UN says at least 5,237 killed in Ukraine since start of war
This photograph taken on July 15, 2022, shows recently made graves at a cemetery in the Vinogradnoe district, Donetsk region, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine.
– | Afp | Getty Images
The United Nations has confirmed 5,237 civilian deaths and 7,035 injuries in Ukraine since Russia invaded its ex-Soviet neighbor on Feb. 24.
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said the death toll in Ukraine is likely higher, because the armed conflict can delay fatality reports.
The international organization said most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as missiles and airstrikes.
— Amanda Macias
Moldova fears Russian invasion
Prime Minister of Moldova Natalia Gavrilita speaks in the Treaty Room at the State Department in Washington, DC, on July 19, 2022, ahead of a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Manuel Balce Ceneta | AFP | Getty Images
Natalia Gavrilița, the prime minister of nearby Moldova spoke to CNN Sunday, saying “nobody is safe” with the conflict raging in Eastern Europe.
“It’s a hypothetical scenario for now, but if the military actions move further into the southwestern part of Ukraine and toward Odesa then, of course, we are very worried,” Gavrilița said.
“We are very worried, especially considering that troops are on the territory of the secessionist Transnistria region,” she said.
“We are doing everything possible to maintain peace and stability and to ensure that the fighting does not escalate.”
Moldova is home to a sizeable pro-Russian separatist population based in the breakaway state of Transnistria.
—Matt Clinch
UK to host 2023 Eurovision Song Contest
Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine celebrate after winning the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest at Palaolimpico arena, in Turin, Italy, Saturday, May 14, 2022.
Luca Bruno | AP
The European Broadcasting Union confirmed that the U.K. will host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of war-torn Ukraine.
“Following the decision that, regrettably, next year’s event could not be held in Ukraine for safety and security reasons the EBU explored a number of options with the winning broadcaster,” the EBU said in a statement.
“As a result of discussions, the BBC, as runner up in the 2022 Contest, was invited by the EBU to act as Host Broadcaster for the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.”
“Stefania” by the Kalush Orchestra finished first back at the 2022 event in May, while Britain’s Sam Ryder came second with “Space Man.”
—Matt Clinch
Food inflation from the Russia-Ukraine war could last till 2024: CEO
Sunny Verghese, the CEO of major food and agri-business Olam Group, tells CNBC that it’s difficult to predict how much more food prices will increase.
Kremlin says Odesa strikes hit military infrastructure
Rescue teams dig through the rubble of buildings destroyed in overnight attacks in a search for survivors, in the city of Chuhuiv, Kharkiv region, on July 25, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sergey Bobok | AFP | Getty Images
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted that the strikes in Odesa over the weekend targeted military infrastructure.
“There is nothing in the obligations that Russia took, including within the framework of the agreements signed on July 22 in Istanbul, which prohibit us from continuing the special military operation, destroying military infrastructure and other military targets,” Lavrov said at a press conference alongside his Congolese counterpart Christophe Lutundula in Oyo, Congo.
The strike on Odesa, Ukraine’s largest port, dealt another setback to so far fruitless efforts to mitigate a mounting global food crisis.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters separately that Russia’s strikes wouldn’t influence the gain exports from the region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the strikes on Saturday an act of barbarism.
— Matt Clinch and Amanda Macias
Wheat prices rise after Odesa attack
A fire destroys a wheat field as Russian troops shell fields to prevent local farmers from harvesting grain crops, Polohy district, Zaporizhzhia Region, southeastern Ukraine.
Dmytro Smolyenko | Future Publishing | Getty Images
Wheat futures prices for September on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 3.6% on Monday morning as traders showed caution on a grain export deal signed by Russia and Ukraine last week.
The two countries on Friday signed a U.N.-backed deal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. The deal is significant for global food supplies, but also as it’s the first major agreement between the two sides since Moscow launched it’s unprovoked onslaught on Feb. 24.
But Ukraine said Saturday that Russian missiles had hit the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa, throwing that new pact into doubt.
Russia likely struggling to repair combat vehicles, UK says
A view shows a military convoy of armed forces of the separatist self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) on a road in the Luhansk region, Ukraine February 27, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters
Posting one of its daily updates on Twitter, Britain’s defense ministry said it has located a Russian military vehicle refit and refurbishment facility near Barvinok, which is in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, close to the Ukrainian border.
It added that at least 300 damaged vehicles were at the facility, which included armored personnel trucks and tanks.
“In addition to its well documented personnel problems, Russia likely continues to struggle to extract and repair the thousands of combat vehicles which have been damaged in action in Ukraine,” it said in the update.
—Matt Clinch
