live ticker Ukraine war
Grain deal expired as Russia attacks Odessa port
Russia cancels grain deal
The Kremlin carries out its threats: Despite all international appeals, Russia is withdrawing from the international grain agreement with Ukraine. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and the chairman of the European Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, Anton Hofreiter (Greens), are sharply critical.
Almost 33 million tons of grain were exported from Ukrainian ports in 2022 – in the middle of the war. Russia has now allowed the corresponding agreement to expire. And shortly thereafter symbolically attacked the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. More in the live ticker.
Nfter the Grains Agreement expired, the future of Ukraine’s agricultural exports by sea via the Black Sea is unclear. The agreement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey officially ended late Monday evening after almost a year because Moscow refused to extend it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for exports, which are important for world food security, to be continued in cooperation with the UN and Turkey: “The Black Sea Grain Initiative can and should continue – if without Russia, then without Russia.”
Air defenses were activated in the southern Ukrainian region of Odessa on Tuesday night. “Odesa. Combat operations of the air defense continue,” said a military spokesman in the region Serhiy Brachuk in the online service Telegram. The Ukrainian task force for the south of the country has reported Russian attacks on the southern regions with “unmanned aerial vehicles”, continued Bratschuk. Odessa is an important Black Sea port for grain exports.
Regional governor Oleg Kiper said on Telegram that Russia was attacking “the south of Ukraine with drones”. He called on the population to remain in the shelters until the air raid alarm was lifted. Air alerts were also issued in other parts of the country. The regions of Cherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Kharkiv were affected.
All developments in the live ticker:
05:23 – Attacks on southern and eastern Ukraine
According to Ukrainian information, Russia increasingly attacked the south and east of Ukraine on Tuesday night with drones and possibly ballistic missiles. The port city of Odessa and the regions of Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhia and Dnipro were under Russian threats, the Ukrainian Air Force said on the news app Telegram. Ballistic weapons may have been used in attacks on the Poltava, Cherkassy, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Kirovohradska regions. Russia initially did not comment on the attack.
Air raid alarms went off for hours in several Ukrainian regions during the night. The warning was lifted around 4:30 a.m. local time. A fire broke out in the port of Mykolayiv, the city’s mayor, Oleksandr Zyenkevych, said on Telegram. The situation is serious. The head of the military administration of the Odessa region, Oleh Kiper, stated that the air defense intercepted several waves of attacks.
01:19 – British arming
Against the background of the Ukraine war, Great Britain wants to improve the combat readiness of its military. This included spending around 2.9 billion euros to replenish ammunition and stockpiles depleted by the war in Ukraine, the government in London said. The new strategy also includes plans for a new “Global Response Force” that would enable the armed forces “to be first on the scene” and an improved “Surge Capacity” force made up of ex-servicemen. “We must adapt and modernize to face the threats we face while learning the lessons of President Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said.
12:01 a.m. – One lane is free again on the Crimean Bridge
According to Russian information, one lane on the Crimean Bridge has been reopened to traffic. “Car traffic on the Crimean bridge has been restored in the far right lane in the opposite direction to the usual traffic,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Chusnullin wrote on his Telegram channel.
10:21 p.m. – Biden meets papal envoy for Ukraine war
US President Joe Biden receives the Vatican’s Messenger of Peace to Ukraine in Washington. The White House and the Holy See announced Matteo Zuppi’s planned visit to the US capital on Tuesday. The Vatican’s special envoy for the Ukraine war was due to stay in the US until Wednesday. Before that, Zuppi had traveled to Moscow and even earlier to Kiev, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
21:16 – Ukraine reports Russian offensive in northeast
Ukraine reports an offensive by large Russian troop contingents in the Kupiansk sector in the northeast. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar writes on Telegram that the enemy has been on the offensive there in the Kharkiv region for two days. “We defend ourselves. Heavy fighting is taking place and the positions of both sides are changing dynamically several times a day.” A military spokesman says on Ukrainian television that Russia has massed more than 100,000 soldiers and over 900 tanks in the region. The Ukrainian forces held their positions.
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