Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, according to the French presidential office, which is reading a phone call between the leaders. Macron expressed concern over the threat posed by Russian military actions near Ukraine’s nuclear facilities and called for the immediate withdrawal of those forces. “[Macron] expressed his support for the proposal by the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency to send a mission on the ground as soon as possible and the two presidents discussed the terms of such a mission,” according to the readout. The two leaders also discussed the export of Ukrainian agricultural products through a UN-brokered sea corridor. — Amanda Macias
A collection of Ukrainian agricultural exports en route to world ports
The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni, carrying Ukrainian grain, is seen in the Black Sea off Kilyos, near Istanbul, Turkey, on August 3, 2022. Mehmet Caliskan Reuters The 21 ships that left Ukrainian ports are taking hundreds of thousands of metric tons of corn, wheat and other agricultural products around the world, according to the agency that oversees their exports. The Joint Coordination Centre, a humanitarian initiative of Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, said the distribution of exports includes the following:
451,481 metric tons of corn 50,300 metric tons of sunflower oil 41,622 metric tons of wheat 11,000 metric tons of soybeans 6,000 metric tons of sunflower oil 2,914 metric tons of sunflower seeds
The group also said that the preliminary destinations for Ukraine’s food exports are Turkey, Iran, South Korea, China, Ireland, Italy, Djibouti and Romania. — Amanda Macias
Russian navy ‘struggles to exercise effective sea control’, British intelligence says
Moskva airs in 2008. Vasily Batanov | AFP | Getty Images The Russian naval fleet in the Black Sea is “struggling to exercise effective sea control”, the British military said in an intelligence briefing. “She has lost her flagship, the Moscow, a significant portion of her naval air force and control of Snake Island,” the British Ministry of Defense wrote in a statement on Twitter. The British military said Russian warships were firing long-range cruise missiles at targets on the ground in Ukraine. “The currently limited effectiveness of the Black Fleet undermines Russia’s overall invasion strategy, in part because the amphibious threat to Odessa is now largely neutralized. This means Ukraine can divert resources to pressure Russian ground forces elsewhere,” the British military added. — Amanda Macias
Russian defense minister says there is “no need” to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine
A decommissioned ICMB Titan II nuclear is displayed in a silo at the Titan Missile Museum on May 12, 2015 in Green Valley, Arizona. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images Russia “doesn’t need” to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, its defense minister said, describing media speculation that Moscow might deploy nuclear or chemical weapons in the conflict as an “absolute lie”. “From a military point of view, there is no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine to achieve the goals. The main purpose of Russian nuclear weapons is to prevent a nuclear attack,” Sergei Shoigu said during a speech at an international security conference. in Moscow. “The media is spreading speculation about the alleged use of Russian tactical nuclear weapons during the special military operation or about the readiness to use chemical weapons. All these informational attacks are complete lies.” Shoigu also claimed that Ukrainian military operations were being planned by the United States and Britain and that NATO had increased its troop deployment in eastern and central Europe “several times”. Referring to the New START Treaty on US and Russian nuclear arms control, Shoigu said talks on extending the treaty were “two-way” and the situation around it was “difficult.” “A difficult situation is also developing in relation to the Treaty on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. The agreement remains in force until 2026,” Shoigu added. “On the Russian side, the obligations are fulfilled, the declared levels of carriers and warheads are kept within the specified limits.” — Reuters
21 ships have left Ukrainian ports carrying agricultural products, the UN says
The Barbados-flagged general cargo ship Fulmar S is pictured in the Black Sea, north of the Bosphorus, in Istanbul, Turkey, on August 5, 2022. Mehmet Caliskan Reuters The agency that oversees Ukraine’s agricultural exports said 21 ships carrying agricultural products have left Ukrainian ports in the past two weeks. The Joint Coordination Center, an initiative of Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, said 15 ships had also entered Ukrainian ports. In addition, five ships are expected to depart from Ukrainian ports on Tuesday. — Amanda Macias
Finland to restrict visas to Russians. Estonia to remove Soviet monuments
A sign hangs above a passport control at the quiet and almost empty Imatra border crossing between Finland and Russia on May 24, 2022 near Imatra, Finland. Sean Gallup | News Getty Images | Getty Images The European countries of Finland and Estonia, which both border Russia, are taking steps to limit the number of Russian civilians who can enter their territories. Finland will reduce the number of visas issued to Russians to 10 percent of the current amount from September 1, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said on Tuesday, Reuters reported, amid a rush of Russian tourists to Europe. Haavisto said the decision was made as many Russian tourists had started using Finland and Helsinki-Vantaa Airport as a gateway to European holiday destinations. “And this is perhaps not very appropriate if we consider, for example, the airspace restrictions that have been put in place for Russia,” Haavisto said. Finland’s move comes a day after the Baltic state of Estonia (which was formerly part of the Soviet Union) said it would limit the issuance of Estonian visas to Russian citizens. It also banned the entry of Russian citizens with visas for tourism, business, sports or cultural purposes. The restriction takes effect on August 18. Estonia’s foreign ministry said yesterday that the restriction “means that if a Russian citizen arrives next week at a border crossing point in Narva, Luhamaa or Koidula with a Schengen visa issued by Estonia and Their visit is tourism, business, sports or culture, they will no longer be allowed to enter Estonia.” Separately, Estonia announced on Tuesday it would remove Soviet monuments in the Russian-speaking city of Narva, which sits on the border with Russia, amid concerns that Moscow could try to foment divisions in Russian-speaking parts of the country. — Holly Elliott
Russia blames attack on ammunition depot on ‘sabotage’
Russia’s defense ministry said the explosions reported at an ammunition depot near the northern Crimean city of Dzhankoy, which Russia has held since 2014, were caused by “sabotage”. Earlier on Tuesday, Russian news agencies and local officials reported a series of explosions at a weapons depot after a fire at a military base. A Ukrainian official claimed the fire and explosions were the result of a “precision strike”. “On the morning of August 16, as a result of sabotage, a military warehouse near the village of Dzhankoy was damaged,” the Russian Defense Ministry said, according to a report by the state-run Tass news agency. As a result, civilian facilities including power lines, power stations, railway lines and residential buildings were damaged, the report added. No serious casualties were reported. Videos appeared on social media purporting to show the explosions taking place, although Ukraine has not commented on the explosions, the latest in a series of similar incidents in recent weeks. Separately, however, Reuters reported that Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that plumes of smoke were seen on Tuesday at a Russian military air base at Gvardeyskoye in Crimea. — Holly Elliott
Putin claims the US wants to prolong the war in Ukraine
“The situation in Ukraine shows that the US is trying to prolong this conflict,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said. Factor | News Getty Images | Getty Images Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Tuesday that the United States wants to prolong the war in Ukraine and has stoked anti-Russian sentiment. “The situation in Ukraine shows that the US is trying to prolong this conflict,” he said during a speech at a conference in Moscow on international security. Putin also argued that the US was trying to maintain its hegemonic position in the world and that it “prepared the fate of the gunboats for the people of Ukraine, implemented the ‘anti-Russian’ plan, turned a blind eye to the spread of neo-Nazi ideology, until the massacres of the people of Donbas, drew and continues to elevate the regime of Kiev with weapons.” In addition, he said US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taiwan, which angered Russia’s ally China, was a “carefully planned provocation”. Russia has claimed its invasion of Ukraine, which it calls a “special military operation”, is aimed at “liberating” pro-Russian breakaway areas in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, which it has supported since 2014, leading to a conflict between separatists and Ukrainian forces which have left around 14,000 dead. Moscow has also often labeled the government in Kyiv as neo-Nazi, despite the fact that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish. Such claims, intended to justify war (especially…
