Ukraine-Russia war – live: Black Sea ship taken out of action in drone attack on Russian base, Kyiv says

A Russian warship has been damaged in a drone attack on a Black Sea port which serves as a major hub for Moscow’s exports, a Ukrainian intelligence source has claimed. While Russia ‘s regional governor in Novorossiysk – near Crimea – insisted no damage was inflicted, the source told Reuters that the Olenegorsky Gornyak warship ‘received a serious breach and currently cannot conduct its combat missions’. A source also told the Ukrainian Interfax news agency that the security service drone was ‘saturated with 450 kilograms of TNT’ as it attacked the ship manned by 100 crew members, in what marks the first attack on a major Russian commercial port since the war began last February. Meanwhile, Poland ‘s prime minister warned that fighters from Russia’s ‘extremely dangerous’ private Wagner mercenary force are being moved close to Nato’s eastern flank to ‘destabilise’ the military alliance, as Warsaw scrambled troops to the frontier. It comes after Ukraine ‘s first lady, Olena Zelenska , Uissued an emotional plea for the world not to lose interest in the fight against Russia, in a rare interview with Independent TV. Key Points Blasts and gunfire reported near Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk Exclusive: Olena Zelenska’s urgent plea to help her nation as war rages around her Explosions and drone debris hit Kyiv in overnight attacks Poland rushes troops to border with Belarus Novorossiysk drone strike marks first attack of commercial Russian port 09:27 , Andy Gregory Russia accused Ukraine early Friday of attacking its Black Sea navy base in the port of Novorossiysk with sea drones. The attack on Novorossiysk is the first time a commercial Russian port has been targeted in the 18-month war. The city is a major port on the Black Sea and hosts a naval base, shipbuilding yards and an oil terminal. It is a key port for Russian exports. Novorossiysk is just across the water from Crimea, where Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it thwarted another attack by Ukraine overnight, taking down 13 drones. It comes just days after authorities held a Navy Day parade at the port. Sailors and marines parade during the Navy Day celebrations in the port city of Novorossiysk on July 30 (Stringer/AFP via Getty Images) ‘We stand united’: RAF interception of Russian jets ‘sends strong message’ to Putin 08:58 , Martina Bet The Royal Air Force has delivered a powerful message of unity to Russian president Vladimir Putin with the interception of dozens of Russian aircraft during its leadership of a Nato air policing mission in Estonia, Ben Wallace has claimed. The defence secretary praised the RAF’s success, emphasising the unwavering commitment of the UK and its allies in safeguarding European airspace and standing against any potential threat to their borders. His comments come as RAF personnel have returned to the UK after leading the air policing mission in Eastern Europe for four months, during which pilots intercepted 50 Russian aircraft and flew for a combined total of more than 500 hours. The members of the 140 Expeditionary Air Wing (140 EAW) had been deployed to Amari Air Base since the start of March, along with a squadron of RAF Typhoon fighter jets, to conduct Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) intercepts of Russian aircraft transiting close to Nato airspace. ‘We stand united’: RAF interception of Russian jets ‘sends strong message’ to Putin Russian naval vessel damaged in drone attack, Ukrainian defence source claims 08:34 , Andy Gregory Ukraine damaged a Russian naval vessel during a sea drone attack at the Russian port of Novorossiysk that was conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Navy on Friday, a Ukrainian intelligence source said. ‘As a result of the attack, the Olenegorsky Gornyak received a serious breach and currently cannot conduct its combat missions,’ the source told Reuters. It comes despite Russia’s regional governor insisting that there was no damage caused by the attacks. Watch: What Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know 08:08 , Andy Gregory ‘No casualties or damage’ from Ukrainian drone attack, Russian governor says 07:48 , Andy Gregory No casualties or damage have been reported from the Ukrainian sea drone attack on Novorossiysk, Russia’s regional governor has been quoted as saying by state news agency RIA . Russia says it does not believe Washington on grain deal 07:26 , Andy Gregory Russia does not believe Washington’s promise that it will help to ensure Moscow can freely export food if it returns to the Black Sea grain deal, the Kremlin has said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Thursday: ‘In the event of return to the agreement, of course, we’ll continue to do whatever is necessary to make sure that everyone can export their food and food products freely and safely to include Russia.’ Russia last month quit the agreement that had allowed Ukraine to ship food from its Black Sea ports, complaining about obstacles to its own exports of food and fertiliser. ‘Russian official pitched North Korea on increasing sale of munitions to Moscow’ 07:00 , Namita Singh The White House said US intelligence officials have determined that Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu spoke last week to North Korean officials during a visit to Pyongyang about increasing the sale of munitions to Moscow for its war in Ukraine. Mr Shoigu made the pitch during his visit to North Korea for events marking the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War, according to White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. Russian president Vladimir Putin dispatched Mr Shoigu to lead the Russian delegation for the commemoration. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calls on reporters with National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby (R) during the daily briefing on 26 July 2023 in Washington, DC (Getty Images) The Biden administration says Mr Shoigu’s pitch to tighten cooperation with North Korea underscored that the Kremlin has become reliant on the country, as well as Iran, for the arms it needs to fight its war against Ukraine. North Korea and Iran are largely isolated on the international stage for their nuclear programs and human rights records. ‘This is yet another example of how desperate Mr Putin has become because his war machine is being affected by the sanctions and the export controls. He is going through a vast amount of inventory to try to subjugate Ukraine, and he’s reaching out to countries like North Korea, like Iran, and certainly he’s been trying to reach out to China to get support for his war machine.’ John Kirby Ukraine, US start talks on security guarantees, official says 06:30 , Namita Singh Ukraine and the United States started talks yesterday aimed at providing security guarantees for Ukraine, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff said, a follow-up to pledges by G7 countries at last month’s Nato summit. Ukraine was told that the Group of Seven (G7) would draw up and honour security guarantees and help bolster its military in light of Russia’s 17-month-old invasion of Ukraine. The Kyiv government sees the talks as an interim stage pending its accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance. At the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Nato leaders offered support to Ukraine but ruled out any notion of membership until the war with Russia is resolved. Presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the agreement reached in Vilnius was ‘the basis for working out corresponding bilateral agreements’. ‘It is symbolic that the United States – our biggest strategic partner – became the first country with which Ukraine has started this process,’ Mr Yermak wrote. ‘Through this process we will create a successful model for other partners.’ Russian defence minister visits troops involved in Ukraine operation – TASS 06:05 , Namita Singh Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has visited the frontline headquarters of the ‘Centre’ army group involved in the Ukrainian conflict, TASS cited the defence ministry as saying on Friday. Mr Shoigu was briefed by group commander Andrei Mordvichev, it said, without disclosing the location of the meeting. Putin foe Navalny expects to be jailed for many more years 05:30 , Namita Singh Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny expects a court to extend his prison sentence by nearly two decades today, in a criminal case which he and his supporters say was trumped up to keep him behind bars and out of politics for even longer. Navalny, 47, president Vladimir Putin’s fiercest domestic critic, is already serving sentences totalling 11-1/2 years on fraud and other charges that he says are also bogus. His political movement has been outlawed and declared ‘extremist’. State prosecutors have asked the court to hand him another 20 years in a penal colony on six separate criminal charges, including inciting and financing extremist activity and creating an extremist organisation. If Russia wins now it’s the worst-case scenario for humanity, warns Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska 05:00 , Eleanor Noyce Ukraine’s first lady has warned that Russia winning the war it started is ‘the worst-case scenario for all humanity’, in a heartfelt plea for the world not to lose interest in her country as its soldiers are fighting for ‘the democratic balance of the world’. Speaking exclusively to Independent TV, Olena Zelenska said Ukraine is deeply concerned that the world is underestimating the wider threat from Moscow as the conflict grinds into its 18th month. Bel Trew reports: If Russia wins it’s humanity’s worst-case scenario, says Ukraine’s Olena Zelenska Blasts and gunfire reported near Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk 04:30 , Namita Singh Russian social media users reported hearing explosions and gunfire near the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk this morning. Videos posted on a local online community and circulated by Russian online news outlet Astra showed the movement of ships just off the coast with the sound of gunfire coming from the direction of the sea. The emergencies department of the city of Novorossiysk, whose port is one of the biggest in the Black Sea, could not be reached for comment. Clashes in the Black Sea and adjacent ports have escalated since Russia refused last month to extend a deal allowing for the safe exports of grain from Ukrainian ports; Russian drones and missiles have struck several Ukrainian port facilities and grain silos on or near the Black Sea. Russia has also reported an attack by Ukrainian sea drones on its warships which were escorting a civilian vessel. 04:00 , Eleanor Noyce Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has cheered the recent flurry of drone strikes on Moscow as evidence that Vladimir Putin ‘s illegal invasion of his country is backfiring and that its consequences are becoming ever clearer to the Russian people. ‘Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia – to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process,’ he said in a video address from the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk. Russia’s defence ministry conceded on Sunday (30 July) that a 50-storey building containing the offices of a number of government agencies and a shopping precinct in the capital’s western Moskva-Citi business district were both hit by drone strikes it blamed on Ukraine, claiming to have brought down three more devices. Joe Sommerlad reports: Face to face with a mercenary: Inside Wagner and its blood-soaked role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 03:00 , Eleanor Noyce Amid the ravages of war, Sergey, a seasoned Wagner mercenary, found himself grappling with the relentless violence that has become a way of life and death on the front line. The savage conflict, the sense of betrayal from the Kremlin, and rumours of plots, all combined to create an atmosphere of uncertainty and dread. At the end he decided to abandon the Wagner group and the savage, meat-grinding combat of Donbas where corpses piled up, and towns and cities were razed. With the future of the mercenary group in the balance after Yevgeny Prigozhin ‘s failed march on Moscow and fear of future retribution, Sergey cannot forget the terrible things he witnessed in the months of bloody conflict. Kim Sengupta meets a fighter – a father of two – who has recently left the mercenary group and hears about the daily routine of ‘fight, eat, pray’ on some of the fiercest frontlines in the war: Drones, military confusion and cracks in Putin’s authority: Ukraine’s push to sow discord in Russia’s ranks 02:00 , Eleanor Noyce With Moscow facing a flurry of drone attacks in recent weeks – the latest over the weekend – Ukraine ‘s president, Volodymyr Zelensky , has said the war in his country is ‘returning to Russia ‘. While Kyiv is always very cagey about claiming direct responsibility for attacks on Russian soil, the number of incidents has coincided with the Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake territory occupied by Moscow’s forces. All while the Kremlin is still dealing with the fallout from a mutiny last month by the battle-hardened mercenaries of the Wagner Group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin. The attempted uprising, which was halted after 24 hours with Prigozhin’s fighters about 125 miles from Moscow, opened the way for a barrage of criticism of Moscow’s top military leadership by some of its own most senior generals commanding Russia’s invasion forces in Ukraine. Kyiv’s aim? To take advantage of this discord, and to increase it. Anything that will help them on the front line. Askold Krushelnycky speaks to Ukrainian officials about the ongoing counteroffensive and how Kyiv is seeking to exploit the extended fallout from Wagner’s short-lived mutiny: Drones and discord: Ukraine’s push to spread anxiety in Russia’s ranks 01:30 , Eleanor Noyce The European Union on Thursday imposed sanctions on several Belarus police, justice and prison officials over a crackdown on anti-government activists, and on media personnel and a company accused of supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine . Travel bans in Europe and asset freezes were slapped on 38 officials, including several judges and prosecutors. The EU also froze the assets of state oil and chemicals giant Belneftekhim. It said the company ‘represents a fundamental asset for the Belarusian economy and foreign policy, in particular in relation to the cooperation between Russia and Belarus in developing a common oil market.’ Why did Russia invade Ukraine? 01:00 , Eleanor Noyce Russia ‘s ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine has been raging for one year now as the conflict continues to record devastating casualties and force the mass displacement of millions of blameless Ukrainians. Vladimir Putin began the war by claiming Russia’s neighbour needed to be ‘demilitarised and de-Nazified’, a baseless pretext on which to launch a landgrab against an independent state that happens to have a Jewish president in Volodymyr Zelensky . Ukraine has fought back courageously against Mr Putin’s warped bid to restore territory lost to Moscow with the collapse of the Soviet Union and has continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid. Thomas Kingsley and Joe Sommerlad: Here’s why Putin really invaded Ukraine ‘We stand united’: RAF interception of Russian jets ‘sends strong message’ to Putin Friday 4 August 2023 00:01 , Eleanor Noyce The Ro