Ukraine carried out another attack on Sevastopol on the occupied Crimean peninsula on Saturday, a day after a Ukrainian attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, according to a Kremlin-appointed official. Russian air defenses intercepted missiles heading toward the city, the largest on the peninsula, Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on Telegram.
The same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested during a news conference at the United Nations that the resumption of a grain export deal intended to help avert a global food crisis was unlikely.
Here you will find the latest information about the war and its global impact.
Lavrov suggested that there was little hope of resuming the Black Sea grain agreement brokered by Turkey and the United Nations to export grain from Ukraine by sea. After a speech at the United Nations, he described proposals to revive the agreement as “not realistic.”
Lavrov also said he would visit Pyongyang in October. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a rare summit in Russia’s Far East earlier this month, signaling they will support each other amid widespread Western condemnation of their military and nuclear activities. In his speech on Saturday, Lavrov sharply criticized the United States and the West and accused Washington of “stirring up hysteria on the Korean Peninsula.”
Ukrainian forces and their armored vehicles have broken through Russia’s main defense line on the war’s southern front, known as the “Surovikin Line,” a local commander told The Washington Post on Saturday. The line, named after the former head of Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine, consists of several defensive belts – and Russia has more significant defenses behind them – highlighting the slow progress of Ukraine’s now months-long counteroffensive.
Ukraine launched repeated airstrikes in Crimea over the weekend. Ukraine’s special forces said on Telegram that they targeted a meeting of Black Sea Fleet leaders in an attack on Friday that reportedly killed and injured dozens, including top officials. Russian media reported that six people were injured. The Post was unable to verify either side’s claims. Air raid sirens wailed again early Saturday, according to crew members, with rocket debris hitting a park and falling into the sea.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Sudanese General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Ireland on his way back from his trip to Canada and the United States. They discussed common security challenges, including the activities of armed groups financed by Russia, according to a statement from the Ukrainian president’s office. Zelensky called on him to support Ukraine’s efforts to bring grain to needy countries.
Australia is calling for changes to the UN Security Council to make it more representative, as well as restrictions on the use of veto powers. Russia, as one of five permanent members with veto power, “mocks the United Nations every day as it continues its illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said. Canberra wants more representation for Africa, Latin America and Asia, as well as permanent seats for India and Japan.
The proposal was originally floated in Europe but has now been taken up by some U.S. Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) during a visit to Kyiv last month, write David L. Stern, Catherine Belton and The Post the post John Hudson.
“The Russians are pushing for this through their secret channels,” said a Ukrainian security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. “There is no situation in which it is possible to hold a democratic election during war.”