Latest news about Russia and the war in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the leaders of France and Germany in a phone call on Saturday that Russia was ready to discuss ways for Ukraine to resume grain shipments from Black Sea ports, the Kremlin said.

Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of the world’s wheat supply, while Russia is also a major global exporter of fertilizers and Ukraine is a major exporter of corn and sunflower oil.

“For its part, Russia is ready to help find options for the unhindered export of grain, including the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports,” the Kremlin said.

She said he had told French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Russia was ready to increase exports of fertilizer and agricultural products if sanctions against it were lifted – a demand he had raised in talks with the Italian and Austrian leaders in recent days. .

Ukraine and Western countries accused Russia of weaponizing the food crisis caused by its invasion of Ukraine, driving up prices for grain, cooking oil, fuel and fertilizer.

Russia has blamed this situation on Western sanctions and the mining of Ukrainian ports.

– Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The group discussed stalled negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, with the Kremlin saying Kyiv was to blame for the current impasse. Russia said in a reading after the 80-minute call that Putin “confirmed the openness of the Russian side to the resumption of dialogue.”

Schulz and Macron called on Putin to “engage in serious direct negotiations with the president of Ukraine and find a diplomatic solution to the conflict,” according to a recitation from the German federal government.

Putin also said that the West, which delivers weapons to Ukraine, risks “further destabilizing the situation and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis”.

– Jessica Burshinsky

Today, Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russia has successfully tested a hypersonic cruise missile Zircon at a distance of about 1,000 km.

She added that the missile was launched from the Barents Sea and hit a target in the White Sea. A video clip released by the ministry showed the missile being launched from a ship and catching fire in the sky on a steep path.

President Vladimir Putin has described Zircon as part of a new generation of unrivaled weapon systems. Hypersonic weapons can travel nine times the speed of sound, and Russia conducted previous experiments with firing zircon from warships and submarines last year.

The Russian military suffered heavy losses in men and equipment during its three-month invasion of Ukraine, which it called a “special operation,” but it continued to conduct high-profile weapons tests to remind the world of its prowess in missile technology.

Last month, it tested a new nuclear-capable ICBM, the Sarmat, which is capable of carrying 10 or more warheads and striking the United States.

– Reuters

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that the eastern Ukrainian town of Lyman has fallen under the full control of Russian and Russian-backed forces in the region.

Pro-Russian separatists from the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic said on Friday that they had completely captured the city, a railway hub west of Severodonetsk.

Ukraine said on Friday that Russia had captured most of Lyman, but its forces were blocking the advance on the city of Slovensk, 20 km (20 km) southwest of the country.

Ukrainian and Russian forces have been fighting for Lyman for several days.

– Reuters

Russian forces have likely captured most of the Ukrainian city of Lyman in northern Donetsk Oblast, according to the British Ministry of Defense. It is likely to be a preparatory process for the next phase of the Russian Donbas offensive.

“Lyman is strategically important because it is the site of a major railway junction, as well as providing access to important railway bridges and roads over the Seversky Donets,” the British ministry said on Twitter.

“In the coming days, it is likely that Russian units in the region will give priority to forcing them to cross the river. At the moment, the main effort of Russia is likely to remain 40 kilometers to the east, around the Severodonetsk pocket, but a bridgehead near Lyman will give Russia an advantage In the possible next stage of the Donbass offensive, it will likely seek to advance into the main Ukrainian-controlled cities deep in Donetsk Oblast, Slovyansk, and Kramatorsk.”

– Sam Meredith

Russian forces have begun direct attacks on Severodonetsk’s built-up areas even though they have not completely encircled the Ukrainian city, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank.

In its latest daily assessment, ISW said Russian forces will likely struggle to hold their own in Severodonetsk itself, citing a poor track record of operations in built-up areas in urban terrain throughout the war thus far.

“It is likely that Russian forces will continue to make gradual progress and may succeed in encircling Severodonetsk in the coming days, but Russian operations around Izyum are still stalled and it is likely that Russian forces will not be able to increase the pace of their advance,” ISW said.

– Sam Meredith

Ukrainian forces may have to withdraw from their last enclave in the Luhansk region to avoid being captured, a Ukrainian official said, as Russian forces press an advance in the east that has shifted the momentum of the three-month-old war.

The withdrawal could bring Russian President Vladimir Putin closer to his goal of capturing the entirety of eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk regions. His forces gained territory in the two regions known together as Donbass while bombarding some towns and turning them into wasteland.

Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai said that Russian forces entered Severodonetsk, the largest city in Donbass still under Ukraine control, after trying to besiege Ukrainian forces there for several days, although he added that Russian forces would not be able to capture the Luhansk region “as analysts said. .and predicted.”

“We will have sufficient strength and resources to defend ourselves. However, it is likely that in order not to be trapped, we will have to retreat,” Gaidai said on Telegram.

Gaidai said 90% of buildings in Severodonetsk were damaged with 14 skyscrapers destroyed in the latest bombing.

– Reuters

Luhansk region governor Serhiy Gaidai said that there are approximately 10,000 Russian soldiers in the eastern region of Ukraine.

“here they are [units] Gaidai said on Ukrainian television that those who are permanently present in the Luhansk region are trying to attack and are trying to make gains in any direction they can.

CNBC was unable to independently verify this report.

– Sam Meredith

United State won the last round From a legal battle to seize a $325 million Russian-owned luxury yacht in Fiji, the case now appears to be heading to the Pacific nation’s Supreme Court.

The case has shed light on thorny legal ground The United States finds itself trying to expropriate the assets of the Russian oligarchs all over the world. These intentions are welcomed by many governments and citizens who oppose the war in Ukraine, but some of the actions raise questions about the extent of the extension of US jurisdiction.

The Fiji Court of Appeal rejected an appeal by Faisal Hanif, who legally represents the company that owns the luxury yacht. Hanif argued that the United States had no jurisdiction under Fiji’s mutual assistance laws to seize the ship, at least until the court separated who actually owned the Amadea.

Hanif said he now plans to take the case to Fiji’s High Court and will apply for a court order to prevent US customers from sailing Amadea from Fiji before the appeal is heard.

As part of its ruling, the appeals court ordered its ruling not to run for seven days, likely to give time for any appeal to be lodged.

The US argues that its investigations have found that behind various fronts, the Cayman Islands-flagged luxury yacht is actually owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Karimov, a former Russian economist and politician.

– News agency