Russian airstrikes rock Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, mayor says
From CNN's Josh Pennington and Sophie Jeong
The southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv was hit by “powerful explosions” early on Wednesday morning, according to Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych.
“Powerful explosions rocked Mykolaiv at around 5 a.m. More airstrikes. A fire broke out in one of the city's districts, and a supermarket was destroyed in another,” Senkevych wrote on his official Telegram account.
Rescue operations are underway, the mayor said.
Some context: Russian shelling of the strategically important port of Mykolaiv has intensified since Friday, with attacks over the weekend described by the mayor as the "strongest" since the start of the war.
2:32 a.m. ET, August 3, 2022
Ukraine celebrates first grain shipment arrival in Turkey and says more is to come
From CNN's Oleksandra Ochman and Mia Alberti
The Sierra Leone-flagged dry cargo ship Razoni, carrying more than 26,000 metric tons of corn arrives at the Black Sea entrance of the Bosporus Strait, in Istanbul on August 3. (Lokman Akkaya/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Ukrainian authorities have welcomed the arrival in Turkey of the first grain shipment to leave the Black Sea port of Odesa since Russia began its invasion.
"The first cargo ship RAZONI with corn arrived in Istanbul. Our allies are helping us to fight #RussianAggression, and Ukraine is helping the [world] to prevent hunger crisis," Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Twitter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this shipment must be the first of many to ensure food security internally and across the world.
"Our goal now is to have regularity: that when one ship leaves the port, there should be other ships... Exports this year are needed so that our farmers and agricultural companies have sufficient resources for next year's sowing," Zelensky said in his Tuesday video address. "This is a matter of food security for our country as well -- we are now ensuring next year."
Zelensky accused Russia of provoking the food crisis to use "the supply of wheat, corn, oil as a weapon."
"Russia creates a deficit, plays to raise prices, and when this provokes social unrest, it demands political concessions. It should not work with food," he said. "But when the world is united, when partners fulfill their commitments, the necessary result can be achieved. Let's see how the grain initiative will work in the coming days."
2:33 a.m. ET, August 3, 2022
US sanctions Putin's reputed girlfriend Alina Kabaeva
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
Alina Kabayeva sits in the lower parliament chamber in Moscow on Jan. 13, 2012. (Mikhail Metzel/AP)
The US Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned Russian President Vladimir Putin's reputed girlfriend as part of a series of measures targeting Russian elites in the Biden administration's latest attempt to punish the Kremlin for its ongoing war in Ukraine.
Alina Maratovna Kabaeva, who has been romantically linked to the Russian leader, was sanctioned "for being or having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the Government of the Russian Federation," a Treasury Department statement said.
That statement describes the 39-year-old Kabaeva as having "a close relationship to Putin." She is a former member of the State Duma "and is the current head of the National Media Group, a pro-Kremlin empire of television, radio, and print organizations."
In April, the Wall Street Journal reported that sanctioning Kabaeva was under consideration by the US, but there was concern that such a move would inflame tensions given her close proximity to Putin.
Kabaeva was previously sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom.
In addition to Kabaeva, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against a number of other oligarchs, a major steel production company and two of its subsidiaries as well as a financial institution accused of running a sanctions evasion operation and its general director.
G7 considers "prohibition" on transportation of Russian oil globally unless purchased at or below set price
From CNN’s Livvy Doherty in London
The G7 is considering further options to stop Russia “profiting from its war of aggression and to curtail Russia's ability to wage war,” according to a statement from the forum's foreign ministers on Tuesday.
Such options could include “a comprehensive prohibition of all services that enable transportation of Russian seaborne crude oil and petroleum products globally” unless the oil was purchased at or below a set price, the statement said.
The foreign ministers said Russia is using energy as “a tool of geopolitical coercion” and that they would work together to reduce G7 countries demand on Russian energy, while protecting the most vulnerable groups from the impacts of supply disruptions and rising prices.
2:43 a.m. ET, August 3, 2022
Mandatory evacuation of Donetsk region has begun, according to Ukrainian officials
From CNN's Olga Voitovych
A young girl holds her dog while waving goodbye to her grandparents from an evacuation train departing Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine on Tuesday, Aug. 2. (David Goldman/AP)
Ukrainian officials said the mandatory evacuation of the Donetsk region has begun, with the first train leaving Pokrovsk and arriving further west in the city of Kropyvnytskyi.
“The first train arrived in Kropyvnytskyi this morning. Women, children, the elderly, many people with limited mobility. Everyone was met and accommodated, everyone was helped,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in her Telegram channel on Tuesday. “Thanks to local services, international organizations and volunteers.”
The head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, also announced the beginning of the evacuation, adding that trains will depart every two days.
“Every paired-numbered day, an evacuation train will depart from Pokrovsk to Kropyvnytskyi with a stop in Oleksandria. Departure time is 16:30,” Kyrylenko posted in his official Telegram. “Do not delay - evacuate! Evacuation saves lives!”
According to Ukrainian Railways, Ukrzaliznytsia, 136 passengers — including 44 with limited mobility — were on the first evacuation train. Volunteers from World Central Kitchen provided people with food, while the Ukrainian Postal Service, Ukrposhta, supported payments at the station.
