Putin says Russia’s navy will get new hypersonic missiles soon
Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Navy Day Parade on July, 31 2022, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Planned Navy Day celebrations in Sevastopol in Russian-annexed Crimea were canceled on Sunday after officials accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters there, injuring five people.
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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced Sunday that the Russian Navy would soon be armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles.
“We will provide protection firmly and by all means,” Putin said in a speech Sunday to mark Russia’s “Navy Day,” saying that “the key thing here is the capability of the Russian Navy.”
He said its combat readiness was “constantly improving,” adding that the latest Zircon hypersonic missile systems, “which have no countertypes in the world and no barriers,” would be added to the navy’s arsenal.
“Dear comrades, their delivery to the Russian armed forces will begin in the coming months,” Putin remarked in a speech in St. Petersburg. Zircon missiles, intended for use by the Russian navy against enemy ships and ground targets, can purportedly fly at nine times the speed of sound and have a range of just over 600 miles.
Putin said the area of their deployment would depend on Russian interests. He did not mention Ukraine in his speech.
Planned Navy Day celebrations in Sevastopol in Russian-annexed Crimea were canceled on Sunday after officials accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters there, injuring five people.
“An unidentified object flew into the courtyard of the fleet’s headquarters,” wrote Mikhail Razvozhayev, governor of Sevastopol — which is where Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is stationed — on the Telegram messaging app.
“According to preliminary information, it is a drone.”
Ukraine has not officially commented on the explosion amid reports that it could have been a homemade device made by Ukrainian insurgents in the city.
— Holly Ellyatt
Ukraine’s first grain shipment in months departs from Odesa port
The first shipment of grain exports from Ukraine in months has departed from the port of Odesa, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov confirmed and data from MarineTraffic.com showed.
The Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni, which is loaded with corn, will head to Lebanon, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said, according to a Reuters translation of a statement from the ministry.
“As a result of the intense work the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul and talks by (Turkish) Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, the ministers and relevant parties: It has been agreed that Sierra- Leone flagged and corn loaded Razoni dry cargo ship will leave Odesa port on 1 August 0830 am for Lebanon.”
A port in the city of Odesa, Ukraine, on July 29 2022. The first shipment of grain exports from Ukraine in months comes after Turkey and the United Nations brokered an agreement between Ukraine and Russia to allow for the resumption of key exports from Ukraine, such as grain and fertilizer.
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The shipment comes after Turkey and the United Nations brokered an agreement between Ukraine and Russia to allow for the resumption of key exports from Ukraine, such as grain and fertilizer, of which both countries are key producers.
The deal aims to allow safe passage for grain shipments in and out of the ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdennyi. More ships are expected to leave Ukraine in the coming days.
— Holly Ellyatt
Ukrainian grain tycoon killed during shelling of Mykolaiv
One of Ukraine’s richest men, the agricultural tycoon Oleksiy Vadatursky, and his wife Raisa died during Russian shelling of the southern city of Mykolaiv this weekend.
Video footage released by the local emergency services on Sunday showed firefighters tackling burning buildings after heavy shelling of the city, a key target for Russia’s invading forces trying to make territorial gains in the south of Ukraine, on Saturday night into Sunday morning.
Vadatursky, founder and owner of agriculture company Nibulon, and his wife were killed in their home, Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram.
People receive clear water for drinking in Mykolaiv, on July 21, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered his condolences to the family and friends of the businessman and his wife on Sunday evening, saying “people like them, companies, and our Ukrainian south guaranteed the world’s food security.”
Zelenskyy went on to thank Mykolaiv residents for “their indomitability and for protecting the city and the region,” as well as other southern cities that have faced intense shelling in recent weeks.
“I also thank Nikopol, Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih and the entire Dnipropetrovsk region, the strong people of Zaporozhzhia and the region, all Ukrainians of the Kherson region, everyone who defends the approaches to Odesa and the region… Thank you for your courage,” he said.
— Holly Ellyatt
Zelenskyy urges civilians to leave Donetsk as Russians look to advance
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainian civilians still living in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine to evacuate on Saturday.
Russia’s bombardment of cities and settlements in the area has become intense over recent weeks as its forces look to advance after capturing neighboring Luhansk, with both regions making up the Donbas in the east.
“The more people leave Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” Zelenskyy said in a video address Saturday. “We will use all available opportunities to save as many lives as possible,” he added.
— Holly Ellyatt
