War in Ukraine, Day 159: Was the Ukrainian grain tycoon murdered?
Ukrainian cereal magnate Oleksiy Vadatursky feared for his life when the French daily The world met a few weeks ago in his hometown of Mykolaiv. On Sunday, he and his wife Raisa were killed in the southern city during an intense shelling.
The deaths, which Ukrainian officials said were targeted attacks, contrast sharply with Monday’s other big news that a ship carrying grain exports had left Odessa port for the first time since the start of the war. war. Russian President Vladimir Putin again appears to be playing a double game when it comes to allowing food supplies to flow freely in the face of global hunger threats.
Vadatursky, 74, was the founder of Nibulon, one of Ukraine’s largest grain production and export companies which for years had been exporting tons of wheat and grain around the world from Mykolaiv, Ukraine. one of the main Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea. Like other export companies, Nibulon’s operations had been largely halted by Russia’s blocking of exports from Ukraine, which threatened global food supplies.
When The world journalists reached Vadatursky last month, he had asked not to reveal his whereabouts for fear that Moscow would try to target him. The tycoon, who had accused Russian authorities of stealing grain from his warehouses in Russian-occupied Kherson, said he not only feared for his safety, but also for his employees.
Asked about the recent cereal agreements concluded in Istanbul on July 22 between Russia and Ukraine, his answer was categorical: “The only possible outcome of this war is total victory. Any other outcome is unthinkable. We cannot trust the Russians in any form,” he told reporters.
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the dead during the pre-dawn hours on Sunday were clearly the result of a targeted attack, noting that Vadatursky and his wife were killed when a missile hit the bedroom they were sleeping in; and that of the 40 missiles that hit the city that night, seven hit their house.
Meanwhile, international officials were busy Monday hailing the first shipment of grain to leave Odessa since the start of the war, the result of a UN-brokered deal signed last month in Istanbul.
But as with the contrast in Monday’s news, the day after the deal was signed, Russian missiles hit infrastructure in the port of Odessa. It’s hard to predict the next step, but Russia has shown once again that the grain war is not over.
Putin announces the arrival of a new “invincible” Zircon hypersonic missile
Russian President Vladimir Putin during the naval parade
Mikhail Klimentiev/TASS/Zuma
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the arrival of a new “invincible” missile to be added to the Russian Navy fleet. The announcement was made during a naval parade in St. Petersburg on Russian National Day on Sunday.
In a speech after inspecting the Navy, Putin promised that Russia would have the military clout to defeat any potential aggressor with the soon-to-be-launched Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, “which know no obstacles”, Putin said.
Their delivery will begin in the coming months, and the Admiral Gorshkov frigate will be the first Russian ship to be equipped with missiles. This is not the first mention of Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles. In May, Russia declared that he successfully tested the Zircon missile over a distance of 1,000 kilometers (621 miles).
Drone hits Russian Black Sea Fleet command in Sevastopol
Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev is seen outside the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet
Guliya Levanenkova/TASS/ZUMA
An explosive device carried by a drone was detonated at the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the city of Sevastopol. The attack was carried out ahead of planned Navy Day celebrations, some of which have been canceled.
Mikhail Razvozhaev, Mayor of Sevastopol said six people were injured in the explosion.
There was no immediate information on where the drone began its flight; Sevastopol, Crimea’s largest city, lies about 170 kilometers (100 miles) south of the Ukrainian mainland and Russian forces control much of the continental area along the Black Sea.
Zelensky calls for residents of Donetsk to be evacuated
In a video address to residents of Donetsk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked everyone still in the eastern region of Ukraine, especially families with children, to leave immediately.
Zelensky also appealed to all Ukrainians. urging them to help the displaced, alongside the State which also guarantees assistance
“A lot of people are hesitant to leave, but you really have to do it,” he said. “And the decision will have to be made all the same. All the same. Believe me. And the sooner it is done, the more people leave the Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will be able to kill,” he said. -he declares.
Despite the fact that hostilities in the entire Donbass region began in 2014, some 200,000 people are still in the uncontrolled territories.
Russia calls on UN and Red Cross to investigate prison attack
Prison under attack in Olenivka
Dmitry Marmyshev/TASS/zuma
The Russian Defense Ministry said it had invited the United Nations and the Red Cross to investigate the deaths of Ukrainian prisoners killed in a missile attack on a prison held by Moscow-backed separatists.
Thursday’s attack left 53 people dead, with Russia accusing Kyiv of intentionally hitting the prison with rockets. Ukraine blamed Russian artillery, saying Moscow targeted the prison to hide the mistreatment of those held there.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has not yet received permission to visit the site of the attack in Olevnik.
How Russian oligarchs have adapted to sanctions (hint: they’re doing just fine)
After the February 24 invasion began, Russia’s billionaires and political elite were a prime target. Swift international sanctions were imposed, travel was restricted, yachts and villas in Europe were seized. The Kremlin oligarchs, it seemed, had to suffer.
But they are resourceful people with means at their disposal, and they know how to react to the new reality. They figured out what and how to fly, where to spend their money, how to preserve their summer vacation.
Ukrainian Pravda collected information on the current state of the Russian oligarchs, in part through flight tracking research.
Roman Abramovich, former owner of Chelsea Football Club, travels using chartered charters. He hid his own planes in the Arab Emirates and Switzerland.
Gennady Timchenko does not leave Russia, occasionally visiting Belarus on his own plane. This financier and confidant of Vladimir Putin, with a net worth north of $10 billion, seems to have no problem giving up his globetrotting, unlike Abramovich.
Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov lives in three countries at once: Russia, Chechnya and Turkey. His personal plane has flown to Istanbul several times since the start of the war.
Former President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also travels freely in Russia, Turkey and the Arab Emirates. His personal plane makes regular tourist flights to these countries.
The situation of the yachts of the oligarchs is more difficult to follow: the geolocation system is deactivated on all vessels not seized, and it is impossible to locate them.