July 24, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleskii Reznikov admitted that Kyiv's counteroffensive is behind schedule, but insisted he is "not worried" because it is going according to plan, adding that it was a “misconception that every counteroffensive should be quick."

The official said, “our generals, our commanders, they see the real situation on the battlefield. And again, I have to repeat the main value for us is the life of for our soldiers.” 

The situation on the southern front in Ukraine has been slowed largely due to intricate minefields laid by Russian forces who were given time to build up defenses. Ukrainian forces have had to resort to clearing, by hand, paths through the fields, Reznikov said.

The minister said the Russians have "serious security zones with the mines" and that it "very difficult to break through."

"We need to use our soldiers, sappers, deminers very slowly, and very slowly preparing the corridors for the real offensive movement," Reznikov said, adding this activity in different places would confuse Russians on the main direction that Ukraine would take.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said he believes the start of a power “transition moment” is underway in Moscow after the failed Wagner rebellion last month.

"This coup d’état is a real illustration that regime in the Kremlin became weaker. It means they are not so strong as they were the year before. I think we will see the continuing of this so called conflict," he told CNN. 

In late June, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin led an armed rebellion, and while it failed, it posed questions about the performance, willingness and even the loyalty of some Russian units.

Asked if he was witnessing those around Russian President Vladimir Putin jockeying for position to replace him, Reznikov said, "I think the conflict among them started."

More background: Prigozhin's whereabouts have been unknown since the failed mutiny but a video emerged last week that appears to show him greeting his fighters in Belarus, in what would be his first public appearance since he led an armed rebellion in Russia last month. The video is grainy and filmed in low light so CNN cannot definitively say the speaker is Prigozhin or when it was filmed.

CIA Director Bill Burns also said last week that he believes Prigozhin is currently in Minsk, Belarus, and predicted that the Wagner leader would eventually face "retribution" from Putin.

With Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea at severe risk, President Volodymyr Zelensky is arguing for a lifting of European restrictions on exports via land.

The restrictions were introduced in five European states bordering Ukraine in May to protect their markets against being flooded with cheaper Ukrainian grain. They are due to expire in September. 

The European Commission stated when it introduced the measures: “Wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seed originating in Ukraine can continue to be released for free circulation in all the Member States of the European Union other than the five frontline Member States: Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The products can continue to circulate in or transit via these five Member States by means of a common customs transit procedure or go to a country or territory outside the EU.”

The European Commission introduced the relief “given the exceptional circumstances of serious logistical bottlenecks experienced in five Member States.”

The restrictions have made it more difficult for Ukraine to export its grain using overland routes.

Zelensky said Monday: “We believe in the agreement with the European Commission, but we are preparing for any scenario. Our position is clear: blocking exports by land after September 15, when the relevant restrictions expire, is unacceptable in any form. We are in touch with all stakeholders to find a solution that suits everyone.”

Some context: Zelensky's remarks come as Russia has repeatedly struck the southern port city of Odesa, damaging grain warehouses and further threatening Ukraine's ability to export food after the Black Sea grain deal collapsed.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told CNN that he thinks Russia’s targeting of the Ukrainian port city of Odesa is an “absurd” approach and claimed the attacks were “new evidence they are a terrorist state.”

Speaking before the attack on the cathedral in Odesa over the weekend, Reznikov said in a wide-ranging interview with CNN senior national security correspondent Alex Marquardt that he was not surprised by the ferocity of the attacks, saying that “honestly, after February of last year, it is very difficult to surprise me.”

When asked if he felt the attacks were a response to Ukraine’s admitted attack on the Kerch Bridge on July 17, Reznikov said that Moscow "tried to explain that it's a response for some explosions in their territories, but they are fighting with the civilians. That's why I call them looters, rapists and murderers.”  

Last week, a CNN team in Odesa witnessed four consecutive nights of attacks against the port city. The attacks came as Russia withdrew from the crucial Black Sea grain initiative. Odesa had been one of the key ports that exported Ukrainian grain to the world under a wartime agreement.

On Russia’s withdrawal from the initiative, Reznikov said “You know, that is why I have a saying, the sign of Russian signature on the paper, costs less than the price of this piece of paper."

Ukraine will respond if attacked in the Black Sea, Reznikov told CNN.

The defense minister said “we have capacity” and “if they threaten us in the Black Sea we’ll have to respond."

Reznikov used the example of the Russian cruiser ship The Moskva, which sank after being targeted by Ukrainian naval forces in the Black Sea. 

Last week CNN reported US officials were worried Russia may target civilian ships in the Black Sea and "blame Ukraine." CIA director Bill Burns said "false flag" attacks by Russia in the body of water could be being prepared.

Authorities in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa say that part of the city’s cathedral is structurally unsound after the building was hit Sunday by a Russian missile.

Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said that one of the walls at the Transfiguration Cathedral “is in an unstable position and a sudden uncontrollable collapse may occur.”

Trukhanov said emergency work was required to dismantle the dangerous section of the wall and a temporary roof was needed. 

He thanked volunteers for helping to remove rubble, but added: “We need to understand that there are dangerous areas that can pose a threat.”

Some more context: The Odesa strikes killed at least one person and injured several others, Ukrainian officials said, the latest in a wave of attacks on the port city. The attacks also destroyed other historic buildings, Ukraine’s culture ministry said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Monday with Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu about “collective security and unwavering support for Ukraine and Moldova, global food security, and cooperation on Black Sea security,” according to a readout from State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Their call comes in the wake of an overnight Russian strike on a Ukrainian port on the Danube River near Romania.

As CNN reported earlier, this is believed to be the closest to NATO territory a Russian-fired weapon has landed since the war began.

Wheat prices rose sharply on international markets following the strike by a Russian drone against a Ukrainian port on the Danube River.

One grain silo at the port of Reni was hit and substantially damaged, according to geolocated images and video. 

At 9 a.m. ET, the price of wheat for September delivery on the Chicago exchange was nearly 6% higher than the previous close.

Markets are concerned about a tightening supply situation following the collapse of the Black Sea grain initiative last week and a sequence of Russian drone attacks against Ukrainian port infrastructure.  

The Russian foreign ministry has issued a statement calling on international organizations to condemn the recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow and Crimea. 

“We strongly condemn this yet another crime of the Kyiv regime. We call on international organizations to give it a proper assessment,” it added.

The ministry blamed the West for exacerbating the situation, stating that the actions of Kyiv were influenced by the West's focus on further escalating tensions.

“The Russian side reserves the right to take tough retaliatory measures,” the ministry said, adding that the Investigative Committee of Russia has opened criminal cases in response to these incidents, assuring that all those responsible will be identified and brought to justice.

Some context: The reported attacks come after Russian missiles badly damaged a historic Orthodox cathedral in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, sparking outrage and prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to vow retaliation.

The Odesa strikes killed at least one person and injured several others, Ukrainian officials said, the latest in a wave of attacks on the port city. The attacks also destroyed other historic buildings, Ukraine’s culture ministry said.

Ukrainian intelligence claimed responsibility for a targeted drone attack on Moscow early Monday, according to an official, as the Kremlin launched a barrage of strikes on the southern port city of Odesa amid intensified cross-border attacks from Russian and Ukrainian forces.

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