According to Sky News, the White House announced that Russia is preparing to target civilian ships after the end of the Black Sea Grain Deal. Ukrainian general talks about Bakhmut. Russia summons British charge d'affaires.
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| Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut. (Source: Reuters) |
According to Sky News, the White House announced that Russia is preparing to target civilian ships after the end of the Black Sea Grain Deal.
Ukrainian President Zelensky criticized the attacks on grain ports as showing that “the target is not only Ukraine.” In his nightly video address, Mr. Zelensky said that the ports attacked yesterday were holding about one million tons of grain.
Russia's apparent targeting of Ukraine's agricultural infrastructure comes days after Moscow pulled out of an agreement that would have allowed safe passage for Ukrainian grain ships to the rest of the world, he said.
As for Ukraine, the country's army has made a new attempt to regain control of the city of Bakhmut and Russian forces are now "half surrounded", the commander of Ukrainian ground forces said.
"At the moment, the Russian military deployment is like an arc, concentrated on Bakhmut. They are half surrounded. It is impossible not to take advantage of that," General Oleksandr Syrskyi told the press.
Bakhmut was at the centre of the fiercest fighting in months, with both sides suffering heavy casualties.
Still, Mr. Syrskyi claimed the army could retake Bakhmut with losses 10 times smaller than those suffered by Wagner's forces.
Retaking the city would have both symbolic and strategic value, he said.
The Ukrainian counter-offensive has so far been seen as slow and commanders say Kiev is at a disadvantage in artillery, air power and other assets.
In other developments, the Kremlin has called Poland "aggressive" after Warsaw increased its forces along its border with Belarus.
In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the move was a "cause for concern".
Poland has increased its forces along its border in response to the presence of the Wagner private military group in Belarus.
Earlier this month, Warsaw said it was sending 500 police to beef up security at its border with Belarus to deal with the growing number of migrants crossing the border, as well as any potential threat from Wagner.
The Wagner group was moved to Belarus after an uprising against the Russian military.
Poland said earlier that it was monitoring the situation and "preparing for different scenarios".
Russian state news agency RIA reported on July 20 that the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the British Charge d'Affaires in Moscow.
The charge d'affaires is currently the deputy ambassador to Russia. The move comes after MI6 chief Richard Moore said on July 19 that the coup by the Wagner private military group last month revealed "deep cracks" in the Kremlin, and called on Russians to spy for Britain. "I invite them to work with us, as many have done over the past 18 months. The door is always open. We will keep their secrets safe and we will work together to stop the bloodshed," he said.
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