July 25, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is in Africa this week to demonstrate Russian commitment to the region and shore up alliances amid the war in Ukraine.

On Sunday, Lavrov visited Egypt, meeting with top officials including Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri and Arab League secretary general Ahmed Aboulgheit, discussing the issue of grain exports from Ukraine and claiming that Moscow is open to negotiations with Kyiv.

Egypt is the world’s biggest importer of wheat, relying heavily on Ukraine and Russia for supplies to feed a population of 100 million. 

Lavrov will also travel to Ethiopia, Uganda and the Republic of Congo.

Most African countries have not condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine as they seek to maintain balance in their relationships with Russia and western countries.

“The Africans are reciprocating. They are interested in having us. We never engaged in teaching them anything, but helped them overcome their problems so that they could live in their country the way they wanted to,” Lavrov told Russian state media in an interview before he started his tour.

“To this day, we are not lecturing them, unlike the Americans who go around Africa telling everyone ‘do not talk with the Chinese or the Russians,'" he said. "All they care about is their selfish interests, even when they trade with you.”

Ukrainian officials say they are confident of progress on the battlefield in the southern region of Kherson, as strikes against Russian command posts and ammunition depots impede the invading force's defensive capabilities.

Serhii Khlan, an adviser to the head of the Kherson civil military administration, said that last week Ukrainian forces carried out "very successful strategic operations, as bridges that helped supply ammunition and equipment to the enemy's network were hit."

Khlan said the success was down to the coordination of the resistance movement in the occupied territories with Ukrainian forces.

CNN is unable to confirm the claims.

Bridges destroyed: Khlan said civilians and passenger vehicles were still able to use damaged bridges that cross the Dnipro River, but the structures were not stable enough for heavy vehicles and trucks.

Images and video circulating last week showed the Antonivskyi bridge still standing but with substantial holes puncturing its surface after they were hit in Ukrainian strikes last week.

The bridge was a key element in the supply of a group of Russian troops to Kherson through the left bank of the river, according to Khlan.

He said the armed forces had also hit a bridge across the Inhulets river, a tributary of the Dnipro River.

Russian counterattacks fail: Ukraine's Operational Command South reported Monday that two Russian counterattacks in Kherson had been unsuccessful and they had retreated with losses.

It also said that Ukrainian combat aircraft and helicopters had carried out several strikes in the Beryslav district of Kherson. It claimed that several tanks and howitzers had been destroyed, and the command post of Russia's 785th National Guard unit and two warehouses with ammunition were also destroyed.

Less than 24 hours after agreeing to allow grain exports to resume from Ukraine, two sea-launched Russian Kalibr cruise missiles struck Odesa — the main port named in the deal signed in Istanbul on Friday.

The Russian attack on Saturday has cast doubt on the future of the agreement, which aims to ease the global food crisis sparked by war and Moscow's months-long blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports.

Here's the latest:

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres looked simultaneously relieved and apprehensive as the grain export deal he brokered was signed in front of him in Istanbul on Friday.

Immediately following the signatures by Russia, Ukraine, and intermediary Turkey, the UN secretary general said the deal offered a "beacon of hope," heralding food relief for the developing world.

Sadly for Guterres and all those counting on the much-needed food, his months of diplomatic slog — including visits to Moscow and Kyiv to nail the deal — ultimately illuminated the limitations of trusting Russia.

Less than 24 hours after its signing, the post-deal calm in Odesa — the principle port named in the accord — was shattered as two sea-launched Russian Kalibr cruise missiles slammed into the harbor.

Russia's apparent coda to the grain agreement it had signed has been deplored by Ukraine and its allies — and widely held as proof of its duplicity.

Putin's weakness: Russia's invasion of one of the world's breadbaskets has caused global food insecurity, yet Moscow got concessions through the deal in order to allow Ukraine's grain to flow. That's usually called extortion.

To get Russia to release the grain by ending blockades on Ukrainian ports, Guterres had to strike a parallel deal on the side with Russia, effectively easing some sanctions on food and fertilizer. UN officials explained the diplomacy as "based on the principle that measures imposed on the Russian Federation do not apply to these products."

Clearing those sanctions will bring money into Moscow's coffers — which is perhaps the enduring takeaway of Guterres' deal: Putin will make limited compromises for cash.

But in doing so, Putin has perhaps revealed, like Tolkien's Smaug, a potentially fatal vulnerability in his defenses. The mythical dragon's weakness was a missing scale, and Putin's appears to be the economic bite of international sanctions. Whatever his other reasons for agreeing to the deal, the need to pay for the war likely weighs heaviest.

Read the full analysis here.

The United States is working with Ukraine on a "Plan B" to get grain exports out of the country following Russia's attack on the port of Odesa, US Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator Samantha Power said Sunday.

The strikes came just a day after Kyiv and Moscow signed an agreement to allow grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports, leading to anger and concern over the future of a deal aimed at easing the global food crisis sparked by war.

Some 20 million metric tons of wheat and corn are trapped at the port of Odesa, Power said, adding that despite the food security afforded by alternative routes out of Ukraine, "there is no substitute for Putin allowing the blockade to end and the grains being sent out the most efficient way possible."

She said she hoped the grain deal "somehow sticks" despite Russia's move to "immediately turn its back" on the agreement by attacking Odesa — the main port named in the accord.

US food aid: Last week, the US announced an additional $1.3 billion in humanitarian aid to the Horn of Africa, which is experiencing unprecedented levels of drought across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. 

One of the two American citizens who recently died in the Donbas region of Ukraine has been identified as Luke Lucyszyn, his mother told CNN.

Kathy Lucyszyn said she was informed of her son's death by the US State Department.

The State Department confirmed the deaths of two Americans to CNN on Saturday, but a spokesperson did not provide any details about the individuals or the circumstances. The spokesperson said they had been "in touch with the families and providing all possible consular assistance."

Politico first reported that Lucyszyn was killed.

Asked Saturday about the condition of Alexander Drueke and Andy Hunyh, two Americans captured by Russian forces while fighting in Ukraine, the spokesperson said they had "been in contact with the Ukrainian and Russian authorities regarding US citizens who may have been captured by Russia's forces or proxies while fighting in Ukraine."

Russia and Turkey will use "military naval forces" to escort vessels carrying Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea into the Bosporus once transport restarts, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday.

Lavrov added that "another participant, to be determined" will also be escorting the ships carrying Ukrainian grain, without providing more details.

Meanwhile, Turkey's Defense Ministry said in a statement that "coordination between authorities continues for the first ship loaded with grain to start sailing from Ukrainian ports as soon as possible."

Ukraine and Russia agreed a deal Friday that would allow the resumption of vital grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports — a major diplomatic breakthrough aimed at easing a global food crisis sparked by the war. As part of the deal, grain ships would navigate through a safe corridor in the Black Sea under the direction of Ukrainian pilots, and then pass through the Bosporus strait — an important shipping corridor in northwest Turkey — in order to reach global markets.

Ukraine blamed: During an earlier meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, Lavrov placed the blame on Ukraine for the stagnation in any further negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.

Africa tour: Egypt is the first stop on Lavrov's Africa trip, where he will also meet with top officials in Ethiopia, Uganda and the Republic of Congo. Egypt is the world’s biggest importer of wheat, relying heavily on Ukraine and Russia for a supply to feed its 100 million population. 

Lavrov’s trip is aimed at rallying support and reaffirming alliances with Russia, and comes a week after US President Joe Biden visited Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia.

Most African countries have not condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as they have sought to maintain a balance in their relationships with Russia and Western countries.

Russian missile strikes on the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa on Saturday were "deeply concerning," John Kirby, US National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said on MSNBC on Sunday.

The strikes came just a day after Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement to allow grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports, leading to anger and concern over the future of a deal aimed at easing the global food crisis sparked by war.

Kirby’s comments track with a warning he offered last week, when he said implementing the grain agreement would require all sides' adhering to their commitments.

CNN previously reported that on Sunday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the Kremlin struck the port with "high precision" Kalibr missiles, destroying Ukrainian "military infrastructure."

Kirby warned of continued food insecurity issues should the grain deal fall through.

A Russian attack on the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa on Saturday used "high precision" Kalibr missiles to destroy "military infrastructure" including a naval vessel, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.

The strikes came just a day after Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement to allow grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports, leading to anger and concern over the future of a deal aimed at easing the global food crisis sparked by war.

Serhii Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa military administration, said two missiles hit the infrastructure of the port and two were shot down by Ukraine's air defense.