LIVE. “Explosions on Crimean bridge, traffic halted” – UN hopes for extension of grain deal | War Ukraine and Russia

Ukrainian media are reporting “explosions on the Crimean bridge to Russia”, reports Reuters news agency, which relies on information from the Ukrainian news agency ‘RBC-Ukraine’, but has not been able to independently verify the information.

According to Russia-installed Crimea governor Sergey Aksyonov, traffic on the bridge connecting the peninsula to Russia’s Krasnodar region has been halted “because of an emergency”.

Today the grain deal agreed between Ukraine and Russia under the mediation of the United Nations and Turkey expires. The UN hopes that the agreement can be extended again to prevent a food crisis. Russia does not want to just agree to that.

Moscow has been dissatisfied for months with the agreements, which would be unprofitable for Russian companies. The Kremlin complains that Ukrainian grain can be easily exported across the Black Sea, while Russian farms suffer from Western sanctions. According to the United States, that complaint is unjustified because the export of grain has not shrunk. In fact, last week the Russian Ministry of Agriculture reported exporting a record 60 million tons of grain.

The Russian food exporters themselves are not part of Western sanctions, but do experience the punitive measures as obstacles. For example, because Russian banks are no longer connected to the international SWIFT payment system, it would be more difficult for agricultural companies to obtain financing and to trade. According to the Reuters news agency, the European Union is considering allowing the Rosselkhozbank (the agricultural bank) to join SWIFT again.

The grain deal was concluded in July last year and has since been extended three times. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened to withdraw.

The grain agreement between Russia and Ukraine expires on Monday evening and an extension is not yet in sight. Another ship sailed from the Ukrainian port of Odesa on Sunday, possibly one of the last before the deal expires.

The grain deal came about after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July last year. For example, the export of millions of tons of grain and other foodstuffs via the Black Sea was able to resume after Russia blocked Ukrainian ports.

On Sunday, another cargo ship sailed into the port of Odesa. According to the UN, it has more than 15,000 tons of rapeseed on board.

The ship threatens to become one of the last, now that Moscow is not prepared to extend the agreement again for the time being. The Kremlin is demanding a relaxation of Western sanctions against Russian food and fertilizers, and that condition has not been met, it said on Saturday.

If the deal falls through, it could lead to food shortages, especially in Africa. The UN and several other countries are urging Russia to extend the agreement as a result.

Russian shelling of a neighborhood in Kharkiv, the largest city in eastern Ukraine, today left one man dead and several injured, local officials said. The city would have been shelled three times today.

A first attack happened last night when the city was bombarded with S-300 missiles. There were no casualties.

Kharkov governor Oleh Sinehubov later told Telegram that a man in his twenties was killed in a second attack. S-300 missiles were also deployed this time. Sinehubov said a fire broke out and three men were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds and then one person was treated at the scene.

Now the mayor of Kharkov, Igor Terekhov, says that the city is under attack again, according to preliminary information.

Several hundred “experienced” Wagner fighters have arrived in the Central African Republic to help manage a July 30 referendum, the Russian mercenary army said. The referendum in question is about a constitutional amendment that allows a third term for President Faustin Archange Touadera.

Wagner has been assisting the government of the Central African Republic in its fight against rebels for more than five years. In early July, foreign sources reported that an undetermined number of Wagner mercenaries had left the Central African Republic. The government strongly denied the information.

The future of the mercenary army has been unclear since Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin briefly revolted against the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the end of June. But Wagner’s activities abroad, particularly in Syria and some African countries, have not been publicly questioned.

Russia’s FSB secret service claimed on Saturday it foiled an assassination attempt against RT anchor Margarita Simonian, one of the top pro-Kremlin media figures, and influencer Ksenia Sobchak, who regularly criticizes Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moscow accused Kiev of the assassination attempt.

But Ukraine now vehemently denies that. “They (Simonian and Sobchak, ed.) do not influence anything. They play no role in what is happening today, not in the context of the war as a whole, nor in the context of Russia losing its global position,” said presidential adviser Mikhaylo Podoljak today to a Ukrainian television channel.

The last grain ship left the port of the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa today before the grain deal expires on Monday. A year ago, Ukraine and Russia agreed with Turkey and the United Nations to allow grain ships to cross the Black Sea without being stopped by warships. However, the Kremlin does not want to just agree to another extension of the agreement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is dissatisfied with the terms of the deal, because Russian food producers would suffer from Western sanctions. For example, he wants Russian banks to regain access to the international SWIFT payment system, so that the agricultural sector can again receive financing and trade. In addition, Moscow wants to be able to use an ammonia pipeline through Ukraine that was closed after the Russian invasion.

According to the United States, the Russian agricultural sector is not at all affected by Western sanctions, because grain exports just increased last year.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has indicated that Putin would be willing to extend the deal, but in a conversation with South Africa’s leader Cyril Ramaphosa, Putin is said to have said there are still obstacles to overcome.