By This was CNBC’s live blog tracking developments on the war in Ukraine. See here for the latest updates.
An explosion at an optical-mechanical plant near Moscow injured at least 45 people, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing local officials.
The factory manufactures night vision equipment and binoculars for the Russian military and is part of Russian defense conglomerate Rostec. Russian emergency services blamed the explosion on “workflow violations” and rejected reports of a drone strike.
Separately, two drones were shot down upon approaching Moscow overnight, Russian officials said, in the latest of a growing number of interceptions by the Russian capital’s air defense systems. There were no damage or injuries, the Russian ministry of defense said.
In his nightly address on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said that the death toll from Russia’s Monday strikes on Pokrovsk in eastern Donetsk had risen to nine, with another 82 people injured. A missile reportedly destroyed a popular hotel near the front line.
Denise Brown, the United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, said she was “profoundly disturbed” by the “horrifying attack” on Pokrovsk, which she estimated hit residential buildings, “killing and injuring scores of civilians.” Brown said missiles struck the same location twice, meaning that front-line workers were hit.
The White House said it has seen “solid support from the American people” when it comes to financing Ukraine’s fight against a full-scale Russian invasion.
“We have seen throughout this war solid support from the American people, solid support from the Congress in a bipartisan and bicameral way for continuing to support Ukraine. And we are going to stay focused on that,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on a conference call.
The Biden administration is expected to submit its next financial request to Congress soon. The Pentagon said on Tuesday that the U.S. has approximately $6 billion in congressionally approved funds.
“The president will continue to make the case that the greater national security obligations are at play here, including our national security and the national security commitments that we have made through the NATO alliance,” Kirby added.
— Amanda Macias
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the Biden administration is hopeful that Russia will return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
The deal, which Moscow abandoned nearly a month ago, reopened three Ukrainian ports amid Russia’s naval blockade for agricultural exports. The agreement allowed for more than 1,000 ships carrying nearly 33 million metric tons of agricultural products to more than 40 global destinations.
“We’re hopeful. The Secretary-General has not given up. The Government of Türkiye is working along with him to urge the Russians to come back into the deal, and we support those efforts,” Thomas-Greenfield said in an interview with Carolyn Beeler of PRX’s “The World.”
“Hopefully, through the efforts of the Secretary-General, they will eventually come to the right decision,” she added.
— Amanda Macias
The Biden administration imposed sanctions on eight Belarusian citizens, five entities and identified an aircraft as blocked property, according to an announcement by the Treasury Department.
“In line with our partners and allies, we will continue to ensure that the regime pays a price for its abysmal treatment of its own citizens and that our measures in response to Russia’s aggression cannot be circumvented through Belarus,” wrote Brian Nelson, undersecretary of Treasury’s Terrorism and Financial Intelligence unit, in a statement.
Read more about the latest sanctions here.
— Amanda Macias
A Ukrainian drone was intercepted heading toward a spent nuclear fuel storage at the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, Russian officials reportedly told state news agency RIA.
RIA did not cite its source. CNBC has not been able to independently verify the report.
The power plant, the biggest in Europe, has been occupied by Russian forces since March 2022.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian officials reported an 18-year-old was killed in a Russian strike on Nikopol, which lies on the other side of the Dnipro River to the Zaporizhzhia plant.
— Jenni Reid
Unmanned or uncrewed surfase vessels — more commonly known as USVs or drone boats — are increasingly used by Ukraine’s military against Russia, the U.K.’s defense ministry reported in its daily intelligence briefing.
The ministry noted recent attacks on Russian tankers that likely employed USVs, including the disabling of a merchant tanker near the Kerch Strait on August 4 and an attack on the landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak a day prior.
Although civilian-flagged, the Russian merchant ships targeted by Ukraine “have long been contracted to ship fuel and military supplies between Russia and Syria,” the ministry wrote.
“The attacks show that USV operations are increasingly a major component of modern naval warfare and can be turned against the weakest links of Russia’s sea supply lanes,” it added.
— Natasha Turak
Ukrainian forces “appear to have conducted a limited raid across the Dnipro River and landed on the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast,” the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based think tank, reported in an analysis note.
It is not clear whether Ukrainian troops have been able to hold longer term positions on the east bank, it added. Members of Russia’s occupation administration for Kherson downplayed any reports of the Ukrainian landing, saying that any advances had been repelled by Russian artillery.
The ISW said it “has not yet observed visual evidence to suggest that there are a substantial number of Ukrainian personnel or the deployment of Ukrainian vehicles near Kozachi Laheri,” referring to an east bank settlement east of Kherson city, and described Russian reporting of the situation as more of “a limited cross-river raid than a wider Ukrainian operation.”
Ukrainian officials have not commented on the operation.
— Natasha Turak
At least 35 people are injured after an explosion at an optical-mechanical plant near Moscow, Russian media reported. The facility manufactures night vision equipment and binoculars for the Russian military and is part of Rostec, a large Russian defense conglomerate.
The explosion at the Zagorsk plant in the town of Sergiyev Posad prompted a total evacuation from nearby buildings and caused “damage to social facilities,” with emergency services working at the scene, according to state media agency Tass.
“There are a lot of buildings that had windows blown out,” Sergiyev Posad’s administration wrote on its Telegram channel, according to a Google translation.
Russian emergency services are blaming the explosion on “workflow violations” and rejecting reports of a possible drone strike, state media outlet RIA Novosti said.
Videos posted to social media on both Russian and Ukrainian Telegram and Twitter accounts show a massive mushroom cloud emanating from the factory with plumes rising high into the sky. Ukrainian officials have already cast doubt on Russia’s claim that the explosion was caused internally.
— Natasha Turak
Russia will aim to build up its forces on its western border, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told a military meeting Wednesday, according to a transcript posted by the department.
“The United States is steadily raising the stakes, seeking from its allies deliveries of increasingly long-range and deadly weapons. In May, British long-range Storm Shadow air-launched guided missiles were transferred to Ukraine,” Shoigu said.
“Threats to the military security of the Russian Federation have multiplied in the western and north-western strategic directions.”
Shoigu said there was a “serious destabilizing factor” from the accession of Finland and planned accession of Sweden to NATO, as well as an existing risk from the “militarization of Poland.”
— Jenni Reid
A European country has agreed to buy 50 privately-owned Leopard 1 tanks formerly belonging to Belgium to send to Ukraine, news outlets including Reuters and the Guardian reported.
Freddy Versluys, CEO of defense company OIP Land Systems, reportedly said the firm had sold the tanks that it purchased from Belgium more than five years ago to another European country. He said he could not disclose the country or the price due to confidentiality agreements.
Two days ago, Versluys shared a picture of one of the tanks on LinkedIn with the caption: “First Leopard leaving our premises to join the fight for freedom in Ukraine.”
Belgium-based OIP has one of the biggest private military arsenals in Europe.
In February, Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder called the prices quoted by OIP to buy back the tanks “unreasonable” and “extremely high,” according to a Reuters report.
Versluys posted on LinkedIn on Tuesday: “The fact that they leave our company proves that we asked for a fair market price and someone was more than happy to take them.”
German newspaper Handelsblatt reported Tuesday that arms maker Rheinmetall had acquired the tanks to prepare some for use in Ukraine.
CNBC has contacted both OIP Land Systems and Rheinmetall for comment.
— Jenni Reid
Russian strikes on the city of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region killed an 18-year-old boy overnight, Governor Serhii Lysak said on Telegram, according to a Google translation.
Lysak said three men were injured and a church, five private houses, and several power lines were damaged. CNBC has not independently verified the report.
Nikopol is located across the across the Dnieper River from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station and has reported numerous strikes since the start of the war coming from the plant.
— Jenni Reid
Two drones were shot down, as they approached Moscow overnight, Russia’s defense ministry said on Wednesday.
In a Google-translated statement on the Telegram messaging app, the ministry accused Ukraine of an attempted terror attack and said the drones were shot down by Moscow’s air defense systems. CNBC has not independently verified the report.
No casualties or damage were logged, the defense ministry said.
In Google-translated comments on Telegram, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said one drone was shot down near Domodedovo — home to a major airport — and the other near the Minsk highway, which runs to the Belarus border.
Kyiv has not officially claimed responsibility for the drones.
— Jenni Reid
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said nine people were killed in two Russian missile strikes against the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk on Monday night. Eighty-two people were injured and a popular hotel was destroyed.
Front line officials said a second missile hit when rescue operations for the first attack had already begun.
Residents told news agency Reuters that the hotel was one of the few still operating in eastern Donetsk, near the frontline. It was used by journalists, aid workers and the military.
Local authorities have also reported strikes on the southern city of Nikopol and in the northeastern region of Sumy.
CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.
— Jenni Reid
Britain’s foreign office on Tuesday announced 25 new Russia-related sanctions that the U.K. said represent the “biggest ever U.K. action on military suppliers in third countries.”
The sanctions apply to individuals and business based in Turkey, Dubai, Slovakia and Switzerland, which the U.K. says are supporting the invasion of Ukraine by providing Russia with access to electronics used in military equipment.
The U.K. also extended sanctions on several Belarusian defense organizations.
“The Russian defence industry is severely stretched and focused entirely on sustaining the war. Unable to access Western components, the Russian military is struggling to produce sufficient top-end equipment and is now desperately searching for foreign armaments,” the foreign office said.
“Today’s package tackles Russia’s attempts to circumvent and offset these clear impacts of UK and allies’ sanctions.”
— Jenni Reid
The head of Poland’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday approved a border guard request for additional soldiers to be sent to patrol the country’s border with Belarus, state news agency PAP reported.
The application was reportedly for 1,000 troops to join the current guard of roughly 2,000.
Deputy interior minister Maciej Wąsik said in a press conference that migration pressure on the border is growing, and that acts of aggression against Polish border guards, soldiers and policemen are increasing. Wąsik said that includes the throwing of bottles, stones and branches.
Poland in July committed to increasing border security after the relocation of Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group to Belarus, and an uptick in migrant crossings.
There have been several moments of elevated tensions since then. On Aug. 1, Poland accused Russia ally Belarus of violating its airspace, while Belarus on Monday conducted military exercises near the border.
— Jenni Reid
Russia strikes kill seven in Pokrovsk; Ukraine detains alleged spies
