US says strike on Odesa 'casts doubt' on Russian credibility

Russian missiles hit infrastructure in the port city of Odesa on Saturday, the Ukrainian military said, dealing a blow to a deal signed on Friday to unblock grain exports.

"The enemy attacked the Odesa sea trade port with Kalibr cruise missiles," Ukraine's Operational Command South wrote in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Two missiles hit infrastructure at the port, while another two were shot down by air defense forces, it said, before adding no significant damage was caused.

"Unfortunately, some people are injured. Port infrastructure is damaged," the Odessa regional governor Maksym Marchenko said in a video statement on social media without giving details of the severity of the injuries.

Specifically, a pumping station was hit and one of the strikes caused a small fire.

Crucially, the grain storage area was not hit, the Operational Command South confirmed.

Just hours before the strikes, Moscow and Kyiv signed a landmark United Nations-brokered deal seen as crucial to reining in global food prices that would allow certain exports to be shipped from Black Sea ports, including the hub of Odesa.

Russian troops blocked millions of tons of grain from leaving Ukrainian ports for export shortly after the invasion began in February.

US Ambassador to Kyiv Bridget Brink described Saturday's attack as "outrageous," and said Russia must be held to account.

The office of UN chief Antonio Guterres issued a statement saying he "unequivocally condemns" the strikes on Odesa.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell labeled the attacks as "reprehensible" adding they again demonstrate "Russia's total disregard for international law and commitments."

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called on the UN and Turkey, which mediated Friday's deal, to ensure that Russia fulfills its commitments and allows free passage in the grain corridor.

"It took less than 24 hours for Russia to launch a missile attack on Odesa's port, breaking its promises and undermining its commitments before the UN and Turkey under the Istanbul agreement,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said. "In case of non-fulfillment, Russia will bear full responsibility for a global food crisis."

Later on Saturday, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar responded to the strikes saying: "The fact that an incident like this happened after the agreement we made yesterday... really makes us concerned."

But Akar went on to say that Russia "told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with this attack and they were looking into the issue very closely."

Here are the other main headlines from the war in Ukraine on July 23.

US delegation visits Kyiv, pledges continued support to Ukraine

A delegation of senior US lawmakers has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv in the latest of a series of high-profile US visits to Ukraine.

The Congressional delegation promised to ensure continued support to Kyiv in a statement.

"The United States, along with allies and partners around the world, have stood with Ukraine by providing economic, military, and humanitarian assistance," the delegation said.

"We will continue to seek ways to support President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people as effectively as possible as they continue their brave stand."

US' Blinken slams Russian missile attack on Odesa

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Washington strongly condemns Russia's missile attack on Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa.

In a statement, Blinken said the strike on Odesa "undermines work of the UN, Turkey and Ukraine to get critical food to world markets" and that Russia bears responsibility for worsening the global food crisis.

He said the attack "casts serious doubt" on Russia's commitment to the deal on grain exports signed on Friday.

Hungary's Orban calls for Russian-US talks to end war

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has slammed the European Union's strategy of sanctioning Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and giving Kyiv military support, saying that talks between Moscow and Washington were the only way to end the war.

"A new strategy is needed, which should focus on peace negotiations instead of trying to win the war," he said, adding that "only Russian-US talks can put an end to the conflict because Russia wants security guarantees" only Washington can give.

He said the EU "should not side with the Ukrainians, but position itself" between both sides, adding that sanctions would not change the situation and that the Ukrainians could not win.

"The more the West sends powerful weapons, the more the war drags on," he added.

Orban, who has taken an ambiguous stance on the conflict despite condemning Russia's invasion in February, also claimed the "war would never have broken out if Donald Trump were still head of the United States and Angela Merkel were the German chancellor."

The comment seems to reflect a view that both former leaders would have pursued a more conciliatory strategy with regard to Russia.

He made the comments in a speech at the Baile Tusnad Summer University in Romania's Transylvania region, home to a large Hungarian community.

Two US citizens die in Ukraine

Two US citizens have died in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, the State Department said Saturday, without confirming whether the pair were in the country for combat purposes. 

Ukraine has created an international legion for volunteers to participate in military action with varying degrees of prior training, but the United States has warned its citizens not to travel to the war-torn country to take part in the conflict.

HRW: Russian soldiers torturing Ukrainians in occupied south

Russia's armed forces are torturing prisoners of war and civilians in southern Ukraine, Human Rights Watch (HRW) alleged Saturday.

The rights group said it carried out interviews with dozens of people in the occupied regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, revealing 42 cases where Russian forces had either made civilians disappear or otherwise arbitrarily detained them.

Some had not had any contact with the outside world and many had been tortured.

HRW also documented the torture of three members of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces who were POWs. Two of them died.

The non-profit agency said the purpose of the abuse seemed to be to obtain information and to instill fear so that people would accept the Russian occupation.

"Russian forces have turned occupied areas of southern Ukraine into an abyss of fear and wild lawlessness," said Yulia Gorbunova, senior Ukraine researcher at Human Rights Watch. 

White House announces fresh military package for Ukraine

The United States has signed off on another $270 million (€264 million) in military aid to Ukraine.

The aid includes four new M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, taking to 20 the number of HIMARS delivered to Kyiv.

Ukraine has called the HIMARS, which can precisely strike targets within 80 kilometers (50 miles), a game-changer in countering Russia.

The Pentagon said Ukraine would also receive up to 580 Phoenix Ghosts —  small and highly portable drones that detonate on their targets.

The latest aid also includes 36,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and four Command Post Vehicles, armored posts that can function as operations centers on the battlefield.

More than half of the aid comes from a $40 billion package for Ukraine approved by Congress in May.

"Thank you President Biden for the new defense aid package for Ukraine. Critically important, powerful arms will save our soldiers' lives, speed up the liberation of our land from the Russian aggressor. I appreciate the strategic friendship between our nations. Together to victory!" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted on Saturday.

Zelenskyy hails UN-brokered grain export deal

President Zelenskyy also expressed satisfaction with the deal signed with Russia allowing for the export of millions of tons of grain from his country's Black Sea ports. 

Russian forces blockaded Ukrainian ports during the first stage of February's invasion, sparking soaring prices and food shortages in many parts of the world.

The agreement means grain exports can start flowing again, alongside security checks on ships.

The document signed in Istanbul on Friday was "fully in line with Ukraine's interests," Zelenskyy said in his Friday night video address.

"Now we can not only resume the work of our Black Sea ports, but also maintain the necessary protection for them," he added.

The deal, which was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, was also welcomed by the African Union regional bloc, as it will address looming hunger on the world's poorest continent.

Lithuania lifts ban on Kaliningrad rail transit

Lithuania has lifted a ban on the rail transport of sanctioned goods in and out of Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad, according to the RIA news agency.

Last week, the European Union said that the transit ban only affected road transit.

The Kaliningrad region borders Poland and Lithuania and relies on the import of goods from the rest of Russia through EU territory.

Lithuania stopped Russia from sending sanctioned goods via rail to Kaliningrad in June.

Zelenskyy adviser: 1,000 Russian troops encircled in Kherson region

More than 1,000 Russian soldiers have been surrounded by Ukrainian forces in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Oleksiy Arestovych said the Russians had been caught in a "tactical encirclement" not far from the village of Vysokopillya after an unsuccessful attempt to break through Ukrainian lines.

Ukraine's army recently launched several counteroffensives in the Kherson region, which has been largely under Moscow's control since the invasion began in February.

In its latest update, British military intelligence said the Russian forces' supply lines west of the Dnipro river in the Kherson region are increasingly at risk. 

German-Polish tank plan not going as planned

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has admitted that a circular swap plan for indirect arms deliveries to Ukraine is not working as planned. 

However, she rejected the sharp criticism from the Polish government, which accused Germany of deception

The proposed deal involved Poland sending Soviet-era tanks to Ukraine, while Poland would receive newer replacements from Germany or other allies. This would allow Ukraine to quickly obtain heavy military equipment that they were used to operating without extensive training on new technology.

But Warsaw accused Berlin of offering older tanks to replace those Poland was sending to Ukraine.

Baerbock hit back, telling an event for Bild newspaper that there was no deception. She admitted that the plan was "unsatisfactory for both sides," but seemed to be "the best and quickest way [of helping Ukraine] at the time."

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jsi, mm/jcg, wd (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)