UK accuses Russia of planning to mine Black Sea
Dan Sabbagh
Britain has accused Russia of plotting to sabotage civilian tankers loaded with Ukrainian grain by planting sea mines on the approaches to the country’s Black Sea ports.
Based on what it said was declassified intelligence, the UK said Russia did not want to directly attack merchant ships using Ukraine’s newly created humanitarian corridor with missiles, but instead try to destroy them covertly.
Russia would then seek to blame Ukraine for the loss of any shipping in an attempt to evade responsibility, the British Foreign Office continued, and the UK said it was going public in order to deter Moscow from carrying out the plan.
James Cleverly, the UK foreign secretary, accused Russia of the “pernicious targeting” of civilian shipping: “The world is watching – and we see right through Russia’s cynical attempts to lay blame on Ukraine for their attacks.”
Key events
A little more detail on that planned Russian naval base off the coast of the Black Sea via Reuters.
The news agency is reporting:
Russia plans a naval base on the Black Sea coast of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, the leader of the region was quoted on Thursday as saying by the Izvestiya newspaper, a day after meeting president Vladimir Putin.
Aslan Bzhania, the self-styled president of the Russian-backed breakaway region, said an agreement had been signed for a permanent naval base in the Ochamchira region.
“We have signed an agreement, and in the near future there will be a permanent base of the Russian Navy in the Ochamchira district,” Bzhania told Izvestiya.
“This is all aimed at increasing the level of defence capability of both Russia and Abkhazia, and this kind of interaction will continue,” he said. “There are also things I can’t talk about.”
Russia recognized Abkhazia and another breakaway region, South Ossetia, as independent states in 2008 after Russian troops repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war which ended on August 12, 2008.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia had withdrawn the bulk of its Black Sea Fleet from its main base in annexed Crimea due to Ukrainian attacks.
Russia is planning a naval base on the Black Sea coast of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, the leader of the region has told the Izvestiya newspaper.
US leaders expected to assure Ukraine of long-term support
European leaders are expected to assure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of long-term support on Thursday after U.S. President Joe Biden voiced fears that Republican infighting in Congress could hurt American policy on continuing aid to Kyiv, Reuters reports.
Zelenskiy is expected to attend a summit in the Spanish city of Granada of the European Political Community – a forum to foster cooperation among more than 40 countries established last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
His attendance was not announced in advance for security reasons. Officials familiar with the plans said he would take part in the summit, giving him the chance to press for more urgently needed military aid, such as air defence systems.
Zelenskiy said in a video message on Wednesday evening: “We are preparing for intensive international activities – this week and next week should be productive for Ukraine.”
The Granada gathering also gives leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a chance to re-state their commitment to Ukraine after political turbulence in both the U.S. and Europe raised questions about continued support.
Biden ‘worried’ that turmoil in Washington could disrupt US aid to Ukraine
US president Joe Biden admitted Wednesday he was worried that political turmoil in Washington could threaten US aid to Ukraine, urging Republicans to stop their infighting and back “critically important” assistance for Kyiv.
Biden said that he would soon be giving a major speech on the need to support Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion after the chaos in Washington alarmed US allies.
“It does worry me,” Biden told reporters when asked whether the ousting of Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy by hardliners in his own party could derail more funds for Ukraine’s war effort.
“But I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate of both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine.”
A last-gasp deal in Congress to avoid a US government shutdown at the weekend contained no fresh funding for Ukraine, and hopes for a quick resolution have been further complicated by McCarthy’s exit on Tuesday.
US transfers confiscated Iranian ammunition to Ukraine
Julian Borger
The United States has supplied Ukraine with more than a million rounds of Iranian ammunition confiscated in the Gulf late last year.
The transfer of the ordnance followed a civil forfeiture case pursued by the justice department to gain ownership on the grounds that the bullets were seized as they were being smuggled to Yemeni Houthi forces in violation of a UN arms embargo.
“With this weapons transfer, the justice department’s forfeiture actions against one authoritarian regime are now directly supporting the Ukrainian people’s fight against another authoritarian regime,” the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, said on Wednesday. “We will continue to use every legal authority at our disposal to support Ukraine in their fight for freedom, democracy and the rule of law.”
UK accuses Russia of planning to mine Black Sea
Dan Sabbagh
Britain has accused Russia of plotting to sabotage civilian tankers loaded with Ukrainian grain by planting sea mines on the approaches to the country’s Black Sea ports.
Based on what it said was declassified intelligence, the UK said Russia did not want to directly attack merchant ships using Ukraine’s newly created humanitarian corridor with missiles, but instead try to destroy them covertly.
Russia would then seek to blame Ukraine for the loss of any shipping in an attempt to evade responsibility, the British Foreign Office continued, and the UK said it was going public in order to deter Moscow from carrying out the plan.
James Cleverly, the UK foreign secretary, accused Russia of the “pernicious targeting” of civilian shipping: “The world is watching – and we see right through Russia’s cynical attempts to lay blame on Ukraine for their attacks.”
Opening summary
Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. This is Helen Sullivan with the latest.
Our top stories this morning: Britain has accused Russia of plotting to sabotage civilian tankers loaded with Ukrainian grain by planting sea mines on the approaches to the country’s Black Sea ports.
And the United States has supplied Ukraine with more than a million rounds of Iranian ammunition confiscated in the Gulf late last year.
The transfer of the ordnance followed a civil forfeiture case pursued by the justice department to gain ownership on the grounds that the bullets were seized as they were being smuggled to Yemeni Houthi forces in violation of a UN arms embargo.
We’ll have more on these stories shortly.
Elsewhere today:
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy is working to provide Ukraine with more air defence systems as winter approaches. Last winter, Russian forces deliberately targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure, knocking out power and gas at a time when heating was necessary. More air defence systems could work in preventing that from happening again.
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US president Joe Biden admitted Wednesday he was worried that political turmoil in Washington could threaten US aid to Ukraine, urging Republicans to stop their infighting and back “critically important” assistance for Kyiv. Biden added that he would soon be giving a major speech on the need to support Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion after the chaos in Washington alarmed US allies.
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Ukraine’s navy said on Wednesday that 12 more vessels were ready to enter a Black Sea shipping corridor on their way towards Ukrainian ports, and that 10 other vessels were ready to depart from the country’s ports. Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk made his remarks as Ukraine tries to defy a de facto Russian blockade on Ukrainian exports via the Black Sea after Moscow pulled out of a deal in July that had allowed Kyiv to safely export grain.
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Award-winning Ukrainian freelance journalist Victoria Roshchyna, has not been heard from since 3 August. She had been reporting from a Russia-occupied territory of Ukraine, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) said today. Roshchyna had been reporting from the frontlines of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since the war began in February 2022, and was previously captured by Russian forces in March 2022 and held for 10 days in Berdiansk.
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Russian former state TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who burst into a news broadcast with a placard that read “Stop the war” and “They’re lying to you”, has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail in absentia on Wednesday. Ovsyannikova was found guilty of “spreading knowingly false information about the Russian armed forces”, according to a statement posted by the court on Telegram. Ovsyannikova, 45, fled Russia with her daughter for an unspecified European country a year ago after escaping from house arrest, according to her lawyer, saying she had no case to answer.
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Ukraine increased its road shipments of agricultural goods in September, according to Spike Brokers, a commercial agent broker on the grain and oil market of Ukraine. In September, 514,000 metric tons of agricultural goods were exported by lorries, while in August, 506,000 tons were exported. The increase is still down from the year before, which saw 639,000 tons in September 2022.
