? Live: Russia launches sixth air attack on Kyiv this month

4:18pm: Russia brands exiled news channel ‘undesirable’

Russia on Tuesday labelled the exiled television channel Dozhd an “undesirable” organisation, a branding that puts staff and viewers who share its reports at risk of criminal prosecution.

The outlet headquartered in the Netherlands relocated and began broadcasting outside Russia after Moscow launched large-scale hostilities in Ukraine last year.

Prosecutors said Dozhd “systematically” violated Russian media laws, distributed “extremist materials” and false information about Russia’s role in the conflict.

In a statement, the channel said it would study the decision but announced several immediate measures to safeguard audiences inside Russia.

“… we are disabling donations from Russia, cancelling existing subscriptions from Russians and urge you not to share links to our materials if you live in the Russian Federation — this is now unsafe,” the outlet wrote on social media.

4:16pm: Britain says Russia may start attacking civilian ships in Black Sea

Britain has information indicating “the Russian military may expand their targeting of Ukrainian grain facilities further, to include attacks against civilian shipping in the Black Sea,” Britain’s UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward said on Tuesday.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak shared the information with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a phone call on Tuesday, Woodward said.

“Our information also indicates that Russia has laid additional sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports. We agree with the US assessment that this is a coordinated effort to justify and lay blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian ships in the Black Sea,” Woodward told reporters.

3:42pm: Putin ally says Russian sanctions ‘catastrophic’ for food market

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said on Tuesday that sanctions against Moscow threatened “catastrophic consequences” for the global food market.

He also said that issues related to global food security could not be resolved unless what he called the West’s “illegitimate obstacles” to Russian business were removed.

Patrushev, whose comments were published by the government’s Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, was speaking to other security officials from the BRICS countries in South Africa.

2:30pm: Russia raises maximum age for compulsory military service

Russian lawmakers on Tuesday backed a law increasing the maximum age limit for compulsory military service in Russia, according to the State Duma lower house of parliament.

“From January 1, 2024, citizens aged 18 to 30 will be called up for military service,” the Duma said after the bill was passed in both a second and third reading. Previously, one year of military service was mandatory in Russia for men aged 18 to 27.

2:15pm: Kremlin accuses West of trying to sabotage its showcase Russia-Africa summit

The Kremlin on Tuesday accused the West, and in particular the United States, of trying to sabotage its showcase Russia-Africa summit later this week by pressuring African countries to not take part.

The summit, which will take place in St Petersburg on Thursday and Friday, will be attended by President Vladimir Putin who is expected to hold intensive one-on-one talks with individual African leaders focusing on everything from trade to security, arms deals, and grain supplies.

The event, which is expected to see various agreements signed, follows Moscow’s first Russia-Africa summit in 2019 and is part of a concerted push for influence and business on a continent where mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group remain active despite an abortive mutiny at home last month.

Forty-nine African delegations have confirmed their participation, around half of whom will be represented by their heads of state or government, Russian diplomat Alexander Polyakov was cited as saying by the state TASS news agency earlier this month.

1:49pm: Russian ex-defence workers get 17 and 13 years for allegedly spying for Ukraine

Two former defence workers were sentenced in Russia to 17 and 13 years in prison for treason on Tuesday after being found guilty of passing military intelligence to Ukraine and planning to blow up railway lines, the Kursk Regional Court said in a statement.

The couple, who were formerly married, were arrested last month by the FSB security service in the Kursk region, near the border with Ukraine, and accused of handing over technical documents and models used in the manufacture of weapons systems for Russia’s air force.

In a statement announcing their arrests, the FSB had said the pair, identified as R.A. Sidorkin and T.A. Sidorkina, had been involved in plans to blow up railway lines in the Kursk and Belgorod regions that are used to supply Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.

It said it had seized more than 4kg of plastic explosives, four detonators, military design documentation and $150,000 in cash.

Sidorkin, 50, was additionally charged with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and sentenced to 17 years. Sidorkina, 41, was sentenced to 13 years.

1:34pm: Russia trying to ‘fund its war machine at the expense of Africa’, Ukraine’s FM tells FRANCE 24

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned Russia‘s recent strikes on Ukraine‘s Black Sea ports in the wake of Moscow’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. He said Ukraine and Africa were paying the price as Russia tries to “provoke the increase of [a] global food crisis, export its own grain without any hindrances and make as much money as they can”.

11:51am: EU agriculture ministers meet to discuss vital Ukraine grain exports

European Union agriculture ministers met Tuesday to discuss ways of moving grain vital to global food security out of Ukraine after Russia halted a deal that allowed the exports. At the same time, they want to protect prices for farmers in countries bordering the war-ravaged nation.

Poland‘s agriculture minister Robert Telus was set to tell the EU meeting that his country, along with Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, are extending their ban on Ukrainian grain imports, but will still allow food to move through their countries to parts of the world.

Lithuania’s agriculture minister, Kestutis Navickas, suggested that export procedures for grain could be shifted from the Ukraine-Polish border to Lithuanian ports as a way of preventing grain from getting stuck in Poland and causing a supply glut that pushes down prices for local farmers.

Germany‘s agriculture minister, Cem Ozdemir, appeared to support the plan, saying grain from Ukraine could be transported in sealed containers to ports in the Baltics.

“I’m sure the friends from the Baltics would be happy to help and then transport to where it’s needed in the Global South,” Ozdemir said.

11:49am: Kremlin says ‘impossible’ to return to Black Sea grain deal for now

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it was impossible for Russia to return to the Black Sea grain export deal for now, as an agreement related to Russian interests was “not being implemented”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, however, that President Vladimir Putin had made it clear that the deal could be revived if the Russia-focused part of the agreement was honoured.

The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to help prevent a global food crisis by allowing grain blocked by the conflict in Ukraine to be safely exported.

Peskov said it would be important for Russia to discuss grain supplies with African countries at a Russia-Africa summit later this week.

11:39am: UK PM and Zelensky agree importance of ensuring Ukraine grain exports

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed on Tuesday on the importance of ensuring that Ukraine can export grain to international markets, Sunak’s office said following a call between the pair.

“The prime minister said the UK was working closely with Turkey on restoring the grain deal, and we would continue to use our role as chair of the UN Security Council to further condemn Russia’s behaviour,” a spokesperson for Sunak said in a statement.

Sunak also told Zelensky he was appalled by the devastation caused by the recent Russian attacks on Odesa, the statement said.

10:17am: Russia says one of its Black Sea Fleet ships destroyed two Ukrainian attack drones

The Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday that one of its Black Sea Fleet ships had destroyed two unmanned Ukrainian naval drones that had attempted to attack it overnight.

The ministry said in a statement that its patrol ship – the Sergei Kotov – had been monitoring shipping in the south-west part of the Black Sea at the time.

It had opened fire on and destroyed the naval drones and there had been no casualties, the ministry said.

8:10am: Russian diplomat says there are no talks on restoring grain deal

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said on Tuesday that no talks on resuming the Black Sea grain export deal were currently under way, the RIA news agency reported.

The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to prevent a global food crisis by allowing grain blocked by the war in Ukraine to be safely exported.

Russia announced it was withdrawing from the deal last week.

7:03am: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant’s fourth and fifth blocks in shutdown mode

The fourth and fifth blocks of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant were put in a shutdown mode, the Moscow-installed administration of the plant said on Tuesday.

“In order to conduct a scheduled technical inspection of the equipment of power unit No. 5, the management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant decided to transfer it to the ‘cold shutdown,’ state,” the administration said on its Telegram channel.

“And in order to provide steam for the station’s own needs, the reactor plant of power unit No. 4 was transferred to the ‘hot shutdown’ state.”

5:00am: Kyiv says drones downed after Russia warns of retaliation over Moscow strike

Russia launched a nighttime drone attack on Kyiv, local authorities said on Tuesday, adding all incoming drones had been shot down and early information indicated no damage or casualties.

The reported attack comes a day after Russia warned of “tough retaliatory measures” after a drone attack on Moscow, some 500 kilometres (300 miles) from Ukraine.

Russia “attacked Kyiv with strike UAVs,” Sergiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said on Telegram, without specifying how many or where they had been launched from.

“The air alert lasted for 3 hours… All air targets were detected and destroyed on the approach to Kyiv,” it said.

“According to the information at this moment, there were no victims or destruction in the capital.”

The Kyiv regional military administration had earlier issued an alert for drone attacks and warned residents to stay in shelters.

The air force also issued an alert for drone strikes on the southern Odesa and Mykolayiv regions, which share part of Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.

The regions are home to port infrastructure that Moscow has battered regularly with attack drones and missiles since exiting a deal facilitating the safe shipment of grain from Ukraine last week.

3:39am: Mines found at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, says UN watchdog

The UN’s atomic watchdog said it saw anti-personnel mines at the site of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian forces.

On July 23 International Atomic Energy Agency experts “saw some mines located in a buffer zone between the site’s internal and external perimeter barriers,” agency chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement on Monday.

The statement did not say how many mines the team had seen.

The devices were in “restricted areas” that operating plant personnel cannot access, Grossi said, adding the IAEA‘s initial assessment was that any detonation “should not affect the site’s nuclear safety and security systems”.

Laying explosives at the site was “inconsistent with the IAEA safety standards and nuclear security guidance” and created additional psychological pressure on staff, he added.

1:32am: Russia launches air attack on Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s military

Russia launched an air attack on Kyiv early on Tuesday, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital said.

“On the outskirts of Kyiv, air defence systems are being engaged (in repelling the attack),” Serhiy Popko, head of the administration said on the Telegram messaging channel.

12:08am: US to send up to $400 million in military aid to Ukraine, officials say

The Biden administration is sending up to $400 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, including a variety of munitions for advanced air defense systems and a number of small, surveillance Hornet drones, US officials said Monday, as attacks in the war escalated to include strikes in Moscow and Crimea.

The package includes an array of ammunition – ranging from missiles for the High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) to Stingers and Javelins. The weapons are being provided through presidential drawdown authority, which allows the Pentagon to quickly take items from its own stocks and deliver them to Ukraine, often within days.

Officials said the US is also sending howitzer artillery rounds and 32 Stryker armored vehicles, along with demolition equipment, mortars, Hydra-70 rockets and 28 million rounds of small arms ammunition. The Hornets are tiny nano-drones that are used largely for intelligence gathering. Ukraine has also gotten them in the past from other Western allies.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to AP because the aid package has not yet been announced.

Key developments from Monday, July 24:

A Ukrainian defence source has reportedly confirmed Kyiv’s involvement in a drone attack on Moscow early Monday morning, calling the incident a “special operation” by Ukraine’s military intelligence.

Russia said 17 Ukrainian drones also attacked Crimea and that neither attack resulted in casualties.

Russia will replace exports of Ukrainian grain to Africa, President Vladimir Putin said, after Moscow exited a deal allowing their safe shipment.

Read yesterday’s live blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)

(C) France M?dias Monde graphic studio