Wagner forces move closer to Belarusian city near Polish border; Ukraine defence ministry official raises the prospect of forces ‘soon’ entering Crimea
A group of 100 mercenaries from the Russian Wagner group moved closer to the Belarusian city of Grodno near the Polish border, the Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said, raising fears of a potentially “dangerous” situation. Poland and Lithuania are considering closing their respective borders with Belarus amid concerns over the Wagner group.
Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the main intelligence directorate of Ukraine’s defence ministry, raised the prospect of Ukrainian forces “soon” entering Crimea in an effort to retake the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. Crimea has been subject to attacks in recent weeks – including an explosion which damaged the Kerch Bridge two weeks ago.
The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, has criticised Russia’s “handful of donations [of grain] to some countries” which he said does not offset the consequences of the end of the Black Sea initiative.
South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, called for the reopening of the Black Sea grain initiative at a summit with Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Saudi Arabia plans to host talks next weekend to discuss a path towards peace in Ukraine, convening representatives from Kyiv, western powers and developing countries, officials said. Russia will not attend the meeting in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah.
Ukrainian soldiers have been observed firing North Korean rockets that they said were seized by a “friendly” country before being delivered to Ukraine, it was reported.
A Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant engineer has been held illegally by Russia since his “abduction” last month and is being subjected to torture, the Ukrainian state nuclear energy company claimed.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, visited Ukrainian troops in “advanced positions” near the eastern Bakhmut frontline.
A Russian rocket attack killed one civilian and injured five more in the north-eastern city of Sumy late on Saturday, Ukraine’s interior ministry said. Ukraine’s national police posted video on Telegram showing one person being carried away in a stretcher.
Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that an African initiative could be a basis for peace in Ukraine but that Ukrainian attacks made it hard to realise. “There are things that are difficult or impossible to implement,” he said.
Unesco representatives arrived in Odesa to assess the damage to cultural and religious sites caused by Russian strikes on 19 to 23 July.
Ukraine’s energy minister says he is confident Ukraine will keep lights on this winter. German Galushchenko did not give details, but said the country was adding power in ways it had never done before
