All the latest developments from the war in Ukraine.
Wagner trains with Belarusian troops near the Polish border: Minsk
Fighters from the “Wagner” mercenary group are training with the special forces of Belarus, Minsk reported on Thursday.
They will “train for combat missions at the Bretsky training ground, less than 5 kilometers from the border with Poland, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense wrote in Telegram.
The “first pictures” of these exercises were released by the ministry, which explained that “in the current geopolitical situation, the real combat experience (of Wagner) is an opportunity … for the development” of the army of Belarus.
Last week, Minsk announced that Wagner fighters were training Belarusian conscripts at a training ground southeast of the capital.
Poland’s defense ministry told reporters on Thursday that it had “strengthened the army’s cooperation with the border guard by, among other things, strengthening joint border operations.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was paying “increased attention” to Polish military movements because “Warsaw’s aggressiveness towards Belarus and the Russian Federation is a reality.”
The EU is considering a €20 billion defense fund for Ukraine
The European Union is considering the creation of a 20 billion euro fund to support the Ukrainian army over the next four years, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.
“We will discuss how to continue supporting Ukraine in the long term, what commitments and security guarantees we can provide,” EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
“We have presented a plan to guarantee financial support to Ukraine from next year, which will be quite a large amount. I hope the ministers will support it,” he added, declining to specify a figure before it is considered by the 27 EU members.
Some member states, especially Hungary, could oppose the initiative.
A final green light from the EU should come at just one of the summits of EU heads of state and government planned for the end of the year.
German Foreign Minister Analena Berbock spoke about the fund ahead of the meeting in Brussels.
“We need very, very significant financial resources to continue to support Ukraine in the military field so that it can exercise its right to self-defense.
“Everything has to go together: it’s not enough to throw numbers around, they have to flow together in a logical and meaningful way, and we’re going to talk about that today, but also in the coming months,” she added.
Wagner is bound to Africa, says Prigogine
Wagner’s chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said his troops would head for the African continent in his first video address since the short-lived rebellion.
He confirmed that hired weapons were being withdrawn from Ukraine, calling Russia’s efforts on the front line a “shame.”
Messaging app channels linked to Prigozhin’s private military company said he spoke at a field camp in Belarus and posted a blurry video purporting to show him there, silhouetted against the evening sky.
“Welcome guys! I am glad to greet you all. Welcome to Belarusian land!”, he was seen in the video saying on Wednesday. “We fought with dignity! We have done a lot for Russia.
He did not rule out Wagner’s return to Ukraine in the future, but criticized the conduct of the war.
“We can return to the special military operation when we feel sure that we will not be forced to be ashamed,” Prigozhin said.
In the meantime, his troops will train in Belarus and focus on Africa to improve, he added.
“We will make the Belarusian army the second strongest army in the world. We will train, raise our level and set off on a new journey to Africa,” said Wagner’s boss.
Wagner has been involved in shady business in Africa for years, providing protection to some of the continent’s most controversial regimes in exchange for mining rights and other resources.
Under a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin called off his rebellion in exchange for amnesty, with him and Wagner supposedly moving to Belarus.
Wagner has reportedly handed over some of his weapons to the Russian military as the country’s authorities try to neutralize the threat posed by the mercenaries.
Ships sailing to Ukraine are potential military targets, Russia warns
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that all ships sailing to Ukraine would be considered potential targets, suspecting them of transporting military cargo.
The statement comes after Kiev unveiled plans to create a temporary transport route for food exports following Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal.
In a statement posted on Telegram, the defense ministry called international waters in the northwest and southeast of the Black Sea “temporarily dangerous” for shipping.
“The countries under whose flags these ships will sail will be seen as involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kiev regime,” the statement said.
The new provision took effect at midnight on Wednesday, Moscow said, without specifying what action it would take against ships in the Black Sea.
The White House responded by warning that the Russian military was preparing for possible attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea.
“Our information indicates that Russia has placed additional sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports,” White House National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge said in a statement.
Crucial supplies of Ukrainian wheat and other grains were blocked by Russia during the early stages of the war, sending food prices skyrocketing and prompting warnings of famine in parts of the world.
However, a UN-Turkey deal struck last summer lifted the blockade, although Russia withdrew from it earlier this week.
Russian attacks on port facilities continue to destroy grain
Russia unleashed intense drone and missile attacks overnight Wednesday, damaging critical port infrastructure in southern Ukraine, officials said.
Grain facilities and oil terminals were hit in the third consecutive night of Russian strikes, injuring at least 21 people.
Two civilians were reported killed.
The bombing crippled significant parts of export facilities in Odessa and nearby Chernomorsk, destroying 60,000 tonnes of grain, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Agriculture.
The ministry estimated that it would take a year to restore the facilities damaged on Wednesday, citing various experts.
The destroyed grain should have been loaded onto a ship and sent through the grain corridor two months ago, the release said.
“Such attacks by Russian terrorists affect not only our country but also global stability,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a briefing with the visiting Irish prime minister in Kiev.
He said Ukraine needs more air defense systems to protect the port.
Zelensky said his government was trying to find a way to maintain a corridor to keep grain exports going despite Russia’s decision to back out of the deal brokered by the UN and Turkey.
At least 19 people were injured in Nikolaev, a southern city near the Black Sea, regional governor Vitaly Kim said in a statement on Telegram. Two more people, including a child, were hospitalized.
The attack came days after President Vladimir Putin pulled Russia out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a wartime deal that lifted a blockade on Ukraine’s exports.
Putin said on Wednesday that Russia could return to the deal if the West offered Russian banks involved in servicing payments for the country’s agricultural exports immediate access to the SWIFT payment system.
He categorically added that Moscow wants its conditions to be met, not “some promises and ideas.”