🔴 Live: Putin says Russia will provide six African countries with free grain

2:12:pm: Ukrainian fencer Kharlan disqualified after refusing to shake Russian opponent’s hand

Ukraine’s Olha Kharlan was disqualified for not shaking the hand of her beaten Russian opponent Anna Smirnova at the Fencing World Championships on Thursday.

Four-time sabre world champion Kharlan had told AFP a fortnight ago she would not shake hands with a Russian if she fought one.

She had earlier become the first athlete officially representing Ukraine to face a Russian or Belarusian opponent since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

2:05pm: Putin says Ukrainian attacks in Zaporizhzhia intensified but without success

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Ukrainian attacks had intensified in recent days, primarily on the frontline running through Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.

Speaking to Russian TV on the margins of a Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg, Putin said that Ukraine had not enjoyed success on any part of the front.

2:04pm: Russia says it thwarted attack on a Black Sea ship

Russia’s security service on Thursday said it thwarted an attack on a ship in the Black Sea, where tensions are building after the end of a deal protecting grain exports.

The FSB said it “foiled an attempt by Ukraine’s special service to commit a terror attack aboard one of the Black Sea Fleet ships carrying high-precision missile weapons”.

It detained “a Russian navy serviceman who had been recruited by the Ukrainian special service” and was carrying two improvised explosive devices, a statement said.

The serviceman is suspected of “terrorist attack”, trafficking explosives, treason and disclosing state secrets, according to the FSB.

Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been repeatedly targeted since the beginning of Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine more than a year ago, but attacks have increased in recent weeks.

1:56pm: Russia places third ICC official on its wanted list

Russia has placed a third official at the International Criminal Court on its wanted list after the ICC accused President Vladimir Putin of war crimes in Ukraine, the state news agency TASS reported on Thursday.

Judge Tomoko Akane was listed as “wanted under an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation” in the online database of Russia’s interior ministry, but with no mention of her alleged crime.

The ICC issued arrest warrants in March for Putin and his commissioner for children, Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine – a war crime.

Read moreMother Russia: Maria Lvova-Belova, the Putin ally deporting Ukrainian children

Russia responded to the ICC warrant three days later by opening criminal cases against ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan and judges who ordered Putin’s arrest, including Akane and the Italian Rosario Salvatore Aitala.

Russia acknowledges having transferred thousands of children out of Ukraine, but says it did so exclusively to protect orphans and children abandoned in the war zone.

1:41pm: Ukraine central bank expects grain corridor to stay closed until war ends

Ukraine’s central bank said on Thursday it expected the Black Sea grain corridor to remain closed until the end of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Sergiy Nikolaychuk said the latest basic economic forecast had been drawn up with the expectation that the corridor, established under a UN-brokered deal that Moscow exited last week, would remain closed.

He told a press conference after Ukraine announced its first interest rate cut since June last year that alternative export routes via Central Europe would be key for Ukraine’s grain sector.

11:31am: Putin says Russia can replace Ukrainian grain exports to Africa, supply six countries for free

Russian President Vladimir Putin told a summit with African leaders in St Petersburg on Thursday that Russia is able to replace Ukrainian grain exports to Africa, and that Moscow would be ready to start supplying grain for free to six countries within three to four months.

Putin named the countries as Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic and Eritrea and said they would get 25,000-50,000 tonnes each.

11:19am: Russia jails two alleged Ukrainian intelligence agents for 15 years each

Two alleged Ukrainian intelligence agents have been sentenced by a Russian court to 15 years each in a harsh-regime penal colony for espionage, Russian state media reported on Thursday.

Russia has frequently announced the arrests of alleged spies since launching its war in Ukraine 17 months ago.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said the defendants had been detained last year on suspicion of espionage and involvement in the deaths of Russian troops and destruction of equipment in the area of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

10:43am: Ukrainian and Russian fencers face off at world championships

Ukrainian fencer Olha Kharlan faced Russian athlete Anna Smirnova on Thursday at the world championships in Milan.

Four-time world sabre champion Kharlan outclassed Smirnova and refused to shake her hand at the end of the contest.

The 32-year-old – who hopes to add the elusive Olympic individual gold next year to complete the full set of titles – was cheered on by around 20 members of the Ukrainian delegation chanting ‘Slava Ukraini’ (‘Glory to Ukraine’).

10:30am: Grain deal expected to dominate Russia-Africa summit 

The end of a deal that has allowed Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea to global markets is expected to dominate the agenda during the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg.

FRANCE 24’s Charles Pellegrin was in the studio earlier to talk about the potential fallout of a halt of Ukrainian grain exports to African countries.

“It’ll be more expensive to import wheat, and African countries are particularly exposed in this regard because many of them import more than a third of their wheat from Ukraine,” he says.

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9:28am: Zelensky visits southeastern city of Dnipro, discusses supplies and air defences

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the southeastern city of Dnipro on Thursday to discuss the situation on the battlefield, supplies for troops and how to strengthen air defences.

“We started the working day in Dnipro,” Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app under video footage of him leading a meeting with military commanders and government officials.

“As always, we pay close attention to the supply of ammunition to our troops. The efficiency of using the existing air defence systems and reinforcing the sky shield, taking into account supplies from partners,” he said.

Zelensky said he discussed a review of conscription offices across the country that was launched after multiple allegations of corruption and complaints about the mobilisation process.  “The comprehensive inspection … is coming to an end. Eleven regions are under special control,” he said.

The city of Dnipro, an important economic centre in southeastern Ukraine, is not far from the front line that stretches from Kherson in the south through the Donbas region and further north to the Kharkiv region.

8:58am: Traces of explosives found on Russia-bound grain ship, FSB says

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday it had found traces of explosives onboard a foreign vessel heading from Turkey to Russia for grain that had previously entered a Ukrainian port, Russian news agencies reported.

It was the second such announcement this week.

The FSB said on Monday that it had found traces of explosives on another ship travelling from Turkey to the port of Rostov-on-Don in Russia to pick up grain.

Russia has previously accused grain ships travelling to Ukraine under the now-collapsed Black Sea grain deal of carrying Ukrainian military cargoes.

8:58am: 26 port facilities damaged in last nine days, Ukraine PM says

Russian air strikes have damaged 26 Ukrainian port infrastructure facilities and five civilian vessels over the course of nine days, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a statement late on Wednesday.

8:00am: South Korea vows to support domestic companies’ Ukraine reconstruction bids

South Korea vowed on Thursday to provide policy support for domestic companies to win orders for post-war reconstruction projects in Ukraine.

Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-sun said in a meeting with other ministries and related agencies that they needed to devise systematic support measures to help companies access order information, financial support and risk management.

The government will work together to ensure speedy participation for domestic companies, it said in a statement.

7:37am: Odesa governor says overnight Russian missile attack hit port infrastructure, killed security guard

Russia hit port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region in an overnight missile attack, killing a security guard and damaging a cargo terminal, the region’s Governor Oleh Kiper said on Thursday.

Kiper said Russia fired Kalibr missiles at an unspecified port from a submarine in the Black Sea. He said a security building had been destroyed and two cars damaged.

Ukraine’s air force said it wasn’t able to shoot down the Kalibr missiles, although it said it had downed eight drones overnight in other regions of Ukraine.

6:35am: Putin to host 17 African leaders in St Petersburg

Russian President Vladimir Putin will on Thursday host leaders of African countries for a summit in St Petersburg.

“It is important that in recent years our cooperation with Africa has reached a new level. We intend to further develop it,” Putin said in a welcome letter to participants in the summit.

Seventeen African leaders including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are expected at the Russia-Africa summit set to take place on Thursday and Friday at the Konstantinovsky Palace.

Putin, who is isolated on the international scene since launching a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, still has support in several African countries.

3:48am: Blinken urges African leaders to confront Putin on grain disruptions

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday pressed African leaders attending a St Petersburg summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin to demand answers about a grain crisis that has propelled poorer nations towards crisis.

Speaking ahead of the summit, Blinken insisted that African leaders knew rising food costs, grain and fertiliser shortages were a direct result of Putin’s choice to invade Ukraine.

“They know exactly who’s to blame for this current situation,” Blinken said of the leaders, some of whom have offered tacit support for Moscow or refused to denounce the invasion.

“My expectation would be that Russia will hear this clearly from our African partners,” he said, speaking during a visit to New Zealand.

3:04am: Belarusian journalist sentenced to six years in prison for reporting on the opposition

A prominent journalist in Belarus was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison, the latest step in a years-long crackdown on opposition figures, independent journalists and human rights activists.

On trial in the city of Grodno in western Belarus, Pavel Mazheika, 45, was found guilty of “complicity in extremist activity” for covering the activities of the political opposition.

He was accused of working for news outlets including Belsat TV, which broadcasts in Belarusian from its base in neighbouring Poland. The Belarusian authorities have labelled Belsat as “extremist”.

Key developments from Wednesday, July 26:

NATO condemned Russia’s “dangerous” moves to block Ukrainian grain exports in the Black Sea after urgent consultations with Kyiv on Wednesday following Moscow’s withdrawal from a key grain deal last week. 

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in North Korea, with delegations from Moscow and Beijing set to attend Korean War commemorations.

Read yesterday’s liveblog to see how the day’s events unfolded.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)