles fired at the central city of Vinnytsia. Meanwhile, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey have agreed to cooperate on grain exports, and Ukrainian prosecutors are traveling to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to discuss investigating war crimes committed during the conflict.

Here are the latest headlines:

  • Russian offensive continues in the east: Russian forces continued their advance toward the towns of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region on Thursday, with mixed success, the Ukrainian military said. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said an attempted Russian assault in the direction of the village of Kurulka was "unsuccessful" and Moscow's forces "retreated." 
  • At least 20 dead in Vinnystia strike: Russian Kalibr missiles launched from submarines stationed in the Black Sea have killed at least 20 people, including two children, in the city of Vinnystia in central Ukraine. Vinnytsia has not been the site of any previous Russian attacks since the invasion.
  • More than 300 children killed so far: A total of 349 children have been reported killed and more than 1,000 injured in Ukraine since Russia's invasion began in February, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office said Thursday. The Donetsk region has seen the highest rates of children affected, followed by Kharkiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Kherson and Zaporizhia.
  • Discussions over war crimes investigations: Ukraine's top prosecutor and officials from the International Criminal Court and the European Union are meeting in The Hague today to discuss investigating war crimes committed during the conflict. "The world is united with Ukraine to find effective means to bring Russia to justice for the atrocities its forces commit on our land," Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova tweeted from The Hague. 
  • Coordination over grain exports: Ukraine, Russia and Turkey have agreed to set up a joint coordination center to ensure that Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea can be secured. More than 20 million tons of grain remain stuck in Ukraine due to Russia's blockade of Black Sea ports, according to Ukrainian officials.
  • Ukraine severs ties with North Korea: The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it "strongly condemns" the decision by North Korea to officially recognize the "so-called" independence of the Russian-occupied Luhansk and Donetsk regions in Ukraine, according to a statement released Wednesday. In response, Ukraine announced the severance of diplomatic relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), North Korea's official name. 
7:03 a.m. ET, July 14, 2022

Russian strike in central Ukraine kills 17, including two children, officials say

From CNN's Anastasia Graham-Yooll and Sebastian Shukla

Firefighters work to extinguish fire at a building damaged by shelling, in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, on July 14.
Firefighters work to extinguish fire at a building damaged by shelling, in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, on July 14. (Ukrainian Emergency Service/AP)

Three Russian missiles have been fired at buildings in Vinnytsia, central Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials.

At least 17 people, including two children, were killed in the air strikes, said the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine.

"Several dozen” more were injured, and search operations are ongoing, it added.

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said that “90 rescuers, as well as dog trainers and psychologists, are working at the scene of the terrible tragedy” in a post on Facebook.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Presidency of Ukraine, called the attack “another crime of the occupiers in our peaceful city" on Telegram.

The head of police in Vinnytsia, Igor Klymenko, said the "missiles were aimed at a building with office premises." Nearby residential buildings were also damaged, he added.

Vinnytsia has not been the site of any previous Russian attacks since the invasion.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned the air strikes on Twitter.

“While Accountability Conference in The Hague is underway, Russia commits another war crime. At least one child killed, among other victims of a missile strike on Vinnytsia," wrote Kuleba.

"We will put Russian war criminals on trial for every drop of Ukrainian blood and tears.”  

6:39 a.m. ET, July 14, 2022

War crimes conference with Ukrainian and ICC prosecutors begins in The Hague

From CNN's Anastasia Graham-Yooll in London

War crimes prosecutors and top European judicial authorities meet to coordinate efforts to investigate and put on trial alleged perpetrators of atrocities since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the Ukraine Accountability Conference in The Hague, Netherlands, on July 14.
War crimes prosecutors and top European judicial authorities meet to coordinate efforts to investigate and put on trial alleged perpetrators of atrocities since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the Ukraine Accountability Conference in The Hague, Netherlands, on July 14. (Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters)

Ukraine's top prosecutor and officials from the International Criminal Court and the European Union are meeting in The Hague today to discuss investigating war crimes committed during the conflict.

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova traveled to the Ukraine Accountability Conference in the Dutch city to coordinate evidence sharing, prosecution strategy and the legal framework of bringing war criminals to justice.

“The world is united with Ukraine to find effective means to bring Russia to justice for the atrocities its forces commit on our land,” Venediktova tweeted from The Hague. 

In an opening statement at the conference, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said: “The national justice system of Ukraine has already taken important steps of investigation and trial, which we are monitoring. Given the breadth of the challenges it is facing it is crucial that the international community continues to support increased capacity for Ukraine’s investigations into alleged war crimes committed on its territory, whatever the circumstances.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba are expected to deliver closing statements by video link later today.

Venediktova previously said Ukraine has identified more than 600 Russian war crime suspects and has started prosecuting around 80 of them. Two Russian soldiers have already been convicted under Ukrainian criminal law.

Russia continues to deny any troops have been involved in war crimes in what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

10:23 a.m. ET, July 14, 2022

France’s Bastille Day parade to honor Ukraine and eastern European allies

From CNN’s Camille Knight in Paris

Troops march down the Champs-Elysées during the Bastille Day parade on July 14, in Paris, France.
Troops march down the Champs-Elysées during the Bastille Day parade on July 14, in Paris, France. (Christophe Ena/AP)

Nine NATO countries affected by the Russian aggression in Ukraine have been invited to take part in the traditional Bastille Day parade in Paris on Thursday, to demonstrate France’s commitment to its partners and allies.

“It's a rather strong signal symbolically,” French armed forces spokesperson Pascal Ianni told Franceinfo Thursday.

“Why this signal? Because France has been resolutely committed to strengthening the deterrent and defensive posture of NATO since the beginning of the war in Ukraine,” he added.

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria “will have the honour of opening the parade on foot” with 106 troops.

French troops deployed to NATO's Eastern Flank will follow the march down the Champs-Elysées.

French President Emmanuel Macron is also set to give a rare 45-minute live interview from the Elysée Palace after taking part in the parade.

In France, July 14 marks the anniversary of the capturing of the Bastille prison in 1789 -- a symbol of the French Revolution -- and a military parade takes place every year down the Champs-Elysées.

A total of 4,925 troops are to take part this year, alongside 65 fixed-wing aircraft, 25 helicopters, 181 vehicles and 200 horses of the Republican Guard.

4:10 a.m. ET, July 14, 2022

More than 100 Azov fighters are awaiting trial, says Donetsk separatist leader

From CNN's Josh Pennington and Alex Stambaugh 

Denis Pushilin, the leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, speaks to journalists in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on July 13.
Denis Pushilin, the leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, speaks to journalists in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on July 13. (AP)

More than 100 of Ukraine's Azov fighters will face trial, said Denis Pushilin, leader of the Russian-backed separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). 

"They have already been transferred from the places where they were kept as prisoners to the pre-trial detention center. All further steps are being prepared for them. A tribunal awaits them," Pushilin said Wednesday on news channel Solovyov Live, broadcast on Telegram.

Last fighters: The Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol — the final holdout of Ukrainian resistance in the otherwise Russian-occupied southern city — fell to Russian forces in May when the final group of fighters at the steel plant surrendered.  

At the time, Russian authorities said more than 1,700 fighters defending the steel plant had left and were either in detention or in hospital in the self-proclaimed DPR. 

Western governments and human rights groups fear those convicted may face the death penalty.  

Path cleared for executions: Last Friday, the Donetsk People’s Republic parliament abolished its ban on executions, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Yelena Shishkina, who chairs the parliament’s committee on criminal and administrative law, said "the option to use capital punishment will serve as a deterrent against very grave crimes," according to TASS. 

It comes as Britons Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, and Moroccan Brahim Saadoune, appeal death sentences after they were convicted of being "mercenaries" for Ukraine by a court in the DPR. 

Previously, Shishkina has ruled out the possibility of releasing any Azov fighters as part of a prisoner exchange.  

5:15 a.m. ET, July 14, 2022

Ukraine, Russia and Turkey agree to set up joint coordination center to allow grain exports

Military delegations from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, along with UN officials, attend a meeting to discuss the shipment of Ukrainian grain stuck due to the blockade of Black Sea ports, at Kalender Pavilion in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 13.
Military delegations from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, along with UN officials, attend a meeting to discuss the shipment of Ukrainian grain stuck due to the blockade of Black Sea ports, at Kalender Pavilion in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 13. (Arif Akdogan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Talks between Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations held in Istanbul Wednesday resulted in the parties agreeing to form "a Joint Coordination Centre under the UN auspices" to ensure that Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea can be secured, according to Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian President's office.

The center will be located in Istanbul and the task will be to carry out "general monitoring and coordination of safe navigation in the Black Sea," Yermak said Wednesday.

Trucks loaded with grain wait in a queue near Izmail, in the Odesa region, Ukraine on June 14.
Trucks loaded with grain wait in a queue near Izmail, in the Odesa region, Ukraine on June 14. (Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP/Getty Images)

Some context: More than 20 million tons of grain remain stuck in Ukraine due to Russia's blockade of Black Sea ports, according to Ukrainian officials.

Before the war, wheat supplies from Russia and Ukraine accounted for almost 30% of global trade, and Ukraine is the world's fourth-largest exporter of corn and the fifth-largest exporter of wheat, according to the US State Department. The UN World Food Program — which helps combat global food insecurity — buys about half of its wheat from Ukraine each year and has warned of dire consequences if Ukrainian ports are not opened up.

About 80% of Ukraine’s grain exports were shipped from the country’s Black Sea ports before Russia's invasion.

With those routes blocked, Ukraine hopes to speed up grain exports through reopened Danube River routes, made possible after Ukrainian troops recaptured Snake Island in June.

A line of barges waiting to sail up the Danube River and load up on grain at one of Ukraine’s river ports will take several weeks to clear, deputy minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky said in a televised address Wednesday.

3:46 a.m. ET, July 14, 2022

Russian Air Force attacks Snake Island

From CNN's Yulia Kesavia, in Kyiv

A satellite image shows an overview of Snake Island, Ukraine, on May 12.
A satellite image shows an overview of Snake Island, Ukraine, on May 12. (Maxar Technologies/Reuters)

A pair of SU-27 Russian fighter jets tried to bomb Snake Island, known as Zmiinyi Ostriv in Ukrainian, according to the South Ukrainian Operational Command.

"The bombs fell into the sea, near the island," said the Operational Command. They did not give any other details.

The targeting of Snake Island is significant, as Russian forces had abandoned the island on June 30 following a Ukrainian offensive. The island, located in the Black Sea off Ukraine's southern coast, is widely seen as strategically important to the war as it grants access to the Danube River and its small inland ports to ships carrying Ukrainian grain.

There have been repeated airstrikes on the island since the Russians left, on July 2 and 7.

A pair of KA-52 helicopters also attacked the southern region of Kherson three times, with no casualties, the Operational Command said. 

It added that the Russian Navy had regrouped its ranks, saying it had three missile ships and two submarines at sea that "pose a threat to the entire territory of Ukraine."

3:31 a.m. ET, July 14, 2022

Ukraine says nearly 350 children have been killed since Russia's invasion began

From CNN's Yulia Kesavia in Kyiv

A total of 349 children have been reported killed and more than 1,000 injured in Ukraine since Russia's invasion began in February, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office said Thursday.

The Donetsk region has seen the highest rates of children affected, followed by Kharkiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Kherson and Zaporizhia.

Some context: Widespread fighting is continuing in the country, with Ukrainian forces on the offensive in the south. Meanwhile, Russian artillery is active in Donetsk and Kharkiv.