Russia-Ukraine crisis live updates | Russia’s Lavrov walks out of G20 as West denounces Ukraine war

G20 foreign ministers called for an end to the war and grain blockade in Ukraine on July 8, as Russia’s top diplomat walked out of a meeting and denounced the West for “frenzied criticism” and squandering a chance to tackle global economic problems. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on food security and energy dominated the closed-door gathering on the Indonesian island of Bali, which ended with no joint statement, and no announcements of any agreements being reached. The forum was the first face-to-face meeting between Russia and the fiercest critics of its war.

The Western supply of high-precision weapons is helping Ukraine slow down Russia’s invasion, but the volumes of weapons are not enough and soldiers need time to adapt to using them, a top Ukrainian security official said. Kyiv said late last month it had received U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and has since praised them for battlefield successes such as destroying Russian warehouses and command posts as well forcing Russian troops from the strategic Snake Island in the Black Sea.

A Ukrainian regional official warned on July 8 of deteriorating living conditions in a city captured by Russian forces two weeks ago, saying Sievierodonetsk is without water, power or a working sewage system while the bodies of the dead decompose in hot apartment buildings. Gov. Serhiy Haidai said the Russians were unleashing indiscriminate artillery barrages as they try to secure their gains in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk province. Moscow this week claimed full control of Luhansk, but the governor and other Ukrainian officials said their troops retained a small part of the province.

Here are the latest updates

Langley

At CIA headquarters, Biden lauds U.S. intelligence for Putin warnings

U.S. President Joe Biden on July 8 thanked staff at the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency for warning the world about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans to invade Ukraine, and hailed what he called the “quiet bravery” of America’s spies.

Marking the CIA’s 75th anniversary, Mr. Biden said he had been involved with the agency for 52 of those years, first as a junior senator on a 1975 committee set up to investigate mind control experiments and other abuses by the agency.

Intelligence gathered by the CIA had exposed Mr. Putin’s plans and allowed Washington to warn other countries about the war, he said. – Reuters

Berlin

Berlin, Kyiv at odds over Russian gas pipeline

Germany said on July 8 it hopes to convince Canada to deliver a turbine needed to maintain the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, with Russia waiting on the machine’s arrival before increasing supplies.

Germany is seeking to bolster waning energy supplies, but Ukraine has accused Berlin of giving in to Russian “blackmail” after Moscow blamed reduced supplies on the need for repairs, not market conditions amid the Ukraine war.

The turbine is currently undergoing maintenance at a Canadian site owned by German industrial giant Siemens.

Russian energy behemoth Gazprom last month blamed the issue for a reduction in supplies to Germany via the controversial pipeline, with Berlin facing a serious energy crisis. – AFP

Washington

Ukraine hasn’t used HIMARS to strike in Russian territory

Ukraine has not used advanced U.S.-made high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) to strike Russian targets outside of Ukraine territory, a senior U.S. defense official said on July 8, disputing Russian accusations.

“The Russian claims about using HIMARS to strike outside of Ukrainian territory — those claims are false,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Ukraine is using those capabilities to fight the battle that its forces are facing, and they are using them effectively in that battle.” – Reuters

Indonesia

Blinken meets China’s Wang after leading pressure efforts on Russia

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bali on July 9 after a G20 ministerial meeting on the Indonesian island where the top U.S. diplomat led efforts to pressure Russia over its war in Ukraine.

U.S. officials say Mr. Blinken’s first face-to-face meeting with Mr. Wang since October, which includes a morning session of talks and a working lunch, is aimed at keeping the difficult U.S. relationship with Beijing stable and preventing it from veering inadvertently into conflict.

Mr. Blinken is expected to repeat warnings to China not to support Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine and the two sides will address contentious issues that include Taiwan, China’s extensive South China Sea claims, Beijing’s moves to expand its influence throughout the Pacific, human rights, and trade tariffs. – Reuters

Kyiv

Ukraine seizes $71 million of assets owned by Russian state companies

Ukraine has seized assets worth over 2.1 billion hryvnias ($71 million) owned by Russian state oil company Rosneft, gas firm Gazprom and nuclear energy corporation Rosatom, Ukraine’s state security service said on July 9.

The SBU said in a statement that Russia had used some of the profits from those assets to prepare its invasion of Ukraine and fund sabotage and intelligence activities. – Reuters

New Delhi

Jaishankar meets Blinken and Lavrov as divisions emerge within G20 on Ukraine crisis

External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on Friday met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Bali on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting. The meetings indicated the emerging differences within the G20 grouping as Russia accused the United States of forcing Europe and the rest of the world to abandon cheap energy sources while the U.S. blamed Moscow for “global food insecurity”

Washington

U.S. sending $400 million in military aid to Ukraine

The U.S. will send another $400 million in military equipment to Ukraine, including four more advanced rocket systems, a senior defence official said on July 9, in an effort to bolster Ukrainian efforts to strike deeper behind Russian frontlines in the eastern Donbas region.

The aid comes as Moscow this week claimed full control of Ukraine’s Luhansk province in the Donbas, but Ukrainian officials say their troops still control a small part of the province and fierce fighting continues in several villages.

The defence official said that the eight High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, that were previously sent are still being used by Ukraine forces in the fight. This will give them four more to help hit Russian command and control nodes, logistics capabilities and other systems that are further back behind the battlefront. A senior military official said at least 100 Ukrainian troops have been trained on the HIMARs. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public. – AP