KYIV, July 25 (Reuters) – Russia on Monday dealt a fresh blow to European countries for their support for Ukraine, saying it would further cut gas supplies through its biggest gas link to Germany.
The move came as the first ships to export grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports under a deal struck last week could set sail within days, bringing some hope to countries dependent on of these food supplies, although the situation is still clouded by mistrust and potential. danger.
These two developments have shown how the conflict – now in its sixth month and with no resolution in sight – is having an economic impact far beyond the battlefields of Ukraine.
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On the front lines, the Ukrainian military reported widespread Russian artillery barrages in the east overnight and said troops from Moscow were preparing for a fresh assault on Bakhmut, a city in the industrial region of Donbass.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West earlier this month that sanctions imposed on his country for its invasion of Ukraine risked triggering huge energy price hikes for consumers around the world.
On Monday, Russian energy giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM), saying it was acting under instructions from an industry watchdog, said throughputs through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would fall to 33 million cubic meters per day from Wednesday.
This is half of current flows, which already represent only 40% of normal capacity. Before the war, Europe imported about 40% of its gas and 30% of its oil from Russia. Read more
The Kremlin says the gas disruption is the result of maintenance issues and Western sanctions, while the European Union has accused Russia of using energy blackmail.
Germany said it saw no technical reason for the latest reduction.
European politicians have repeatedly said that Russia could cut off gas this winter, a move that would plunge Germany into recession and send prices soaring for consumers already facing sky-high energy costs. The Kremlin has said Moscow is not interested in a complete shutdown of gas supplies to Europe.
GRAIN VESSELS
Rising energy prices and a global shortage of wheat are among the most profound effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They threaten millions of people with hunger in the poorest countries, particularly in Africa and the Middle East.
Ukraine said on Monday it hoped a UN-brokered deal to try to ease food shortages by resuming grain exports from Black Sea ports would begin to be implemented this week.
Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian and United Nations officials agreed on Friday that there would be no attacks on merchant ships crossing the Black Sea to Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait and to markets.
Moscow dismissed fears the deal could be derailed by a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian port of Odessa on Saturday, saying it only targeted military infrastructure.
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has blocked grain exports from Ukraine since the February 24 invasion of Moscow.
Moscow denies any responsibility for the food crisis, accusing Western sanctions of slowing its food and fertilizer exports and Ukraine of having mined the approaches to its ports.
As part of Friday’s agreement, pilots will guide vessels along safe channels. Read more
A Ukrainian government official said he hoped the first shipment of grain from Ukraine could be made from Chornomorsk this week, with shipments from other ports within two weeks.
“We believe that in the next 24 hours we will be ready to work to resume exports from our ports,” Deputy Infrastructure Minister Yuriy Vaskov told a news conference.
A United Nations spokesman, speaking in New York, said the first ships could move within days. A joint coordination center will liaise with the shipping industry and issue detailed procedures for ships in the near future, he said. Read more
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking during a tour of African countries, said there were no obstacles to the export of grain and nothing in the agreement prevented Moscow to attack military infrastructure in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has also said the United Nations must ensure that restrictions on Russian fertilizers and other exports are lifted for the grain deal to work.
Prior to the invasion and subsequent sanctions, Russia and Ukraine accounted for almost a third of global wheat exports.
AIR STRIKES
Putin calls the war a “special military operation” aimed at demilitarizing Ukraine and rooting out dangerous nationalists who he says threaten Russia’s security. The Kyiv government and the West call this a baseless pretext for aggressive land grabbing.
Thousands of people – many of them civilians – have been killed and several million people have fled their homes for safer parts of Ukraine or abroad.
Artillery barrages and Russian airstrikes pulverized entire towns. As Western arms shipments bolster the Ukrainians, Putin’s forces are making slow progress but are believed to be preparing for a further push east.
Ukraine said on Monday that its forces had used US-supplied HIMARS rocket systems to destroy 50 Russian ammunition dumps since receiving the weapons last month. Russia did not comment, but its defense ministry said its forces had destroyed an ammunition depot for HIMARS systems. Read more
Ukraine’s General Staff said in its evening report on Monday that Russian warplanes hit targets in Donetsk province, including near the Vuhlegirska thermal power plant.
Reuters could not independently verify the Russian or Ukrainian statements.
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Reports from Reuters offices; Written by Philippa Fletcher and Angus MacSwan; Editing by Gareth Jones, Barbara Lewis and Alison Williams
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