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Graphics: Six months of the war in Ukraine

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Graphics: Six months of the war in Ukraine

War in Ukraine

The toll of Russia’s invasion is high with no end to the fighting in sight

This week marks six months since Russian forces rolled across Ukraine’s borders in the largest military invasion in Europe since World War Two.

Since then, tens of thousands of people have been killed, millions have fled and cities have been reduced to rubble by Russia’s bombardment.

Moscow calls its campaign a “special military operation” to demilitarise Ukraine and protect Russian-speaking communities. Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky said Russia had “embarked on a path of evil.”

Map of Ukraine showing areas controlled by Russia as of August 22.

After Russian forces failed to overrun the country on three fronts, Moscow has claimed territorial gains in eastern Ukraine and created a land bridge between separatist regions in the Donbas and the Crimean peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014.

But Ukraine’s military, supported by weapons and supplies from Western allies, including at least $9.1 billion in security assistance from the United States, has claimed numerous victories and frustrated Moscow’s wider ambitions.

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Early March

Initial campaign

Russia’s initial campaign aims to seize Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and other major Ukrainian cities to force a change of government in Ukraine.

Map of Ukraine showing areas controlled by Russia as of March 4. The map shows Russian progress in the North, East and Southern fronts in the early weeks of the invasion.

March

Russia fails at seizing Kyiv

After the first month of the invasion, Russia gives up on some of its most important goals withdrawing the plan to encircle and seize Kyiv.

Map of Ukraine showing areas controlled by Russia as of March 24. The map shows some more areas controlled by Russia in the East.

April

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A new phase of the war

Russia redefines its goals. Moscow focuses on capturing the entirety of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts and defending Russian positions in southern Ukraine against Ukrainian counterattacks.

Map of Ukraine showing areas controlled by Russia as of April 24. The map shows how Russian troops have withdrawn from the Kyiv area and the North of the country.

May

Withdraw from Kharkiv

In May, Russian forces withdraw from Kharkiv, abandoning efforts to encircle large Ukrainian formations in eastern Ukraine and focusing instead on smaller encirclements, especially in the Sieverodonetsk area.

Map of Ukraine showing areas controlled by Russia as of May 24. The map shows how Russia is focused mainly in the Southern and Eastern fronts.

June

Focus on Luhansk

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In June, most Russian efforts focus on taking full control of the Luhansk oblast with heavy fighting along the banks of the Siverskyi Donets river.

Map of Ukraine showing areas controlled by Russia as of June 24. The map shows how Russia is focused mainly in the Southern and Eastern fronts.

July

Defined frontlines

In July, Ukrainian HIMARS missile strikes against Russian ammunition depots, logistics and command and control systems are likely degrading Russia’s artillery campaigns.

Map of Ukraine showing areas controlled by Russia as of July 24. The map shows how Russia is focused mainly in the Southern and Eastern fronts.

While Moscow’s ground assault stalled, it has waged a devastating assault on Ukraine from the air.

Exclusive data provided to Reuters by Ukrainian officials showed there had been at least 3,654 missile strikes across the country between the start of the invasion and July 21.

Ukraine says those strikes have often targeted civilian infrastructure. Moscow denies that and has claimed, without providing evidence, that some attacks had been staged by Ukrainian forces.

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Where Russian missiles have struck

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On Monday, the head of Ukraine’s armed forces said almost 9,000 Ukrainian military personnel had been killed in the war. Russia has not said how many of its soldiers have been killed, though U.S. intelligence estimates that some 15,000 have been killed so far.

A charred Russian tank in the Sumy region, Ukraine, March 7, 2022. Irina Rybakova/Press service of the Ukrainian Ground Forces/Handout via REUTERS

An Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo plane, the world’s biggest aircraft, destroyed by Russian troops at Hostomel airfield, in Kyiv region, Ukraine April 2, 2022. REUTERS/Mikhail Palinchak

A blast is seen in a Kyiv TV tower, March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

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Ukrainian armed forces, who surrendered at the besieged Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol upon their arrival under escort of the pro-Russian military in the settlement of Olenivka in the Donetsk region, May 20, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Smoke and flame rise after a military strike on a compound of Sievierodonetsk’s Azot Chemical Plant, in Lysychansk, Luhansk region, Ukraine June 18, 2022. REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak

Throughout the conflict, the toll on Ukrainian civilians has been severe.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), at least 5,587 civilians have been killed and 7,890 injured since the start of the invasion, though OHCHR believes the actual figures are likely much higher.

Most of those killed or injured were the victims of explosive weapons such as artillery, missile and air strikes.

The high number of civilian casualties includes some Ukraine and Western allies allege were the victims of war crimes, a claim Moscow denies.

Human Rights Watch investigator Richard Weir said: “What we’ve seen here is pretty strong indications that a number of willful killings or murders took place,” referring to bodies found with their hands tied after Russian forces retreated from towns on the outskirts of Kyiv in early April.

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Mariupol, a once-prosperous southern port, was destroyed by Russian forces over three months of what the Red Cross called “hell.” Ukraine says tens of thousands of civilians died, with food, water and medical supplies cut and continuous bombing trapped many in basements. The United Nations says the toll is unknown.

An aerial view shows residential buildings that were damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol.
Residential buildings that were damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in Mariupol, Ukraine April 3, 2022. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Pavel Klimov

The early stages of the conflict saw a mass exodus from Ukraine.

According to UNHCR, there have been 11,150,639 border crossings out of the country since the invasion began as of Aug. 16.

At least 6,657,918 refugees have fled from Ukraine to Europe, according to UNHCR.

While the majority of refugees initially fled to neighbouring countries, many have since moved on to other parts of Europe.

Around two-thirds of refugees from Ukraine expect to stay in their host countries until hostilities subside and the security situation improves, a survey by UNHCR found.

Over 6.6 million people remain internally displaced in Ukraine, according to UNHCR.

Ukrainian refugees across Europe

Irpin residents flee after heavy shelling on the only escape route used by locals, while Russian troops advance towards Kyiv, March 6, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

People who fled Mariupol and Melitopol wait inside an evacuee bus in Zaporizhzhian, April 1, 2022. REUTERS/stringer

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Natalia Maznichenko mourns her husband Vasyl Maznichenko during his funeral at the cemetery in Bucha, April 21, 2022. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Smoke rises above a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, May 2, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

A local school in the village of Kukhar damaged by shelling. March 30, 2022. REUTERS/Serhii Nuzhnenko

The war in Ukraine has also contributed to a global food crisis.

The halt in Ukrainian exports following the outbreak of the conflict pushed the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, which tracks international prices of the most globally traded food commodities, to its highest point in March since records began in 1990.

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Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea stranded an estimated 22 million tonnes of grain in Ukraine as of May.

Moscow has denied responsibility for the food crisis, blaming Western sanctions for slowing its own exports and Ukraine for mining the approaches to its ports.

An agreement, brokered by the United Nations along with Turkey, was reached last month to unblock exports from three Ukrainian ports amid fears that the loss of Ukrainian grain supplies would lead to severe food shortages and even outbreaks of famine in parts of the world.

A map of shipping in the Black Sea.

Six months in, there is still no end in sight for the war in Ukraine.

Both sides are entrenched along the eastern front, though counter-attacks have reached deeper into Russian-occupied territories, including Crimea.

Ukraine issued dire warnings about a frontline nuclear power station, the Zaporizhzhia complex, where it said it believed Moscow was planning a “large-scale provocation” as justification to decouple the plant from the Ukrainian power grid and connect it to Russia’s.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of shelling the complex, risking a nuclear catastrophe.

Besides the human losses, Ukraine has lost control of around 22% of its land to Russia since the 2014 annexation of Crimea, according to Reuters calculations and its economy will contract by 45% in 2022, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have estimated.

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Western sanctions against Russia have been the biggest shock to the country’s economy since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. It has been excluded from Western financial markets, most of its oligarchs are under sanctions, and it is experiencing problems acquiring some items such as microchips.

The invasion and Western sanctions on Russia led to steep rises in the prices of fertiliser, wheat, metals and energy, feeding into an inflationary wave that is crashing through the global economy.

By

Dea Bankova, Samuel Granados, Michael Ovaska & Prasanta Kumar Dutta

Sources

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Operational Data Portal, Ukraine Refugee Situation,
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Ukraine: civilian casualty update 22 August 2022, Institute for the Study of War and https://www.criticalthreats.org/, Natural Earth

Edited by

Jon McClure, Grant McCool

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Putin says there will be no peace in Ukraine until goals are achieved, while offering rare details

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Putin says there will be no peace in Ukraine until goals are achieved, while offering rare details

MOSCOW (AP) — Emboldened by battlefield gains and flagging Western support for Ukraine, a relaxed and confident President Vladimir Putin said Thursday there would be no peace until Russia achieves its goals, which he says remain unchanged after nearly two years of fighting.

It was Putin’s first formal news conference that Western media were allowed to attend since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The highly choreographed session, which lasted over four hours and included questions from ordinary Russians about things like the price of eggs and leaky gymnasium roofs, was more about spectacle than scrutiny.

But while using the show as an opportunity to reinforce his authority ahead of an election in March that he is all but certain to win, Putin also gave a few rare details on what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

He said that a steady influx of volunteers means there is no need for a second wave of mobilization of reservists to fight in Ukraine — a move that was deeply unpopular. He said there are some 617,000 Russian soldiers there, including around 244,000 troops who were mobilized a year ago to fight alongside professional forces.

“There will be peace when we will achieve our goals,” Putin said, repeating a frequent Kremlin line. “Victory will be ours.”

Putin, who has held power for nearly 24 years and announced last week he is running for reelection, was greeted with applause as he arrived in the hall in central Moscow. He didn’t hold his traditional news conference last year amid setbacks in Ukraine.

But with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleading for more U.S aid amid a stalling counteroffensive and fracturing Western support, he decided to face reporters once more — even though only two Western journalists were called on for questions.

Putin highlighted Russia’s successes in Ukraine and the flagging support by Kyiv’s allies.

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“Ukraine today produces nearly nothing, they are trying to preserve something but they don’t produce practically anything themselves and bring everything in for free,” he said. “But the freebies may end at some point and apparently it’s coming to an end little by little.”

Putin noted “an improvement in the position of our troops all along” the front line.

“The enemy has declared a big counteroffensive, but he hasn’t achieved anything anywhere,” he added.

The session dealt mostly with Ukraine and domestic issues, but a few international topics were addressed:

— Putin said he wanted to reach a deal with Washington to free U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich and U.S. businessman Paul Whelan, both held in Russia on espionage-related charges. “We’re not refusing to return them,” Putin said but added an agreement that satisfies Moscow was “not easy.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to attend his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. (Aleksander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to attend his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. (Aleksander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

 

— He deplored the death of thousands of civilians in Gaza amid the Israeli-Hamas war, citing U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called it a “graveyard for children.” He urged greater humanitarian aid, adding that Russia proposed setting up a field hospital in Gaza near the border with Egypt but Israel responded it would be unsafe.

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— Asked what he would have told himself from today’s perspective when he started his first term in 2000, Putin said he would have warned against “naivety and excessive trustfulness regarding our so-called partners” in the West.

The 71-year-old leader appeared calm and relaxed during the questions, although he frequently cleared his throat, blaming the air conditioning.

Ordinary citizens submitted questions alongside those from journalists, and Russian media said at least 2 million were sent in advance, giving him a chance to appear personally involved in resolving their problems. That’s especially vital for Putin ahead of the March 17 election.

Irina Akopova of the southern Krasnodar region, who addressed Putin as “my favorite president,” complained about the rising price of eggs. He apologized to her and blamed “a glitch in the work of the government” for not increasing imports quickly enough.

Children in Russian-annexed Crimea asked him about a leaking roof and mold in their sports hall.

Immediately after the show, Russia’s main criminal investigation agency declared it had launched inquiries into alleged wrongdoing by local authorities in regions whose residents asked Putin to resolve their problems.

That included a disruption in water supplies to the village of Akishevo in western Russia, the lack of transport link to the village of Serebryanskoye in the southwestern Volgograd region, and in the Crimean village where the children complained about the leaking roof.

Although he has taken some questions from reporters at smaller events and foreign trips, Putin’s last big news conference was in 2021 as the U.S warned that Russia was about to move into Ukraine. He delayed an annual state-of-the-nation address until February 2023.

Since then, relations with the West have plunged to new lows amid the conflict in Ukraine.

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He claimed Ukraine’s attempt to create a bridgehead on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River had fizzled and Kyiv suffered heavy losses, saying its government was sacrificing its troops in order to show some success to its Western sponsors as it seeks more aid, a tactic he called “stupid and irresponsible.”

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller responded by saying that Putin “still wishes to conquer Ukraine” but the belief that Russia would outlast the West or the United States was wrong.

Putin’s news conference also highlighted concerns some Russians have about another wave of mobilization.

“There is no need” for mobilization now, Putin said, because 1,500 men are recruited as volunteers every day. As of Wednesday, 486,000 soldiers have signed contracts with the military, he said.

His remarks about another mobilization were met with skepticism by some independent Russian media, which noted he had promised not to draft reservists for Ukraine and then reversed course and ordered a “partial” call-up. The move, which he announced in September 2022, prompted thousands of Russians to flee the country.

He reiterated that Moscow’s goals in Ukraine — “de-Nazification, de-militarization and a neutral status” of Ukraine — remain unchanged. He had spelled out those loosely defined objectives the day he sent in troops February 2022.

The claim of “de-Nazification” refers to Russia’s false assertions that Ukraine’s government is heavily influenced by radical nationalist and neo-Nazi groups — an allegation derided by Kyiv and the West.

He reaffirmed his claim that much of today’s Ukraine, including the Black Sea port of Odesa and other coastal areas, historically belonged to Russia and were given away by Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin.

While Moscow had accepted the new reality after the USSR’s collapse in 1991, Putin said he was forced to respond to what he described as an attempt by the West to turn Ukraine into a tool to challenge and threaten Russia.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
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“Russians and Ukrainians are one people, and what’s going on now is a huge tragedy, a civil war between brothers who have found themselves on the opposite sides,” he added.

Some journalists who lined up for the news conference in freezing temperatures for hours to enter the hall wore traditional dress, including elaborate hats, to catch his eye. Many held identifying placards.

Although the event is tightly controlled, some online questions that Putin ignored appeared on screens in the hall.

“Mr. President, when will the real Russia be the same as the one on TV?” one text message said, apparently referring to the Kremlin’s control over the media that portrays Putin positively and glosses over the country’s problems.

Another read: “I’d like to know, when will our president pay attention to his own country? We’ve got no education, no health care. The abyss lies ahead.”

Putin was asked by an artificial intelligence version of himself, speaking with his face and voice, on whether he uses body doubles — a subject of intense speculation by some Kremlin watchers. Putin brushed off the suggestion.

“Only one person should look like myself and talk in my voice — that person is going to be me,” he said, deadpanning: “By the way, this is my first double.”

___

This story has been updated to correct that 244,000 is the number of troops called up to fight and are in Ukraine, not the total number there.

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___

Associated Press writers Emma Burrows in London and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed.

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A Russian missile attack on Kyiv injures more than 50 people as Ukraine pleads for more Western help

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A Russian missile attack on Kyiv injures more than 50 people as Ukraine pleads for more Western help

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A barrage of Russian missiles targeted Kyiv on Wednesday, wounding at least 53 people, officials said, as the Ukrainian president sought more military support in Europe after a trip to Washington secured no new pledges.

Loud explosions rocked Ukraine’s capital at 3 a.m. as the city’s air defenses were activated for the second time this week. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 10 ballistic missiles toward Kyiv and all were intercepted by air defenses, but their debris struck homes and a children’s hospital.

The attack underscored the continuing threat to Ukraine from the Kremlin’s missile arsenal in the 21-month war. Russia has been stockpiling its air-launched cruise missiles from its heavy bomber fleet, according to a recent assessment by the U.K. Ministry of Defense.

That may herald another heavy winter bombardment of Ukraine’s power grid. Moscow last year targeted energy infrastructure in an effort to deny Ukrainians heat, light and running water and break their fighting spirit.

As winter sets in and hinders troop movements, allowing little change along the front line, long-range air bombardment plays a growing role.

Ukraine has dwindling supplies of air defense munitions and other ammunition. That prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to visit Washington on Tuesday in an effort to persuade lawmakers to approve President Joe Biden’s request for $61.4 billion for Ukraine. His trip accomplished no breakthrough.

Zelenskyy said on Telegram that he and Biden agreed to work on increasing the number of air defense systems in Ukraine. “The terrorist state has just demonstrated how crucial this decision is,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the overnight strikes.

On Wednesday, he met in Oslo with Nordic leaders who feel keenly the potential threat from nearby Russia and are among Kyiv’s staunchest supporters.

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Zelenskyy may also attend a European Union summit on Thursday in Brussels, where the continent’s leaders are expected to discuss their backing for Ukraine. Officials did not confirm such a trip.

“Russia is eager to exploit divisions,” the senior leaders from Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden said in a joint statement in Oslo. “We must continue to stand united against Russia’s illegal and immoral war.”

They vowed “comprehensive assistance” for Ukraine. “Now is not the time to tire,” the Nordic leaders said, amid signs of war fatigue among Kyiv’s foreign supporters.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her government will unveil a Ukraine support package of almost 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) this week. Norway announced it will give additional air defenses to Ukraine, taking them from its own stocks to ensure speedy delivery.

Separately, Latvia and Ukraine announced an agreement on the production of drones, a key part of the war.

In the overnight missile attack, debris from the intercepted weapons fell in Kyiv’s eastern Dniprovskyi district, injuring dozens of people, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Kitschko said on Telegram. Twenty people, including two children, were hospitalized, and 33 people received medical treatment on the spot.

An apartment building, a private house and several cars caught fire, while the windows of a children’s hospital were shattered, Klitschko said. Falling rocket debris also damaged the water supply system in the district.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, 10 Russian drones were shot down, most of them in the Odesa region, the Ukrainian air force said.

In other developments, a “hacktivist” group called SoIntsepek claimed responsibility for a major cyberattack Tuesday against Ukrainian internet and cell phone provider Kyivstar, which serves more than 24 million mobile customers across the country.

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The Google-owned U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant said SoIntsepek regularly claims credit for the activity of the Russian hacking team known as Sandworm, part of the GRU military intelligence agency.

“The persona was probably fabricated by the GRU to launder their operations publicly,” Mandiant threat analyst John Hultquist said in an emailed statement, adding that Sandworm is responsible for “most major disruptive cyberattacks we know about.”

A Kyivstar spokeswoman said the company hoped to restore all service by end of Wednesday but the network integrity company Kentik Inc. said only a fraction had been restored by the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in a report that Russian forces this year have “continued to use explosive weapons with wide area effects in their attacks on densely populated urban areas of Ukraine … both in areas close to heavy fighting and in cities far from the contact line.”

The governmental organization added in the report published Wednesday that Ukrainian armed forces, though on a much smaller scale, also shelled populated areas of Ukraine that are occupied by Russia, causing civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.

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Associated Press writers Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, and Frank Bajak in Boston contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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Russia halts wartime deal allowing Ukraine to ship grain. It’s a blow to global food security

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Russia halts wartime deal allowing Ukraine to ship grain. It’s a blow to global food security

LONDON (AP) — Russia on Monday halted a breakthrough wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat and high food prices have pushed more people into poverty.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Black Sea Grain Initiative would be suspended until demands to get Russian food and fertilizer to the world are met. An attack Monday on a bridge connecting the Crimean Peninsula to Russia was not a factor in the decision, he said.

“When the part of the Black Sea deal related to Russia is implemented, Russia will immediately return to the implementation of the deal,” Peskov said.

Russian representatives at the operation center for the initiative were more definitive, calling the decision “a termination,” according to a note obtained by The Associated Press. Russia has complained that restrictions on shipping and insurance have hampered its agricultural exports, but it has shipped record amounts of wheat since last year.

The suspension marks the end of an accord that the U.N. and Turkey brokered last summer to allow shipments of food from the Black Sea region after Russia’s invasion of its neighbor worsened a global food crisis. The initiative is credited with helping reduce soaring prices of wheat, vegetable oil and other global food commodities.

Ukraine and Russia are both major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other food that developing nations rely on.

The suspension of the deal sent wheat prices up about 3% in Chicago trading, to $6.81 a bushel, which is still about half what they were at last year’s peak. Prices fell later in the day.

Some analysts don’t expect more than a temporary bump in food staples traded on global markets because countries such as Russia and Brazil have ratcheted up wheat and corn exports. But food insecurity worldwide and prices at local stores and markets have risen as developing countries also struggle with climate change, conflict and economic crises. Finding suppliers outside Ukraine that are farther away also could raise costs, analysts say.

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The grain deal provided guarantees that ships would not be attacked entering and leaving Ukrainian ports, while a separate agreement facilitated the movement of Russian food and fertilizer. Western sanctions do not apply to Moscow’s agricultural shipments, but some companies may be wary of doing business with Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wanted to keep the initiative going even without Russia’s safety assurances for ships.

“We are not afraid,” he said, adding that shipping companies told him “everyone is ready to continue supplying grain” if Ukraine and Turkey were on board.

The Russian Foreign Ministry again declared the northwestern Black Sea area “temporarily dangerous.” Sergei Markov, a Moscow-based pro-Kremlin political analyst, speculated that if Ukraine doesn’t heed the warnings, Russia could strike Ukrainian ports or place mines in shipping routes.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative has allowed three Ukrainian ports to export 32.9 million metric tons of grain and other food to the world, according to the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul.

Russia has repeatedly complained that the deal largely benefits richer nations. JCC data shows that 57% of the grain from Ukraine went to developing nations, with the top destination being China, which received nearly a quarter of the food.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the end of the deal will result in more human suffering but that the U.N. would keep working to ensure the flow of supplies from Ukraine and Russia.

“There is simply too much at stake in a hungry and hurting world,” Guteres told reporters.

Ukraine can still export by land or river through Europe, but those routes have a lower capacity and have stirred divisions among its neighbors.

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In a post late Monday on his Telegram channel, Zelenskyy said he and Guterres agreed “to work together and with the responsible states” to restore food supplies via the Black Sea.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby blasted Moscow for pulling out of the deal and said the decision would “harm millions of vulnerable people around the world.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said officials were talking with Russia and that he hoped the deal would be extended.

The agreement was renewed for 60 days in May, but the amount of grain and number of vessels departing Ukraine have plunged, with Russia accused of preventing new ships from participating since June 27. The last ship left Ukraine on Sunday and was inspected Monday.

 

 

 

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, center, with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley, right, and Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander, left, speaks during a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Ukraine said its forces shot down Russian drones and cruise missiles targeting the Black Sea port of Odesa in what Moscow called “retribution” for an attack that damaged a crucial bridge to the Crimean Peninsula.

 

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A freight train runs on rails of a railway link of the Crimean Bridge connecting Russian mainland and Crimean peninsula over the Kerch Strait not far from Kerch, Crimea, on Monday, July 17, 2023. An attack before dawn damaged part of a bridge linking Russia to Moscow-annexed Crimea that is a key supply route for Kremlin forces in the war with Ukraine. The strike Monday has forced the span's temporary closure for a second time in less than a year. (AP Photo)

The bridge connecting Crimea and Russia carries heavy significance for Moscow, both logistically and psychologically, as a key artery for military and civilian supplies and as an assertion of Kremlin control of the peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014.

 

 

 

FILE - Activists and international delegations stand next to cluster bomb units, during a visit to a Lebanese military base at the opening of the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, in the southern town of Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, Sept. 12, 2011. The Biden administration has decided to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine and is expected to announce on Friday, July 6, 2023, that the Pentagon will send thousands as part of the latest military aid package for the war effort against Russia, according to people familiar with the decision. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari, File)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published Sunday that Russia has a “sufficient stockpile” of cluster munitions, warning that Russia “reserves the right to take reciprocal action” if Ukraine uses the controversial weapons.

 

 

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Peter Nikitin, a Russian pro-democracy activist residing in Serbia, shouts slogans during a protest against Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, June 6, 2022. Nikitin said Thursday, July 13, 2023, that Serbian authorities have banned him from entering the country upon return from a trip abroad. Nikitin is well known as a fierce critic of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has been one of the organizers of antiwar and pro-democracy protests in Serbia by the Russians and Ukrainians living in the country. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbian authorities have allowed into the country a Russian antiwar activist who was previously denied entry and had spent more than one day at the Belgrade airport.

Here’s the latest for Monday July 17th: More extreme heat across U.S.; Devastating floods in Northeast; Officials in Crimea say Ukraine attacked bridge; Suspect killed in shootout with Georgia authorities.

The war in Ukraine sent food commodity prices to record highs last year and contributed to a global food crisis, which was also tied to other conflicts, the fallout from the pandemic and climate factors.

High grain prices in countries like Egypt, Lebanon and Nigeria exacerbated economic challenges and helped push millions more people into poverty or food insecurity.

Rising food prices affect people in developing countries disproportionately, because they spend more of their money on meals. Poorer nations that depend on imported food priced in dollars also are spending more as their currencies weaken and they are forced to import more because of climate change.

Under the deal, prices for wheat and other commodities have fallen, but food was already expensive before the war in Ukraine, and the relief hasn’t trickled down to kitchen tables.

“Countries such as Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia are dependent on food imports from Ukraine, so it does hamper availability and accessibility to food,” said Shashwat Saraf, the International Rescue Committee’s regional emergency director for East Africa.

Now, it’s key to watch whether Russia “weaponizes” its wheat exports, said Simon Evenett, professor of international trade and economic development at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

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As the world’s current largest wheat supplier, Russia could hike its export taxes, which “would raise world grain prices as well as allow Russia to finance more of its military campaign in Ukraine,” Evenett said. He noted that Moscow already raised them slightly this month.

The grain deal has faced setbacks since it was brokered. Russia pulled out briefly in November before rejoining and extending the deal.

In March and May, Russia would only renew for two months, instead of the usual four. Joint inspections meant to ensure vessels carry only grain and not weapons have slowed considerably.

The amount of grain shipped per month has fallen from a peak of 4.2 million metric tons in October to over 2 million metric tons in June.

Meanwhile, Russia’s wheat shipments hit all-time highs following a large harvest. The country exported 45.5 million metric tons in the 2022-2023 trade year, with another record of 47.5 million metric tons expected in 2023-2024, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates.

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Associated Press reporters Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Andrew Wilks in Istanbul contributed.

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See AP’s complete coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine and the food crisis at https://apnews.com/hub/food-crisis.

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