July 27, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken intends to speak with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for the first time since the war in Ukraine began more than five months ago.

The top US diplomat said Wednesday that he expected a call with his Russian counterpart this week to discuss a "substantial proposal" presented to Moscow "weeks ago" to try to secure the release of two wrongfully detained Americans — Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner.

He also plans to discuss the recently signed agreement to allow Ukrainian grain to transit through the Black Sea.

Speaking at a news conference at the State Department, Blinken said he would not negotiate on Ukraine in a call with Lavrov, repeating that they would not discuss Ukraine without Ukraine.

After months of internal debate, the Biden administration has offered to exchange Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms trafficker serving a 25-year US prison sentence, as part of a potential deal to secure the release of two Americans held by Russia, Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, according to people briefed on the matter.

These sources told CNN that the plan to trade Bout for Whelan and Griner received the backing of President Joe Biden after being under discussion since earlier this year. Biden's support for the swap overrides opposition from the Department of Justice, which is generally against prisoner trades.

"We communicated a substantial offer that we believe could be successful based on a history of conversations with the Russians," a senior administration official told CNN Wednesday. "We communicated that a number of weeks ago, in June."

The official declined to comment on the specifics of the "substantial offer." They said it was in Russia's "court to be responsive to it, yet at the same time that does not leave us passive, as we continue to communicate the offer at very senior levels."

"It takes two to tango. We start all negotiations to bring home Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained with a bad actor on the other side. We start all of these with somebody who has taken a human being American and treated them as a bargaining chip," the official said. "So in some ways, it's not surprising, even if it's disheartening, when those same actors don't necessarily respond directly to our offers, don't engage constructively in negotiations."

The families of Whelan, who has been held by Russia for alleged espionage since 2018, and WNBA star Griner, jailed in Moscow for drug possession since February, have urged the White House to secure their release, including via a prisoner exchange if necessary.

In response to CNN reporting, David Whelan, the brother of imprisoned Paul Whelan, said he appreciates the Biden administration.

Keep reading here.

Moscow has warned of "more than serious" consequences if Ukraine uses US-made multiple launch rocket systems or other NATO-supplied long-range weapons against Russian territory, according to Russian official Konstantin Gavrilov.

Gavrilov is the head of the Russian delegation at talks in Vienna on issues of military security and arms control.

“If the Armed Forces of Ukraine use American MLRS or other NATO long-range weapons against Russian territory, the consequences will be more than serious," Gavrilov said according to a statement published by the Russian Foreign Ministry. 

Gavrilov also said that all of the main goals set by President Vladimir Putin will be accomplished in Ukraine and urged Western governments to listen to Russia’s concerns.

Some background: Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Tuesday that the United States and other allies have praised his country’s use of donated systems, such as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, with officials in Washington saying Russia has yet to take out any of the gifted Western rocket artillery.

The Ukrainian defense minister said the donated weapons were “already affecting the course of the war.” The HIMARS, with range and accuracy superior to that of equivalent Russian artillery, has allowed Ukraine to hit targets well within Moscow-controlled territory, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff said last week.

Germany has also delivered three Mars II multiple launch rocket systems launchers from its army stocks, as well as five Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and three self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, German Minister of Defense Christine Lambrecht said on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian military said it was able to repel Russian offensives toward the Donetsk town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.

In its evening update on Wednesday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said it had inflicted losses on Russian forces looking to advance in that area.

Artillery shelling and airstrikes were reported in most villages and towns around the area, as well as along most of the frontline in the Donetsk region, as Russia “continues its attempts to improve the tactical position in the directions of the cities of Kramatorsk and Bakhmut with assault actions,” the General Staff said. 

The Ukrainian military said an assault along the Bilohorivka-Verkhnokamianske axis was also repelled. 

In the area around Kharkiv, as well as along the southern flank near Kherson, Ukrainian forces said the Russian military has mostly maintained its defensive positions. 

Hungary should still do its part to ration natural gas ahead of winter while relying on help from its EU neighbors amid supply cuts from Russia, Kadri Simson, the EU Energy Commissioner, told CNN on Wednesday.

The EU announced a deal Tuesday to reduce gas usage by 15% from August to March to see the bloc through winter since Russia has significantly slashed its exports to Europe.

Hungary was the only member state to vote against the plan, which was branded “unfounded” and “unenforceable” by Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó.

“Hungary as a landlocked country, it depends on [its] neighbors' solidarity,” Simson told CNN’s Becky Anderson. "Even to cut the gas right now from Russia, they need neighbors who are offering them transit routes."

“We also agreed that at this moment when we are facing full disruption, then the neighbors will provide alternative routes. But to ask for that you also have to do your part," Simson added. That means that every member state is right now at this stage preparing their plans, how they can save gas.”

Elizabeth Rood, the charge d'affaires of the US embassy in Moscow, said she was able to sit next to WNBA star Brittney Griner during Wednesday's hearing in the Khimki regional court near Moscow and that Griner is "feeling well." 

"We are going to continue to monitor the case of Ms. Griner very closely, as well as the cases of all US citizens detained or in prison in Russia," Rood added.  

Read the complete statement by the US Embassy charge d’affaires:

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Wednesday his country can become a hub to export natural gas to European countries that seek to reduce their dependence on Russian energy.

“Spain is a solidary country, it’s a responsible country. And we will do everything we can, that’s what I told [Polish] Prime Minister [Mateusz] Morawiecki as well as the EU Commission and member states, so that Europe does not become an energy hostage to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Sánchez said at a press conference with his Polish counterpart.

Sánchez said that 30 percent of Europe’s total re-gasification capacity currently resides in Spain, adding that the country has already increased its gas export capacity and was willing to increase it even further.

“Last June, 20 percent of the liquified natural gas imports that arrived to Spain were exported to other countries in the European Union,” Sánchez said, adding that Spain has asked the EU Commission and neighboring countries to increase the capacity for interconnectivity to be able to be better integrated and export more gas to the EU’s energy market.

Sánchez also said the uncertainty and threat of Russia’s war in Ukraine should be countered by reinforcing the European Union.

Alexander Boykov, the lawyer of WNBA star Brittney Griner — who testified today in a Russian courtroom — said his client’s detention, search and arrest were “improper.”

Boykov added that he would go into the details during the closing arguments expected to take place “in a manner of a couple of weeks.”

During Wednesday’s hearing, Griner testified that when she was stopped at the Sheremetyevo airport on Feb. 17 and asked to open her bags, nobody read her rights to her. She signed documents without an explanation of what was in them, she added. She said no lawyer was present.

“Brittney confirmed that she had a doctor’s prescription for the use of medical cannabis and that in the USA medical cannabis is quite a popular treatment among professional athletes. She emphasized that she never planned to bring it to Russia and use it. She also told the court that Ekaterinburg became her second home, and she has always enjoyed her time in Russia,” Blagovolina added.

WNBA star Brittney Griner said during her testimony in a Russian courtroom that she had no intention of smuggling drugs to Russia and that she was aware of the Russian drug laws.

“I still don’t understand to this day how they ended up in my bags,” Griner said, responding to a question from the defense.

Griner stated she had no intention of breaking the Russian law and that she was in a rush “stress packing.”

Asked how she got those cartridges in the US, Griner said she used her medical permit document issued in Arizona to buy marijuana for medical purposes from a pharmacy.

Griner said she had such a bad knee injury that she spent four months in a wheelchair. She said she used medical marijuana when her knee and ankle joint were inflamed. Griner added she never uses it before tournaments, as it may lead to disqualification.

Wednesday’s hearing at the Khimki regional court has ended. The next hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Moscow time (3 a.m. ET) on Tuesday.