Ukraine warfare briefing: ‘Assault on international meals safety’ as Russia hits wheat ships and ports

[ad_1] Russia launched waves of drones to assault the Black Sea ports of Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk with two civilian ships hit as they arrived to load wheat , the Ukrainian navy and authorities officers stated. The Panama-flagged civilian vessels Emmakris III and Captain Karam had been struck, stated the navy, including that the assaults on Tuesday “ threaten the lives of civilians and undermine international meals safety. Focused strikes on civilian objects are a deliberate warfare crime”. Ukraine is a significant agricultural producer and exporter. Oil storage tanks had been additionally hit, stated Oleksiy Kuleba, the Ukrainian deputy prime minister, who added that each ports continued to function.

Russia’s continued and intensifying strikes on Ukraine are “an act of defiance” in opposition to the US plan to finish the Ukraine warfare, a French presidential supply stated on Tuesday. Moreover, Moscow’s allegations of a Ukrainian drone assault in opposition to a residence of Vladimir Putin aren't backed “by any strong proof , together with after cross-checking info with our companions”, the supply stated.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated: “Relating to the assault on [Putin’s residence at] Valdai , our negotiating crew related with the American crew, they went by the small print, and we perceive that it’s faux . And, in fact, our companions can all the time confirm because of their technical capabilities that it was faux.”

A Ukrainian drone assault broken port infrastructure and a fuel pipeline in Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse , the regional administration stated on Wednesday, including no accidents had been reported. Tuapse and its refinery comprise certainly one of Russia’s key Black Sea shops for oil merchandise that Ukraine targets as a result of they're exported to finance the warfare or used on to energy the Russian navy . The port and refinery have been hit repeatedly by Ukrainian drone assaults.

Ukraine additionally launched drone assaults on Tuesday focusing on Moscow, components of western Russia and annexed Crimea , injuring one particular person close to the capital, Russian authorities stated.

Zelenskyy stated Ukraine would convene a assembly with leaders of Kyiv’s allies subsequent Tuesday, 6 January, in France , as diplomatic efforts to finish the battle intensified. The summit can be preceded by a assembly of their safety advisers, deliberate for this Saturday, 3 January , in Ukraine.

Germany accepted €10m to drop its investigation of the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov for alleged EU sanctions violations , prosecutors stated on Tuesday. The settlement was made on the idea of the “presumption of innocence”, the prosecutors stated. Usmanov is an in depth ally of Putin and head of the Worldwide Fencing Federation. He had been accused of utilizing funds frozen underneath EU sanctions to pay for 2 properties in Germany to be monitored by a safety firm. In a separate investigation, prosecutors in Frankfurt had accused Usmanov of cash laundering. That case was settled in November after Usmanov paid €4m.

The US in the meantime eliminated sanctions from Alexandra Buriko , the previous chief monetary officer of Russia’s state-owned Sberbank , based on a submit on the US treasury division web site. Buriko was amongst senior executives and administrators who resigned from western-sanctioned Sberbank shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Buriko went to court docket in December 2024 searching for the sanctions’ elimination, arguing she had severed ties with Sberbank. She and the US authorities had been recognized to have been in negotiations to resolve the case.