War in Ukraine, Day 149 | Continuation of the bombardments, agreement on the export of cereals

(Istanbul) Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement on Friday in Istanbul with the UN and Turkey to unblock grain exports in the face of the risk of famines in the world, while the bombardments continued in the east and the southern Ukraine.

The two belligerents initialed two identical but separate texts, at the request of the Ukrainians who refused to sign with the Russians.

The signing of this fiercely negotiated agreement under the auspices of the United Nations and Ankara took place at Dolmabahçe Palace on the Bosphorus Strait, in the presence of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip. Erdoğan.

The conditions are met for its application “in the coming days”, assured Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu shortly after.

This agreement must now be “fully implemented”, stressed Antonio Guterres, as did the head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell.

The United States, which supports Ukraine against Russian aggression, blamed Moscow for the success of the operation. “It is now up to Russia to concretely implement this agreement,” underlined the number 3 of American diplomacy, Victoria Nuland.

Ukraine has shown itself to be circumspect. “Ukraine does not trust Russia. I don’t think anyone has reason to trust Russia,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba stressed.

It is now “the responsibility of the UN” to ensure compliance with the agreement, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in the evening, saying he expected “provocations, attempts to discredit Ukrainian and international efforts “.

“The agreement fully corresponds to the interests of Ukraine”, he however welcomed, adding that the Ukrainian military would continue to control “100% all access to the ports”, which Russia initially demanded the demining.

Mr. Erdogan, for his part, hoped that this agreement would “strengthen the hope of ending this war” that has been waged for almost five months, in one of the most fertile regions of Europe, two of the largest world grain producers.

The head of British diplomacy and candidate for the succession of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, was more direct.

“To enable a lasting return to global security and economic stability, [Vladimir] Putin must end the war and withdraw from Ukraine,” she said.

“Safe Corridors”

The main measure resulting from the agreement is the establishment of “secure corridors” to allow the circulation in the Black Sea of ​​merchant ships, which Moscow and Kyiv undertake “not to attack”, explained a United Nations official. united.

It will be valid for “120 days”, the time to take out the approximately 25 million tonnes accumulated in the silos of Ukraine while a new harvest approaches.

The negotiators, however, gave up on clearing the Black Sea of ​​mines – mainly laid by the Ukrainians to protect their coasts. The UN said that “Ukrainian pilots” would clear the way for cargo ships in territorial waters.

As for the inspections of ships departing from and heading to Ukraine, demanded by Russia to prevent them from being used to bring weapons, they will take place in the ports of Istanbul.

A few hours before the signing, the Kremlin had stressed that if Ukrainian cereals had to reach world markets, it was also necessary “to allow the markets to receive additional volumes of fertilizers and cereals” from Russia, the export of which was held back by Western sanctions.

In the fertile south of Ukraine, farmers remained skeptical. The Istanbul agreement “gives a little hope”, certainly considers a farmer in the region, Mykola Zaveroukha, who expects to be able to export some 13,000 tonnes of cereals. But, he immediately adds, “Russia is not reliable, it has demonstrated that year after year”.

Russian bombings

At the same time, Russian forces continue their relentless bombardment in the Donetsk region (east), which has been at the heart of their military offensive in recent months.

The Ukrainian presidency recorded there on Friday “five people killed and 10 injured in the last 24 hours”.

” There is nothing left. The officials left. We have to fend for ourselves to stay alive,” said Lioudmila, a 64-year-old woman who was picking apricots in Chassiv Iar, a village in the region targeted by a bloody strike (45 dead according to local authorities) on July 10. .

New Russian shelling in Sloviansk also left three injured and damaged six buildings and several houses, the governor of the Donetsk region Pavlo Kyrylenko announced on Telegram. According to initial information, they were cluster munitions.

On the pro-Russian side, the authorities of the two separatist territories in the Donbass mining basin announced that they had blocked Google, accusing it of “promoting terrorism and violence against all Russians”.

In the south, according to Kyiv, Russian forces are bombarding villages along the frontline in the Kherson region, where the Ukrainian army is trying to reclaim areas taken by Moscow in the wake of the launch of its invasion in late February.

Kyiv thus claimed to have struck a Russian position near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, under Moscow control, with “a kamikaze drone”.

The strike “hit a camp including a vehicle equipped with Grad multiple rocket launchers. Three Russians were killed, 12 injured, Ukrainian military intelligence said on its Facebook page, posting a video presented as depicting the attack.

The United States announced on Friday a new tranche of military aid to Ukraine to the tune of $270 million, including four new Himars precision artillery systems, and up to 500 Phoenix Ghost suicide drones.

Russia has “launched deadly bombings across the country, hitting malls, apartment buildings, killing innocent Ukrainian civilians,” said John Kirby, White House spokesman for strategic issues.

“In the face of these atrocities, the President has made it clear that we will continue to support the Ukrainian government and its people for as long as necessary,” he added.

The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) for its part accused the Russian army on Friday of perpetrating torture, illegal detention and kidnapping of civilians in the southern part of Ukraine under its control.