July 26, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Kathleen Magramo, Adrienne Vogt, Mike Hayes and Maureen Chowdhury, CNN

Updated 3:05 a.m. ET, July 27, 2022
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8:28 a.m. ET, July 26, 2022

Europe dials down its plans to ration gas this winter

From CNN's Anna Cooban

The European Union has agreed to ration its natural gas this winter to prevent a severe supply shock. But the bloc has watered down its ambitions by offering countries some significant leeway.

On Tuesday, EU energy ministers agreed to a voluntary target to reduce gas usage by 15% between August and March 2023. That reduction is measured against each country's average gas consumption during the same months over the previous five years.

The EU Commission first unveiled the 15% target in its "Save Gas for a Safe Winter" plan last week, which included a proposal for a new law that, if passed, would give it the power to force states to meet mandatory reduction targets in exceptional circumstances.

But objections from some countries over the past few days have pushed the bloc to make key concessions, taking into account their varying levels of dependency on gas and levels of storage.

Read the full story here:

8:27 a.m. ET, July 26, 2022

Odesa wakes to sirens and more strikes

From CNN's Angus Watson, Ivan Watson and Dan Hodge in Odesa

A firefighter works at site of a residential area damaged by a Russia missile strike in the settlement of Zatoka, Odesa region, Ukraine, on July 26.
A firefighter works at site of a residential area damaged by a Russia missile strike in the settlement of Zatoka, Odesa region, Ukraine, on July 26. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Reuters)

An air raid siren sounds over Odesa an hour before daybreak Tuesday, cutting through a clear night.

Heavily armed soldiers patrol the moonlit streets of the historic center, blocks from Ukraine’s most crucial port.

Like all Ukrainian cities a curfew keeps Odesa still through the night, but the city’s air defense system has allowed a quality of life here in contrast to the all-out war just a short drive east.

Coffee shops and lunch spots continue their summer trade, despite a lack of tourists in what was one of the Soviet Union’s most popular holiday towns. 

Days earlier, at a skate park in view of the port, children ride scooters and skateboards.

Seven-year-old Max fled to Moldova with his mother at the beginning of the war. He’s returned to spend time with his father Roman Gainutdikov, a merchant seaman put out of work by the war.

"Of course people want to live normally," says Gainutdikov. "But in the worst case it will be the same story as Mykolaiv."

Each night, Mykolaiv is pummeled by Russian missiles and rockets. The city is emptying out, with many fleeing to the relative safety of Odesa three hours down the road. 

Now, Odesa is being hit too.

Fires have been put out at the port where two cruise missiles on Saturday hit what the Ukrainians say was a pumping station.

Global condemnation continues over the strikes that hit infrastructure needed for Ukraine’s effort to export its grain harvest to a hungry world. Russia says it hit a military target there. 

Tuesday’s air raid siren was no false alarm either. Just south of the city, fires burned in the coastal village of Zatoka — an "ordinary" place, according to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who posted videos of the fiery aftermath of the strike. 

People here in Odesa expect more air raid sirens and know worse days could come. 

8:06 a.m. ET, July 26, 2022

Joint Coordination Center for Ukrainian grain exports will begin overseeing system on Wednesday

From CNN's Niamh Kennedy, Anna Chernova and Yusuf Gezer

The Joint Coordination Center for Ukrainian grain exports is set to begin its work on Wednesday, according to the Turkish Ministry of Defense.

The defense ministry announced the opening in a press release Tuesday, saying the opening will take place at the National Defense University in Istanbul with the Turkish Minister for Defense Hulusi Akar scheduled to be in attendance. 

The center will oversee the system of maritime caravans transporting vital grain exports out of Ukraine. It was devised as part of the grain deal signed by Ukraine and Russia last Friday under the auspices of Turkey and the United Nations. 

A Russian delegation of experts headed by Rear Admiral Eduard Luik will arrive in Istanbul on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense. 

Their main task will be to "promptly resolve all the necessary issues for the Initiative to enter the stage of practical implementation," according to the statement.

12:53 p.m. ET, July 26, 2022

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

From CNN staff

Russian forces have struck multiple targets in the east and south of Ukraine with missiles and artillery, while European Union officials have accused Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom of "politically motivated" reductions in gas flows to member countries.

Here are the latest headlines:

  • Russian forces bombarding "entire territory": Many settlements close to the front lines in the Donetsk region have come under fire in the past 24 hours as Russian forces try to break down Ukrainian defenses, according to the head of the region's military administration. "There is not a single settlement in Donetsk region that has not been shelled," Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Ukrainian television. "The entire territory is under fire."
  • Russia makes small advances in Donetsk region: The Ukrainian General Staff has conceded that Russian forces have been able to make small advances in the Donetsk region. "In the area of ​​the Vuhlehirska TPP, individual units of the enemy have partial success," reads an update.
  • Strikes on Mykolaiv and Odesa: Russian forces attacked the southern city of Mykolaiv with missiles and rockets early on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said. The city, which is close to the front lines in neighboring Kherson, has been struck almost every night for the past month. In addition, another Russian missile strike hit the coastal village of Zatoka in the Odesa region, where Russian forces have previously targeted a bridge with missiles.

  • Southern safe route blocked: A Russian checkpoint in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region has become the only relatively safe route for Ukrainians attempting to leave southern occupied areas for Ukrainian-held territory. But recent videos from around the checkpoint show hundreds of vehicles lined up, unable to cross, and a local official said more than than 5,000 people are stuck.
  • Grain exports to resume: The first shipment of Ukrainian grain under the Black Sea deal brokered by the United Nations is expected to move within a few days, a spokesperson for the UN secretary general said Monday. Parties to the agreement have reaffirmed their commitment as of Sunday, deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said, despite Russian strikes in the Ukrainian port of Odesa just a day after the accord was signed.
  • EU agrees to reduce demand for gas: EU ministers have reached a "political agreement" to cut the use of natural gas after Gazprom announced a further decrease in deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Earlier, European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson called the cut in gas flow a "politically motivated step."
6:54 a.m. ET, July 26, 2022

EU ministers reach "political agreement" on gas demand reduction 

From CNN’s Alex Hardie, Joseph Ataman and Niamh Kennedy

European Commissioner for European Green Deal Frans Timmermans, left, speaks with from left, Luxembourg's Energy Minister Claude Turmes, Ireland's Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan and Denmark's Minister for Climate Dan Jorgensen during an emergency meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels, Belgium, on July 26.
European Commissioner for European Green Deal Frans Timmermans, left, speaks with from left, Luxembourg's Energy Minister Claude Turmes, Ireland's Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan and Denmark's Minister for Climate Dan Jorgensen during an emergency meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels, Belgium, on July 26. (Virginia Mayo/AP)

EU ministers have reached a "political agreement" on gas demand reduction, according to the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The Czech Presidency announced the agreement in a tweet on Tuesday, saying "this was not a Mission Impossible."

EU energy ministers met in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss energy supply amid a reduction in flows of Russian gas.

Some background: Last week, the European Commission laid out its "Save Gas for a Safe Winter" plan which asked the 27 member states to reduce their gas demand by 15% between August and March next year. This reduction is based on countries' average gas consumption during the same months over the past five years.

6:40 a.m. ET, July 26, 2022

EU won't be divided by gas scarcity, German foreign minister says

 From CNN's Inke Kappeler in Berlin 

German Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock, left, and her Czech counterpart Jan Lipavsky speak during a press conference, on July 26, in Prague, Czech Republic.
German Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock, left, and her Czech counterpart Jan Lipavsky speak during a press conference, on July 26, in Prague, Czech Republic. (Sulova Katerina/CTK/AP)

Europe will not be divided by the Russian-imposed gas scarcity they face, Germany's foreign minister said Tuesday.

Joining her Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Prague for a joint press conference, Annalena Baerbock said: "We are underlining with this that we will not let ourselves be divided, where we as EU states could also act against each other because gas is so scarce, but that we are standing together and that is the most important signal to the Russian President."

"In the long term, the path is clear: Europe will gain sovereignty through the expansion of renewable energies," she said.

She added that, with every wind turbine and solar plant Europe erects, they will gain "freedom" and "become stronger together."

"This also means that we need to rapidly expand the infrastructure in Europe with which we transport energy," she said.

The challenge for all European countries is to maintain the security of supply, said Baerbock, noting that gas, not electricity, is the main source of heat supply in Germany.

6:21 a.m. ET, July 26, 2022

More than 5,000 Ukrainians stranded at Zaporizhzhia checkpoint, official says

From CNN's Tim Lister and Olga Voitovych

A Russian checkpoint in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region has become the only relatively safe way for Ukrainians to try to leave southern occupied areas for Ukrainian-held territory. 

But recent videos from around the checkpoint show hundreds of vehicles lined up, unable to cross. 

Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopol, which lies in Russian-occupied territory, said on Ukrainian television on Tuesday that "evacuation from the occupied territories is the biggest problem. Evacuation is almost impossible today."

He said people were attempting to leave the occupied territories of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk through the checkpoint at Vasylivka, with some having been on the road for seven days, sleeping in their cars.

"Today, more than 5,000 people, over 1,200 cars have gathered there," he added.

Fedorov, who is not in Melitopol, reported the deaths of five people who were waiting to leave in recent days. He didn't explain the circumstances of the deaths.

"People can't even go and buy food for themselves. The only condition under which the Russians allow people to go to buy food in the city is to leave all the documents (passport, driver's license etc) with them and then collect them after returning."

The videos show people sleeping in their cars and tents and crowded into a gas station in high summer temperatures. Some people are sleeping in the open.

One video shows a large grass fire burning adjacent to the highway near the checkpoint. Large amounts of garbage have also built up around the checkpoint. 

Fedorov said the Russians are using civilians as human shields in Melitopol, and have spent the last three days making large transfers of weaponry through the temporarily occupied territories.

"Yesterday, three convoys of equipment passed through the city of Melitopol in the direction of Kherson. These are a hundred units of heavy weapons, more than 20 tanks, landing vehicles and so on," he said.

Fedorov added that the armor was traveling west to Kherson where a Ukrainian counter-attack against Russian defenses is developing.

12:32 p.m. ET, July 26, 2022

French president to discuss food crisis during Africa tour

From CNN’s Amandine Hess and Saskya Vandoorne in Paris 

French president Emmanuel Macron waves to the crowd after being welcomed by Cameroonese Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute upon his arrival at the Nsimalen international airport of Yaounde, Cameroon, on July 25.
French president Emmanuel Macron waves to the crowd after being welcomed by Cameroonese Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute upon his arrival at the Nsimalen international airport of Yaounde, Cameroon, on July 25. (Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images)

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to discuss the food shortages caused by the war in Ukraine during his four-day visit to Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau, an official from the Élysée Palace said.

"The consequences of the war in Ukraine are strongly felt on the African continent, which is very dependent on Ukrainian agricultural exports," the spokesman said.   

"The trip will be an opportunity to strengthen our collective resilience to food crises and promote long-term investment in agriculture in vulnerable countries, particularly in Africa."   

Macron will meet Cameroon’s 89-year-old President, Paul Biya, on Tuesday. This is the first trip by a French President to the country since 2015.

Some background: The United Nations has warned that up to 49 million people could be pushed into famine or famine-like conditions due to the war's devastating impact on global food supply and prices.     

During his tour — which started on Monday — Macron will also speak about security and the terrorist threat that continues to spread throughout the Sahel and West Africa.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is also touring Africa, hoping to seek support amid global outrage at the food crisis following Moscow's blockade of Ukrainian ports. He has visited Egypt — the world's largest wheat importer — and the Republic of Congo.

9:44 a.m. ET, July 26, 2022

Brittney Griner to be cross-examined in trial, lawyers say

From CNN's Anna Chernova and Tara John

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner speaks with her lawyers standing in a cage at a court room prior to a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, on July 26.
WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner speaks with her lawyers standing in a cage at a court room prior to a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, on July 26. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/Reuters)

WNBA star Brittney Griner will be cross-examined as part of her drug trial in Russia on Wednesday, her lawyers said.

Griner will testify, her lawyers said, as her defense team claimed that cannabis oil found in her luggage was for medicinal purposes.

"Griner will testify tomorrow, and after that, it's her decision whether she answers any questions or not," Alexander Boykov, a lawyer for Griner, told CNN. Prosecutors also will have an opportunity to question Griner.

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, made a brief court appearance at the Khimki court of the Moscow region on Tuesday as her defense team presented evidence.

Tuesday's hearing lasted about an hour, and Griner was escorted out of the courtroom.

Griner, 31, pleaded guilty to drug charges earlier this month but the US State Department says she is wrongfully detained. She faces up to 10 years in prison.

Griner's supporters have called for her release over fears she is being used as a political pawn amid Russia's war on Ukraine.

Read the full story here: