Symbolic imageMoscow rejects Black Sea truce as port strikes go on
Russia has turned down Kyiv's offer of a mutual halt to attacks in the Black Sea. Strikes on ports on both sides continue.
Russia's foreign ministry said on Friday, 14 August, that it saw no grounds for "half-measures that only give the Kyiv regime a temporary respite". Spokesperson Maria Zakharova added that no formal terms had reached Moscow, and that the West gave no sanctions relief for the 2022-2023 moratorium. Reuters had reported a day earlier that Kyiv sent its proposal through an intermediary, after Turkey proposed a Black Sea ceasefire mechanism on 8 August.
Grain terminals idle
Ukraine's strike on Novorossiysk on Wednesday, 12 August, halted all three grain terminals at Russia's largest Black Sea port. Russian attacks have kept grain ships out of Odesa region ports since late July, and Ukraine's agriculture minister put August exports at 463,000 tonnes, a third of normal.
UN: July the deadliest month since 2022
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission counted 437 civilians killed and 2,610 injured in Ukraine in July, the highest monthly toll since May 2022. It logged 39 Russian attacks on ships and ports in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.
Baltic port fire
Bloomberg reported a fire at Russia's biggest Baltic port after a drone attack. Kommersant said the transport ministry plans to more than double the country's no-fly zones, to 818.
Other opinions
TASS did not report the rejection, covering a Lithuanian-Ukrainian ammunition plant deal instead.