August 22, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Aditi Sangal, Rhea Mogul, Eliza Mackintosh and Jack Guy, CNN

Updated 2:19 a.m. ET, August 23, 2022

What we covered

Russia has blamed the Ukrainian security service for a car bombing that killed Darya Dugina, a Russian political commentator and daughter of prominent ultranationalist Alexander Dugin, according to state news agency TASS. Ukraine has denied any involvement in the car explosion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Moscow might attempt "something particularly ugly" as the country prepares for its Independence Day, triggering the cancellation of celebrations.
US President Joe Biden and other Western leaders on Sunday stressed the need for the UN's nuclear watchdog to visit the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine, where shelling has sparked fears of a disaster.
Dozens of grain ships have left Ukraine since Aug. 1 under a deal brokered by the UN and Turkey, which laid "the groundwork for a permanent peace environment," Turkey's defense minister said.

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12:49 a.m. ET, August 22, 2022

Car bomb kills daughter of "spiritual guide" to Putin's Ukraine invasion

From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq, Josh Pennington, Jonny Hallam and Tara John

Darya Dugina, the daughter of influential Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin, was reportedly killed on Saturday, August 20. (From Darya Dugina/Telegram)

Russian authorities said Sunday they had opened a murder investigation after the daughter of influential, ultra-nationalist philosopher Alexander Dugin was killed by a car bomb on the outskirts of Moscow.

The Russian Investigative Committee said it believed someone planned and ordered the car explosion that killed Darya Dugina, based on evidence already collected from the blast.

"Taking into account the data already obtained, the investigation believes that the crime was pre-planned and was of an ordered nature," the investigative committee said in a statement Sunday.

Dugina died at the scene after "an explosive device, presumably installed in the Toyota Land Cruiser, went off on a public road and the car caught fire" at around 9.00 p.m. local time on Saturday, near the village of Bolshiye Vyazemy, according to the press service of the Russian Investigative Committee, as reported by state news agency TASS.

Dugina's father is a Russian author and ideologue, credited with being the architect or "spiritual guide" to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He is purported to have significant influence over Russian President Vladimir Putin and was described as "Putin's Brain" by Foreign Affairs magazine.

Both Dugin and his daughter have been sanctioned by the United States. The United Kingdom sanctioned Dugina in July for being "a frequent and high-profile contributor of disinformation in relation to Ukraine and the Russian invasion of Ukraine on various online platforms," it wrote.

Read the full story here.

10:54 p.m. ET, August 21, 2022

Ukraine grain deal "lays groundwork for permanent peace environment," says Turkey

From CNN's Tara John and Cecelia Armstrong

Bulk cargo ship SSI Invincible II is anchored at the Marmara sea in Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday, Aug. 20, will soon head to Chornomorsk, Ukraine. (Francisco Seco/AP)

Some 27 ships loaded with grain have left Ukraine's Black Sea ports since August 1 under an export deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, which has laid "the groundwork for a permanent peace environment," Turkey's Defense Minister said in a speech on Saturday.

"Since August 1, a total of 53 vessels have sailed for grain shipments, 27 of which have departed from Ukrainian ports," Hulusi Akar said at Istanbul's Joint Coordination Center (JCC) alongside United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

The center is made up of Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and UN officials overseeing the Black Sea exports of Ukrainian grain and fertilizer.

Guterres, who had earlier inspected the vessel SSI Invincible II Saturday before it sailed to the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk, said more than 650,000 metric tons of grain and other food "are already on their way to markets around the world."

Both men stressed the importance of these exports as it would help overcome "the food crisis affecting the whole world, especially to lowering prices," Akar said.

Read more here.

11:09 p.m. ET, August 21, 2022

Gas supplies to Europe via Nord Stream 1 to be halted for 3 days, Gazprom says

From CNN's Maija Ehlinger

The gas receiving station of the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline and transfer station in Lubmin, Germany is seen on July 25. (Stefan Sauer/Picture Alliance/Getty Images)

Natural gas supplies to Europe via Russia's Nord Stream 1 pipeline will be suspended from August 31 through September 2, according to a statement Friday from Russian state energy giant Gazprom.

Friday's announcement comes after the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was shut down for 10 days in late July for "annual maintenance."

The crucial pipeline had already been running at less than 40% capacity, prompting concerns that Moscow is deliberately choking supplies of gas to Europe in an energy stand-off following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.