Russia attacks Mykolaiv and Odesa, drones attack Crimea, European Commission condemns Russia’s withdrawal from grain deal

The war in Ukraine has been raging for 510 days. Russia carried out overnight attacks on the cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv. The “governor” of annexed Crimea reported that drones were shot down in the air space of the peninsula. One of the lanes was restored for use in the reverse mode on the Crimea Bridge, which caused a traffic jam stretching out for almost three km. The European Commission condemned Russian withdrawal from the grain deal. Alyaksandar Lukashenka founded a people’s militia in Belarus.

The main events that occurred in the early hours of 18 July — read the top headlines in Novaya-Europe’s round-up.

Explosions in Mykolaiv and Odesa

In the early hours of 18 July, explosions rocked the city of Odesa, Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne reports. The head of the Odesa regional military administration Oleh Kiper reported that the Russian army was attacking the south of Ukraine with combat drones.

The Ukrainian Operational Command South stated that the city was attacked with six Kalibr missiles from the direction of the Black Sea, they were all shot down by air defence. The debris from the fallen missiles and the blast wave damaged the port infrastructure facilities and several private houses. An elderly man was injured, he was hospitalised. Furthermore, 21 Shahed-136 drones were shot down in the air space of the Odesa region.

In the Mykolaiv region, an air raid alert was sounded; the head of the regional military administration Vitalii Kim reported that a fire was being extinguished. “Initial assessment is that there are no victims,” he wrote. The Operational Command South clarified that four Shahed drones were shot down in the air space of the Mykolaiv region.

Drones in Crimea

Russia’s Ministry of Defence reported that an attack with the use of “28 unmanned aerial vehicles against facilities on territory of Crimean peninsula” was foiled. According to the ministry, 17 Ukrainian UAVs were destroyed by air defence, while 11 more “intercepted by electronic warfare means and crashed without reaching their target”.

The “head” of annexed Crimea Sergey Aksyonov said that Russian air defence shot down nine drones in the east of the peninsula during the night. Nineteen more drones, according to him, were destroyed by electronic warfare. There are no casualties.

Reversible lane opened on Crimean Bridge

One of the lanes of the Crimean Bridge was reopened in a reverse mode, according to the “vice prime minister” of Crimea Marat Khusnullin. “A temporary scheme for how the traffic will move across the bridge has been developed. Before deciding on whether to open [the road], it was additionally tested,” he said.

A correspondent for Russian state news agency TASS reports that reverse movement was launched in the zone of the explosion, where repairs are currently being conducted. In the other zones, the traffic goes both ways along the right side of the bridge.

However, the agency notes that

European Commission condemns Russia withdrawing from grain deal

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has condemned Russian withdrawal from the grain deal. She has promised that the EU would continue exporting Ukrainian agriculture products to global markets.

“I strongly condemn Russia’s cynical move to terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative, despite UN & Türkiye’s efforts,” she tweeted. According to her, Ukrainian grain will still be supplied to global markets via “Solidarity Lanes” — the network of land and river routes between Ukraine and the EU.

She added that the EU was working to ensure food security for the world’s vulnerable. 

On 17 July, the Kremlin announced Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal. The joint coordination centre in Istanbul will be dissolved, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated. The ministry added that Russia would be withdrawing its guarantees for the safety of navigation, shutting down the maritime humanitarian corridor, and once again declaring the north-western waters of the Black Sea a temporarily dangerous area. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv intends to do everything possible to ensure the continued export of Ukrainian grain.

Lukashenka establishes people’s militia in Belarus

A people’s militia has been founded in Belarus, the corresponding law was signed by Alyksandar Lukashenka, as per his website.

“The document establishes the legal framework for volunteer participation of citizens in enforcing martial law introduced in the administrative-territorial units of the republic,” the law states.

In September 2022, the first detachment of people’s militia was established in the Belarusian town of Lobzha — 22 people joined it.