September 16, 2023 at 2:05 a.m. EDT
Agricultural employees harvest barley within the Chernihiv area of Ukraine on Aug. 30. (Pierre Crom/Getty Photographs)
The European Fee’s block on grain shipments from Ukraine into 5 bordering European Union nations expired Friday, prompting Poland, Hungary and Slovakia to impose import restrictions of their very own. Restricted entry to Black Sea ports throughout the struggle has brought on a surge in Ukrainian grain passing via neighboring international locations, driving down costs and angering native producers. The European Fee stated in a press release that, after the ban, market distortions have “disappeared,” however some leaders weren’t satisfied and stated that they have been defending the pursuits of their farmers.
North Korean chief Kim Jong Un arrived in Vladivostok, a metropolis in Russia’s Far East that’s near the Chinese language and North Korean borders. He was met by Russian Protection Minister Sergei Shoigu and noticed aviation tools and missile programs, state media outlet Tass reported. It’s the newest cease on Kim’s journey to the nation, which has sparked concern in Washington that Moscow and Pyongyang are looking for an arms deal.
Right here’s the newest on the struggle and its ripple results throughout the globe.
The grain import bans don’t apply to the transport of Ukrainian items via the respective international locations. Slovakia’s agriculture ministry emphasised this on social media, saying they’re “expressing solidarity with Ukraine” and inserting its merchandise in “goal markets.” Hungary’s agriculture minister additionally pressured that the ban wouldn’t forestall through-traffic. Nevertheless, Hungary expanded the restrictions to incorporate different merchandise and accused E.U. leaders of supporting worldwide firms over farmers. “We will’t let this go,” he stated.
Ukraine will take measures to keep away from grain surges and stop value distortions after the ban’s expiration, the European Fee stated. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky talked about the raise on restrictions in his nightly deal with, saying “if the neighbors’ choices are usually not neighborly, Ukraine will reply civilly.”
Russia had not signed any agreements “with North Korea within the space of military-technical cooperation” but, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated Friday. Kim on Friday toured a manufacturing unit that builds fighter jets with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, who stated Moscow sees potential for partnership with North Korea in plane manufacturing, based on Russian information studies.
Zelensky is predicted to make a visit Washington subsequent week, which might be his second for the reason that struggle started final yr, The Washington Publish reported. The go to was coordinated with the Biden administration amid efforts to push Congress to supply $24 billion in further help to Ukraine and comes as tensions develop over assist for Ukraine throughout the Republican Social gathering and amongst a small variety of Democrats. Zelensky is “very a lot abreast” of the controversy in Washington, White Home nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan instructed reporters.
U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne M. Tracy visited detained Wall Avenue Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on the Lefortovo pretrial detention heart in Moscow, the place the American reporter has been held for months on espionage fees that the USA says are politically motivated. “He stays sturdy and is maintaining with the information,” the U.S. Embassy in Moscow wrote on social media.
Zelensky celebrated Ukrainian forces recapturing Andriivka, a Russian-held village close to Bakhmut, in his nightly deal with, calling the event a “important and much-needed end result” and thanking the troops concerned. Ukrainian forces “inflicted important losses in manpower and tools on the enemy, and consolidated their new positions,” Ukraine’s normal employees stated Friday.
UNESCO added Kyiv’s St. Sophia Cathedral and Lviv to its World Heritage in Hazard listing Friday. The websites face the “danger of direct assault” and are “weak to the shock waves attributable to the bombing of the 2 cities,” the group stated. UNESCO’s listing designates 56 websites “in peril,” together with the Black Sea port metropolis of Odessa, which was added in January.
Finland banned Russian-registered vehicles from coming into its territory, becoming a member of its Baltic neighbors Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which have imposed related restrictions, Finnish media reported. The transfer follows an replace to European Fee tips, which ask member states to cease Russian residents from bringing vehicles and different items into the E.U. in an effort to stop sanction dodging.
Britain formally banned Russia’s Wagner Group and designated it a terrorist group, making assist for the group punishable by as much as 14 years in jail, based on a press release from the federal government. The ban, which was accredited Friday, comes weeks after group chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin died in a aircraft crash and months after his short-lived mutiny.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko urged a “three-way cooperation” with Russia and North Korea, at a gathering with Russian President Vladimir Putin within the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, the Related Press reported. Lukashenko, an in depth ally of Putin’s, didn’t give specifics, however stated Minsk would “search for alternatives.”
Shuffle of Russian navy chiefs preceded demise of Wagner boss Prigozhin: Dismissals and disappearances of standard Russian navy commanders and the demise of Wagner head Prigozhin spotlight how Putin lacks belief in his navy management, analysts say. Fearing betrayal, the Russian chief has prioritized loyalty over competence, and he has tolerated infighting that has degraded his struggle machine, Francesca Ebel writes.
“The military has degenerated organizationally, intellectually and technically,” Pavel Luzin, an knowledgeable on the Russian navy and a senior fellow on the Jamestown Basis who relies in the USA, instructed The Publish.