US President Joe Biden will hold a video call Thursday with allies including leaders of the Group of Seven nations, the NATO military alliance and the European Union. The talks will focus on the next steps to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
(Bloomberg) — US President Joe Biden will hold a video call Thursday with allies including leaders of the Group of Seven nations, the NATO military alliance and the European Union. The talks will focus on the next steps to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
The Pentagon has sent Ukraine its most accurate artillery shell, the GPS-guided Excalibur, according to budget documents. A plan to replenish the US stock of Excaliburs acknowledges for the first time that the Pentagon has been supplying Ukrainian forces with the shell.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country’s army has recaptured a few towns in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, without elaborating on any details.
(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)
Key Developments
- Biden to Host Call Thursday With Allies on Support for Ukraine
- Most-Accurate US Artillery Shell Is Quietly Added to Ukraine Aid
- All Eyes Turn to Ukraine Gas Link as Russia Squeezes Europe
- Putin’s Attack on Ukraine Grain Deal Stokes Food Inflation Fears
- Sanctions Pull Russian Billionaires Tighter Into Putin’s Embrace
On the Ground
Russian forces carried out continuous missile and air strikes, damaging infrastructure in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, the Ukrainian General Staff reported. Russia hit the northern city of Kharkiv with rockets again overnight, Interfax-Ukraine said, citing local authorities. The Institute for the Study of War said that Ukrainian forces are likely exploiting Russia’s deployment of forces away from the Izyum-Kharkiv area to retake territory and threaten Russian ground lines of communication there.
(All times CET)
Germany Pledges to Help Companies Hurt by Putin’s Energy Squeeze (10:02 a.m.)
Germany will support firms hit by the energy crisis, widening a pandemic-era aid program to help companies hit by surging costs.
Europe’s largest economy is at the center of the continent’s energy crunch as Russian President Vladimir Putin slashes supplies in retaliation for sanctions related to the war in Ukraine. After the ruling coalition agreed on measures to support consumers, Germany will make funding available to strapped businesses.
Hundreds of Portuguese NATO Documents Found on Dark Web: Diario (10 a.m.)
Portugal’s Armed Forces General Staff, the country’s top military body, was the target of a cyberattack that resulted in the theft of classified NATO documents that were sent to the southern European nation, Diario de Noticias reported, citing unnamed sources.
Hundreds of those documents, which were classified as secret and confidential, were found for sale on the dark web, according to the Portuguese daily. The Portuguese government was informed of this breach by the U.S. embassy in Lisbon in August, the newspaper said.
Putin’s Criticism of Ukraine Grain Deal Triggers Food Prices Worries (9:15 a.m.)
Putin’s attack on a grain deal with Ukraine and the surge in wheat prices highlighted the fragility of the global crop trade, raising the specter of higher food prices to come.
The grain shipment corridor from Ukraine is not helping poorer countries, as the majority of supplies are going to Europe, Putin said Wednesday. He added that it may be worth discussing restrictions on the routes with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, putting the future of the deal in jeopardy.
Zelenskiy Praises Military For Retaking Several Towns in Kharkiv Region (8:15 a.m.)
Ukraine’s army has recaptured a few towns in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, according to Zelenskiy. “Now is not the time to name the settlements to which the Ukrainian flag returns,” he said in his regular nightly video address. “Each success of our military in one direction or another changes the general situation along the entire front line in favor of Ukraine.”
Zelenskiy also promised to spend more than a trillion hryvnias (27 billion dollars) for security and defense needs next year and to cut all non-critical government spending, including those of state-run companies. Ukraine’s government is to submit the draft of the 2023 budget to parliament by September 15.
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