Moscow claims to have shot down 28 Ukrainian drones over Crimea
Russian air defense shot down 28 Ukrainian drones over Crimea overnight from Monday to Tuesday, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. At the same time, the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports expired, which opened a new showdown between Russia and Western countries. Follow, hour by hour, the events of the war in Ukraine.
7:35 am: Moscow says it has shot down 28 Ukrainian drones over Crimea
Russian air defense shot down 28 Ukrainian drones over Crimea overnight from Monday to Tuesday, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
“Seventeen Ukrainian drones were destroyed by air defenses,” the ministry said on Telegram, adding that “another eleven drones were neutralized” and “after failing to reach their target, they crashed.” “There were no injuries or damage,” according to the same source.
03:01: Ukraine’s air defense goes into action in the Odessa region
Ukrainian air defenses were activated early in the southern Odessa region, a key area for the grain deal that expired Monday night, local authorities said.
“Odessa. Combat air defense operations continue,” Sergiy Bratchuk, an official in the Odessa region’s administration, said on Telegram. According to the Ukrainian operational command for the southern part of the country, “the enemy is attacking the southern regions with unmanned aerial vehicles”, he said on Telegram.
Southern Ukraine has been hit by “drone attacks”, regional governor Oleg Kiper reported on the same social network, urging the population to stay in shelters until the air alert is lifted.
Airborne alerts were in effect early Tuesday across the country, in the regions of Odessa, Mykolaiv (south), Kherson (south), Zaporijjia (south), but also in the regions of Donetsk (south-east), Kharkiv (east), Dnipropetrovsk (middle-east ), Poltava (east), Kirovograd (center) and Cherkassy (center).
Odessa, whose historic center was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage in Danger in January, has been bombed several times since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
12:00: Ukrainian grain export agreement expires
Ukraine’s grain export deal, vital to global food supplies, expired late Monday, hours after a Ukrainian attack damaged for the second time the strategic bridge linking Russia with the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.
Moscow had previously indicated its refusal to extend the agreement signed in July 2022 with Ukraine under the auspices of the United Nations and Turkey, condemning the obstacles to trade in Russian agricultural products.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reacted to the Russian decision, stressing that “hundreds of millions of people are facing hunger” and that they will “pay the price”.
July 17 Essentials
Moscow has announced its refusal to extend the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain, signed in July 2022 with Ukraine under the auspices of the UN and Turkey, condemning the obstacles to trade in Russian agricultural products. For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated his desire to continue exporting his grain products on the Black Sea, with or without Moscow’s agreement on ship safety.
Immediately the reactions multiplied. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reacted to the Russian decision, stressing that “hundreds of millions of people are facing hunger” and that they will “pay the price”. The head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, for his part, described the Russian decision as “unacceptable”.
A few hours earlier, a Ukrainian attack partially destroyed the Crimean Bridge. Significant damage was caused to the road part of the structure, which is mainly used to transport equipment for the Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
AFP
