07.00 – Chinese troops to Russia for military exercise
Chinese troops will participate in a military exercise in Russia at the end of this month. The Chinese Ministry of Defense wrote in a statement on Wednesday that it wants to strengthen ties with Moscow. The countries Belarus, India and Mongolia also participate in the multi-day Vostok exercise.
Moscow has said the army exercise, most recently held in 2018 in the Far East on the border with China, will take place from August 30 to September 5. In a statement, the Chinese military says it will participate “to improve military cooperation between the participating countries.”
The exercise should strengthen the ability “to respond to various security threats,” writes China. The “current international and regional situation” has nothing to do with the participation of the Chinese army in the exercise, Beijing emphasizes.
It is the second time this year that Chinese and Russian soldiers practice together. The last time was at the end of May, when US President Joe Biden visited the Japanese capital Tokyo.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price says the United States is “looking for nothing” behind the joint exercise. Price does say that “a close relationship between China and Russia undermines global security.”
05.00 – Grain deal and clash of arms around nuclear power plant deployment visit UN chief
UN chief António Guterres is in Ukraine on Thursday for a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky and his Turkish counterpart Erdogan. The meeting in Lviv follows on from Turkey’s and the UN’s successful efforts to secure Ukraine’s food exports by sea.
Despite the war, Ukrainian food products, especially grain, can sail safely to Turkish waters thanks to the international agreement concluded at the end of July from Ukrainian ports across the Black Sea. But Guterres is also expected to speak with Zelenski about possibilities to end the battle at the front and in particular at the large nuclear power plant of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhya region. That nuclear power plant fell into Russian hands at the beginning of the war. Guterres hopes to be of assistance in arranging a new visit by the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA to the nuclear power plant.
Since Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN signed a deal on the export of Ukrainian agricultural products, more than 560,000 tons of grain have been exported from Ukrainian government-controlled ports, according to the UN. The war between the two colossal exporters of grain products and fertilizers, Russia and Ukraine, has deprived the world market of a significant part of the supply of those products. This leads to price increases and in poor countries that depend on imports, immediately to life-threatening food shortages.
On Friday, Guterres will visit Ukraine’s largest port, Odessa. On Saturday he will visit the coordination center in Istanbul where delegates from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN are organizing the implementation of the grain deal.
00.01 – Six killed in Russian missile attack on Kharkov: ‘Cynical attack on civilians’
At least six people were killed in a rocket attack on the Ukrainian city of Kharkov on Wednesday evening, local authorities report. The rockets allegedly hit buildings in the Saltivskyi residential area.
Unconfirmed images show that several buildings are on fire. Firefighters fight the blaze. Sixteen people were also injured in the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelensky reacted furiously to the attack. “This is a cynical attack on civilians without any justification. It shows the powerlessness of Russia. We will never forgive this and will avenge this attack,” Zelenski said via Telegram.