Former Russian President Medvedev says Moscow will achieve its aims in Ukraine
Deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Alexandrovsky Garden near the Kremlin wall in Moscow on June 22, 2022.
Yekaterina Shtukina | Afp | Getty Images
Former Russian President and one of President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, Dmitry Medvedev, said Moscow would achieve its aims in the conflict in Ukraine on its own terms.
“Russia is conducting a special military operation in Ukraine and is attaining peace on our terms,” Medvedev said, who serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, told Russian state news agency TASS in an interview.
He also warned that the West had a long-term plan to destroy Russia, citing the enlargement of the NATO military alliance: “The goal is the same: to destroy Russia,” he said.
— Karen Gilchrist
Two grain ships depart Ukraine as third port opens
The Turkish-flagged ship “Polarnet” carrying grain from Ukraine arrives at Derince Port, Kocaeli, Turkiye on August 8, 2022.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Two more ships carrying corn and soybeans left from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, Ukrainian and Turkish authorities said.
The vessels — one carrying 11,000 tons of soybeans and the other 48,458 tons of corn — were bound for Italy and Turkey, respectively. Meanwhile, a third port, Pivdennyi, opened Monday, increasing the country’s strained export capacity.
Ten shipments have now departed Ukrainian shores since last week under a new deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in an effort to alleviate a worsening global food crisis.
So far, around 243,000 tons of corn has been exported from Ukraine on seven ships since the first departure on Aug. 1, according to a Reuters tally of data from Turkey’s defence ministry. The other ships carried 11,000 tons of soybeans, 6,000 tons of sunflower oil and 45,000 tons of sunflower meal.
— Karen Gilchrist
