For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.
The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT.
10:05 p.m.: The Czech government has backed allowing its fighter jets to protect neighboring Slovakia's air space from September, the defense ministry said Wednesday, according to Reuters.
Slovakia has sought help from its NATO allies as it looks to ground its Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets in August under long-standing plans to modernize the military.
Slovak government officials have said the old jets could be sent to neighboring Ukraine to help Kyiv defend itself against Russia's invasion.
2:40 p.m.: As a 37-year veteran of the U.S. Justice Department, Eli Rosenbaum has spent much of his career probing and prosecuting fugitive Nazi war criminals.
So, it was no surprise that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland last month turned to Rosenbaum, dubbed the "Nazi hunter," to coordinate the DOJ's investigations of atrocities in Ukraine stemming from Russia's invasion of its neighbor.
In this interview with VOA's Masood Farivar, Rosenbaum and Christian Levesque, a top prosecutor for the DOJ's War Crimes Accountability Team, discuss agency's efforts to hold accountable the perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine.
2:30 p.m.: Sec. of State Blinken makes remarks to the press
2:10 p.m.:
1:30 p.m.: Real disposable incomes in Russia fell 0.8% in the second quarter of 2022, preliminary data showed on Wednesday, with rising prices and restrictions linked to the conflict in Ukraine stifling Russians' purchasing power, Reuters reported.
Industrial output fell 1.8% year-on-year in June, a sharper drop than in May, and retail sales continued their slump, down 9.6% when compared with June 2021. As in the previous month, unemployment was the outlier, with the jobless rate hovering at a record low 3.9%.
Russia's economy is plunging into recession and inflation is still hovering near a 10-year high after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24, triggering Western sanctions.
12:35 p.m.: The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) said Wednesday that the world body and its partners have assisted 11 million Ukrainians with humanitarian aid since the start of the war in late February.
11:50 a.m.: Authorities in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Kherson have closed the city's only bridge across the Dnipro river after it came under fire from U.S.-supplied high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), an official from the Russian-installed administration said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The Antonivskyi bridge has been closed for civilians but its structural integrity has not suffered from the shelling, Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-imposed Kherson administration, told Interfax.
"Traffic on the bridge is blocked. Indeed, another HIMARS strike was launched during the night," Stremousov said in remarks shared on his Telegram channel. "We have provided for all things like this, and in fact there are several ferry crossings," he added.
11:30 a.m.: A Ukrainian boy shows his grandmother's burned-out home in a blog post from Russian-occupied Mariupol, while a woman says the Russian ruble is replacing the Ukrainian hryvnya in most transactions. Numerous Ukrainian video bloggers are documenting daily life after Russian troops invaded and seized control of their city. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has this story.
11:05 a.m.: Germany has approved the sale of 100 tank howitzers worth 1.7 billion euros to Ukraine, magazine Der Spiegel reported, citing a spokesperson for manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), according to Reuters.
KMW has already started manufacturing the howitzers, the Panzerhaubitze 2000 model, the full run of which will take several years to complete, Spiegel said. It added that it was not yet clear when the first of the howitzers could be delivered.
Ukraine has pleaded for the West to send more and better artillery as the country runs out of ammunition for its existing Soviet-era arsenal, which is dwarfed by Russia's.
10:30 a.m.:
10:15 a.m.: The Group of Seven richest economies aim to have a price-capping mechanism on Russian oil exports in place by December 5, when European Union sanctions banning seaborne imports of Russian crude come into force, a senior G7 official said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
“The goal here is to align with the timing that the EU has already put in place. We want to make sure that the price cap mechanism goes into effect at the same time,” said the official, who asked not to be named.
The G7 - the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Britain - said last month they would consider setting a price cap on Russian crude to curb the oil revenue that Moscow uses to finance its invasion of Ukraine. Since then there have been efforts to bring on board China and India, which are already buying Russian oil at a discount to the market price.
10:00 a.m.: The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday is holding a hearing titled “Challenges Facing Global Food Security.” Maura Barry, senior deputy assistant administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development's Bureau for Resilience and Food Security; and Sarah Charles, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, are scheduled to testify.
9:45 a.m.: Turkish officials have opened a joint coordination center for Ukrainian grain exports and expect shipments to begin in the coming days as Kyiv said work had resumed at three Black Sea ports designated under a recent UN-brokered deal with Russia for the flow of grain that has been blocked by Moscow's invasion, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
The main duty for the center, opened on July 27, involves monitoring the safe passage of Ukrainian grain ships along established routes and overseeing their inspection for banned weapons on the way into and out of the Black Sea.
Using its strong relations with both Ukraine and Russia, Ankara helped put the deal together and has assumed a leading role in ensuring its execution.
"The staff working at this center are aware that the eyes of the world are upon them," Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told reporters at the opening of the center. "It is our hope that the center will make greatest contribution possible to humanitarian needs and peace."
With Turkey ready to monitor the process, the Ukrainian Navy said in a statement that work has resumed in the Black Sea ports of Odesa, Chernomorsk, and Pivdenniy.
9:20 a.m.: The fate of Ukraine's second biggest power plant hung in the balance after Russian-backed forces claimed to have captured it intact, but Kyiv did not confirm its seizure, saying only that fighting was underway nearby, Reuters reported. If confirmed, the seizure of the Soviet-era coal-fired Vuhlehirsk power plant in eastern Ukraine would be Moscow's first strategic gain in more than three weeks in what it calls its "special military operation".
8:30 a.m.: Russia’s foreign minister on Wednesday denied his country is responsible for the global surge in food prices following its invasion of Ukraine, dismissing the “so-called food crisis” as he completed a visit to several African nations on a continent hit especially hard, The Associated Press reported.
Addressing reporters and African diplomats in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, Sergei Lavrov accused the United States and European countries of driving up prices by pursuing “reckless” green policies and even hoarding food during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The situation in Ukraine did additionally negatively affect food markets, but not due to the Russian special operation, rather due to the absolutely inadequate reaction of the West, which announced sanctions,” Lavrov said.
Western countries, for their part, have repeatedly pointed out that food is exempt from their sanctions on Russia and have blamed Moscow for the global crisis.
8:05 a.m.:
7:50 a.m.: Ukraine’s government has handed over 66 state-owned enterprises for privatization, with the intention that an additional 354 should be liquidated, the Kyiv Independent reported Wednesday.
“In their Telegram announcement, the Energy Ministry states the restructuring will help stimulate economic growth and end the Soviet legacy of mismanagement in state-owned enterprises,” the Kyiv Independent said.
7:25 a.m.:
7:10 a.m.: Shipping companies are not rushing to export millions of tons of trapped grain out of Ukraine, despite a breakthrough deal to provide safe corridors through the Black Sea, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.
That is because explosive mines are drifting in the waters, ship owners are assessing the risks and many still have questions over how the deal will unfold. The complexities of the agreement have set off a slow, cautious start, but it’s only good for 120 days — and the clock began ticking last week.
The goal over the next four months is to get some 20 million tons of grain out of three Ukrainian sea ports blocked since Russia’s February 24 invasion. That provides time for about four to five large bulk carriers per day to transport grain from the ports to millions of impoverished people worldwide who are facing hunger.
It also provides ample time for things to go awry. Only hours after the signing Friday, Russian missiles struck Ukraine’s port of Odesa — one of those included in the agreement. Another key element of the deal offers assurances that shipping and insurers carrying Russian grain and fertilizer will not get caught in the wider net of Western sanctions.
6:55 a.m.:
6:30 a.m.: Russia's Gazprom is supplying as much gas to Europe as possible, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, adding that sanctions-driven technical issues with equipment were preventing Gazprom from exporting more, Reuters reported.
Russia delivered less gas to Europe on Wednesday in a further escalation of an energy stand-off between Moscow and the European Union that will make it harder, and costlier, for the bloc to fill up storage ahead of the winter heating season.
The cut in supplies, flagged by Gazprom earlier this week, has reduced the capacity of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline - the major delivery route to Europe for Russian gas - to a fifth of its capacity, as Russia said another gas turbine needed a repair.
6:20 a.m.:
6:15 a.m.: Sweden has not yet extradited suspects Turkey seeks over terrorism-related charges despite signing an accord to lift Ankara’s veto to its NATO membership last month, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but were faced with opposition from Turkey which accused the Nordic countries of imposing arms embargoes on Ankara and supporting groups it deems terrorists.
The three countries signed an accord to lift Ankara’s veto in exchange for counter-terrorism promises, but Turkey has said it will block their membership bids if the pledges are not kept. It has sought the extradition of 73 people from Sweden, as well as a dozen others from Finland.
6:05 a.m.:
5:30 a.m.: The Philippine government has scrapped a deal to purchase 16 Russian military transport helicopters due to fears of possible U.S. sanctions, Philippine officials said, according to The Associated Press.
Former Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Tuesday night he canceled the 12.7-billion-peso ($227 million) deal to acquire the Mi-17 helicopters in a decision last month that was approved by then-President Rodrigo Duterte before their terms in office ended on June 30.
“We could face sanctions,” Lorenzana told The Associated Press, describing ways Washington could express its displeasure if the Philippines proceeded with the deal due to America’s worsening conflict with Russia.
American security officials were aware of Manila’s decision and could offer similar heavy-lift helicopters for Philippine military use, he said.
5:15 a.m.:
5:00 a.m.: Germany's gas regulator said on Wednesday a gas shortage was still avoidable, even as Russian supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline into Germany are set to halve but warned industry and consumers would have to work harder to save gas, Reuters reported.
State-controlled Russian giant Gazprom has said flows will fall to 33 million cubic meters per day, a fifth of the normal capacity, from Wednesday because it needed to halt the operation of a gas turbine at a compressor station on instructions from an industry watchdog.
Klaus Mueller, head of Germany's Bundesnetzagentur regulator, said the country, which is heavily reliant on Russian supply, could still avoid a gas shortage that would require it to trigger the next phase of an emergency plan that would prompt rationing.
But he said it would require efforts by both industry and consumers to reduce gas usage. "The crucial thing is to save gas," Mueller said. "I would like to hear less complaints but reports (from industries saying) we as a sector are contributing to this," he told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
The European Union has repeatedly accused Russia of resorting to energy blackmail but the Kremlin says shortfalls in supply have been caused by maintenance issues and the impact of Western sanctions.
4:55 a.m.:
4:40 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy has nominated Andriy Kostin, a lawmaker from the president’s Servant of the People party, to be the country’s next prosecutor general, Reuters reported.
Zelenskiyy submitted a formal request to parliament for the assembly to vote to confirm Kostin's appointment to replace Iryna Venediktova, who was removed as prosecutor general earlier this month.
It was not immediately clear when parliament will vote on Kostin’s appointment.
Parliament formally dismissed Venediktova and domestic security agency chief Ivan Bakanov on July 19, two days after Zelenskiy suspended them for failing to root out Russian spies since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
After that vote, ruling parliamentary party leader and close Zelenskiy ally David Arakhamia wrote on Telegram that Venediktova “remains in the team,” and implied that she was due for a diplomatic posting.
3:45 a.m.: Reuters reported that requests for Russian natural gas flows through Nord Stream 1 into Germany nearly halved from 8 a.m. CET on July 27, data from the pipeline operator showed on Wednesday.
Nominations were at 14,423,764 kilowatt hours an hour (kWh/h) for 0800-0900 CET (0600-0700 GMT) onwards, down from levels above 27,000,000 kWh/h previously.
Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Monday it was halting one more turbine at the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline for maintenance which would result in a reduction of gas flows from Wednesday.
3 a.m.: Ukrainian forces have struck a strategically important bridge in the southern part of the country, using what a Russia-appointed official said were rocket systems supplied by the United States, wire services reported.
The Antonivskyi Bridge crossing the Dnieper River was closed Wednesday following the Ukrainian strike. Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russia-appointed administration for the Kherson region, said the bridge was still standing after the late Tuesday strike, but that the road deck was full of holes.
The bridge is a key link allowing Russia to supply its forces in southern Ukraine.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy highlighted the bridge strikes in a tweet Wednesday, saying Russian forces should take them as a warning.
2:30 a.m.:
Russian private military firm Wagner has likely made tactical advances in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, British military intelligence said on Wednesday.
The advances were made around the Vuhlehirska Power Plant and the nearby village of Novoluhanske, the Ministry of Defense said on Twitter, adding that some Ukrainian forces have likely withdrawn from the area.
1:35 a.m.: Simon Ostrovsky, a special correspondent for PBS NewsHour, traveled to the city of Mykolaiv after a Russian missile strike on July 17 claimed dozens of lives. Ostrovsky reported this story showing the toll Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has taken on the country.
12:15 a.m.: The Kyiv Independent shares via Telegram that Russian troops attacked an industrial area of Kharkiv with S-300 long-range missile systems early on July 27, according to the city's mayor, Ihor Terekhov. Rescuers are on the scene. No word yet on casualties.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.
