DIRECT. War in Ukraine: Russian FSB claims to have “killed” four Ukrainian “saboteurs” at the border

Belarus denounced Lithuania’s closure of Sumsko and Tvereciaus points, two border crossing points, criticizing a “new unconstructive and unfriendly measure”. This decision, motivated by fears aroused by the presence of Wagner fighters on its territory, risks further isolating this ally from Moscow.

US rock band The Killers have apologized after inviting a Russian fan onstage at a concert in Georgia, prompting boos from crowds in the Caucasian country with complex relations with Moscow. “We did not intend to upset anyone and we apologize for it”, posted on Facebook the formation which claims to be “alongside” the inhabitants of this country which had opposed Russia during a short war in 2008.

Georgia, a former Soviet republic, has welcomed tens of thousands of Russian exiles since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, sometimes causing tension in a country which aspires to join the EU and NATO and which has lost in the 1990s the control of two pro-Russian separatist territories, where Russian troops are deployed.

Reuters news agency released a photo of Ukrainian soldiers carrying their flag in Urozhaine, Donetsk. Earlier in the morning, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense welcomed the recovery of this locality.

According to the Ukrainian Minister of Finance, of the 44.4 billion dollars spent by the Ukrainian state since the beginning of 2023, 14 billion have been spent on the salaries of the country’s armed forces.

The Reuters agency announced this midday that between January and July, Ukraine transported 8.1 million tonnes of cereals via the Romanian port of Constanta located on the west coast of the Black Sea.

Ukrainian forces dug in on the outskirts of Urozhaine after recapturing the Donetsk region settlement from Russian forces, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said. She announced this Wednesday morning on Telegram that the village had been liberated, adding that the offensive operations “continued”.

An impressive rocket attack destroyed a kindergarten yesterday in Lviv. During the night, this city in western Ukraine was the target of a rain of Russian rockets which killed three people and injured dozens of others. This is, according to local media, the most massive attack that has hit the Lviv region since the Russian invasion.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced this morning that Putin’s army destroyed a Ukrainian drone over Crimea. An announcement that comes as Moscow denounces a flurry of “terrorist attacks”.

Luminita Odobescu, Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs said on X, formerly Twitter, to “strongly condemn the repeated Russian attacks against innocent people and civilian infrastructure, including against grain silos in the Ukrainian ports of Reni and Izmail”. “Through these flagrant violations of international law, Russia continues to endanger food and navigation security in the Black Sea,” she continues.

In the aftermath of the raising of the key rate by the Russian Central Bank (BCR), worried to see inflation start to rise again and the Russian national currency to unscrew, the ruble is stabilizing. On the Moscow Stock Exchange, this morning it was necessary to pay 96.9 rubles for a dollar and 106 rubles for a euro.

Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukrainian Minister in charge of infrastructure, announced this morning that a cargo ship left the port of Odessa, on the Black Sea coast, via a new maritime corridor set up by Kiev. A first since July 16, when Russia threatened to target any boat sailing to or from Ukrainian ports as a potential military target, following the expiration of the grain agreement in July.

According to the regional governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov announces that one person was killed and two others injured yesterday in the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine. The man succumbed to his injuries while the other two injured, a man and a woman, are still hospitalized.

In a report released on Facebook, the Ukrainian army general staff announces that 255,570 Russian soldiers have died in kyiv since the start of the war. This figure includes the 650 Russian casualties that have taken place in the past 24 hours.

The Kyiv Independent announces this morning the bombardment of nine neighborhoods in the Sumy region, north-eastern Ukraine, causing 172 explosions. The attacks that occurred yesterday did not cause casualties but destroyed private property.

Ukraine was once again the target of Russian bombardments, which killed at least three people, the authorities announced, adding that these strikes had notably targeted Lutsk, a large city in the west. Swedish ball bearing giant SKF has confirmed that three of its employees were killed following the attack that hit its factory last night. “We are very sad to confirm the deaths of three of our employees in this attack,” Carl Bjernstam, SKF spokesperson, wrote in an email.

Attacks targeting the Russian capital are increasing. Russia said this morning it shot down three Ukrainian drones in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow. An attempted attack on Kiev using “three unmanned aerial vehicles (…) in the Kaluga region was foiled”, around 5 a.m. local time (2 a.m. GMT) reports the Russian Ministry of Defense on Telegram.

Welcome to this direct dedicated to the war in Ukraine and its repercussions.