July 17, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Commercial vessels including vessels that are part of the Black Sea grain deal wait to pass the Bosphorus strait off the shores of Yenikapi during a misty morning in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 31, 2022.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted on Monday “strongly” condemning Russia’s move to withdraw from the Black Sea grain deal despite efforts from the UN and Turkey.

The United Kingdom called the decision a “blatant attempt to harm the most vulnerable as part of its illegal war.”

A spokesperson for the UK’s foreign office said they are monitoring the situation. “By unilaterally forcing the collapse of the BSGI, Russia has used food as a weapon and is preventing grain reaching those who need it most,” the spokesperson said.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra called Russia’s decision “utterly immoral” on Twitter.

The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell and the president of the EU Council Charles Michel have also condemned Russia’s decision not to extend the crucial Black Sea grain deal. 

“I am so sorry to say that today Russia has refused to prolong this deal and this is something very serious that will create a lot of troubles for many people around the world. We, from our side, will do everything we can through our solidarity lanes in order to make available the Ukrainian grain for the people who eat from it,” Borrell said Monday, speaking to the media arriving at the European Union–Latin America and Caribbean meeting in Brussels. 

The Black Sea grain deal “is very important, especially for the most vulnerable countries, because this agreement, together with the European solidarity lanes, is helping to make sure that the most vulnerable countries have access to the grains and to the fertilizers they need for the people, for the population,” Michel said. 

“That’s why we fully support all the efforts of Antonio Guterres to make sure that the continuity of this agreement will be guaranteed,” he added. 

President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola also voiced her concern over Russia’s decision. 

“For us, it is extremely worrying. What we have seen with the ongoing provision by Ukraine — notwithstanding the fact that it is under daily bombing attacks — is the possibility for Ukrainian grain to continue to feed the world,” Metsola said. 

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that the “blame is on Russia’s side. This is all Russia’s fault. I think is extremely severe, very damaging, in many ways: damaging to Ukraine, damaging to African and Middle East countries. It’s a very bad signal coming from Russia.” 

France and Germany have also come out condemning Russia’s suspension its participation in the grain deal, saying it sends out a “bad message” to countries grappling with the food security crisis.

Earlier on Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia is allowing the deal to expire at 5 p.m. ET on Monday, effectively severing its participation in the UN-brokered arrangement.

“France condemns the suspension by Russia of its participation in the Black Sea grain initiative. Russia is solely responsible for blocking shipping in this maritime area and is imposing an illegal blockade on Ukrainian ports,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement Monday.

France called on Russia to “stop blackmailing global food security “and reverse its decision to exit the deal.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also strongly criticized the decision, highlighting its negative impact on countries hit by “higher prices.”

Speaking to reporters at the European Union–Latin America and Caribbean summit, Scholz stressed Russia’s withdrawal sends a “bad message” to the rest of the world.

“Everyone will understand exactly what’s behind it: an act which has a lot to do with Russia not feeling responsible for good coexistence in the world,” the German leader said.

Meanwhile, the director general of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said Monday she was “deeply disappointed” with Russia’s decision, tweeting that she shared the UN chief Antonio Guterres’ regret and concern. “Black Sea trade in food, feed & fertilizer is critical to the stability of global food prices. Sad to say that poor people & poor countries are hardest hit. Let’s keep hope alive on renewal,” she said in a tweet.

CNN’s Eve Brennan, Catherine Nicholls, Olga Voitovych, Sharon Braithwaite, James Frater, Niamh Kennedy, and Chris Stern contributed to this reporting.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is “deeply disappointed” that his proposals to address obstacles to Russian exports of food and fertilizer products went “unheeded, and expressed “regret” that Moscow decided to withdraw from the grain deal.

Guterres explained the agreement had helped lower food prices by more than 23% since the beginning of the war.

“Ultimately, participation in these agreements is a choice, but struggling people everywhere and developing countries don’t have a choice,” he said. “Hundreds of millions of people face hunger and consumers are confronting a global cost of living crisis and they will pay the price.”

“In the US we are already seeing a jump in wheat prices this morning,” he added.

Guterres concluded by saying he was aware certain obstacles had “remained in the foreign trade of Russian food and fertilizer products,” but said he had written a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin outlining solutions to those hurdles, as well as the benefits Russia had reaped from the deal. 

Guterres said that despite today’s decision, the UN “will not stop our efforts to facilitate the unimpeded access to global markets for food products and fertilizers from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation, I particularly want to recognize the efforts of the government of Turkey in this regard.”

Wheat and corn prices on global commodities markets jumped Monday after Russia pulled out of a crucial deal allowing the export of grain from Ukraine. The collapse of the pact threatens to push up food prices for consumers worldwide and tip millions into hunger.

The White House warned that Russia’s decision “will worsen food insecurity and harm millions of vulnerable people around the world.”

“The Black Sea Grain Initiative has been critical to bringing down food prices around the world, which spiked as a result of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” Adam Hodge, a spokesperson for the US National Security Council, said in a statement.

The Black Sea deal — originally brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in a year ago — ensured the safe passage of ships carrying grain from Ukrainian ports. So far the deal has allowed for the export of almost 33 million metric tons of food through Ukrainian ports, according to UN data.

The collapse of the deal is likely to have repercussions far beyond the region.

Before the war, Ukraine was the fifth-largest wheat exporter globally, accounting for 10% of exports, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Read the full story here and learn more about the deal below:

CNN’s Rob Picheta, Hanna Ziady, Mick Krever, Anna Chernova and Priscilla Alvarez contributed reporting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said “everything” must be done to ensure his country can use the Black Sea to export grain after Russia announced it was pulling out of a UN-brokered deal. 

“Even without Russia, we must do everything possible so that we can use this Black Sea corridor,” he said according to his spokesperson Sergiy Nykyforov. 

Zelensky went on to suggest Ukraine could continue grain exports without Russian support. 

“We are not afraid. We have been approached by companies who own vessels,” he explained. “They said they are ready to continue grain deliveries if Ukraine ships out and Turkey lets them through.”

In withdrawing from the pact, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday that its government was removing guarantees for safe navigation in the Black Sea.

There are alternative routes for Ukrainian grain and oilseed exports by rail through eastern Europe, but they can’t readily cope with the volume that Ukraine wants to export.

“I have instructed our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after the official signal from the Russian Federation, to prepare our official signals to the United Nations and to Turkey so that they can answer back to me as to the President of Ukraine that they are ready to continue our initiative,” Zelensky added. 

CNN’s Rob Picheta, Mick Krever and Anna Chernova contributed reporting to this post.

The White House warned Monday that Russia’s decision to suspend participation in the Ukraine grain deal “will worsen food insecurity and harm millions of vulnerable people around the world” and urged Russia to “immediately reverse its decision.”  

The Russian government on Monday said that it is allowing a deal, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, that allows the export of Ukrainian grain to expire. The agreement, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022, is officially set to expire on Monday afternoon. The deal allowed Ukraine to export grain from its ports and navigate safe passage through the Black Sea, to Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait.

“More than half of the 32 million metric tons of grain and foodstuffs shipped through the Initiative has gone to developing countries, including some of the most food insecure regions of the globe. And every shipment under the Initiative has contributed to reducing hardship in the world’s poorest countries, since bringing grain to world markets lowers food prices for all,” Hodge said.

Some context: The rate of exports made under the deal had started to tail off in recent months; UN figures show that May and June were the two months with the fewest metric tons exported since August 2022.

“Preventing this grain from getting to markets will harm people around the world, and indeed we are already seeing a spike in global wheat prices as a result of Russia suspending its participation in the Initiative. We urge the Government of Russia to immediately reverse its decision,” he added.

The supports of the Kerch straight bridge, linking Russia to Crimea, were not damaged by Monday’s blast, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said.

“According to a preliminary assessment, the supports of the Crimean bridge were not damaged,” Khusnullin told Russian journalists on Monday. 

Divers are currently completing the inspection of the bridge and the decision on the possibility of launching car traffic will be made within two hours, he added.

Some background: A source from Ukraine’s security service (SBU) said the attack on the Kerch Bridge, which killed a couple and injured their daughter, was a joint operation of the SBU and Ukraine’s naval forces.

The $3.7 billion Kerch Bridge is strategically important because it links Russia’s Krasnodar region with the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014. It was the physical expression of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s objective to take over Ukraine and bind it to Russia forever. 

The key Crimean Bridge linking the annexed peninsula to Russia was hit by two strikes early Monday. According to a source, Ukraine’s security service and naval forces carried out the attack, which left two people dead.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin is allowing the Black Sea grain deal to expire — a move fiercely criticized by Western leaders.

Here are the latest developments:

Bridge attack:

The grain deal:

Elsewhere:

The UN-chartered vessel MV Valsamitis is loaded to deliver 25,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat to Kenya and 5,000 tonnes to Ethiopia, at the port of Chornomorsk, east of Odesa on the Black Sea coast, on February 18, 2023.

In withdrawing from the Black Sean Grain Initiative, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday that its government was removing guarantees for safe navigation in the Black Sea. 

The Foreign Ministry said that the Russian government objects to the further extension of the deal and officially informed the Turkish and Ukrainian sides on Monday, adding that the UN secretariat was also notified.

“Contrary to the declared humanitarian goals, the export of Ukrainian food was almost immediately transferred to a purely commercial basis and until the last moment was aimed at serving the narrowly selfish interests” of Kyiv and the West, the statement read, using the Russian name for the Ukrainian capital.

The ministry also stressed that the Russia-UN Memorandum did not function as planned. “We are forced to state that none of the five systemic tasks envisaged by the Russia-UN Memorandum have been fulfilled,” the statement read.

According to the ministry, Russia would be ready to consider restoring the “deal” only if the West fulfills its obligations and actually withdraws Russian fertilizers and food from the sanctions. 

What the UN says: A United Nations official has confirmed to CNN that the UN office in Istanbul, Turkey, has received written notice from Russia that they are ending participation in the Ukraine grain deal.

“The Secretary-General will not stop his efforts to facilitate the unimpeded access to global markets for food products and fertilizers from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation to preserve global food security,” the UN official said.

CNN’s Alex Marquardt in Odesa, Ukraine contributed to this report.

The UK has imposed 14 new sanctions on Russian individuals in response to the forced deportation of Ukrainian children, according to a statement from the UK’s Foreign office.

The sanctions were enacted against officials including Ksenia Mishonova, commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Moscow Region, and Sergey Kravtsov, minister of education of Russia.

The UK’s Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, said Monday: “In his chilling program of forced child deportation, and the hate-filled propaganda spewed by his lackeys, we see Putin’s true intention — to wipe Ukraine from the map.”

“Today’s sanctions hold those who prop up Putin’s regime to account, including those who would see Ukraine destroyed, its national identity dissolved, and its future erased,” Cleverly added.

A combine harvester cuts wheat in a field near Novosofiivka village, Mykolaiv region, Ukraine, on July 4.

The cost of wheat rose 3% to $6.80 a bushel, following the Russian government’s announcement that it is terminating the Black Sea grain deal with Ukraine.

The benchmark wheat contract — the contract for a particular product that most traders of that item will look to in order to price their own contracts — hiked early Monday, according to the Chicago Board of Trade.

Futures prices are still down 52% from their all-time high hit in early March 2022.

The agreement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey with Moscow and Kyiv in June 2022 allowed for the safe passage of grain exports from southern Ukraine into the global market.

Samantha Power, the administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), arrived in Ukraine on Monday.

US Ambassador Bridget Brink greeted her at a rail station, as seen in a video Power posted on Twitter.

The US has remained a staunch ally of Ukraine since the Kremlin launched its invasion in February 2022, donating billions of dollars worth of military aid and imposing sanctions on Russia in an attempt to squeeze its economy.

A train moves along the Crimean Bridge, a section of which was damaged by an alleged overnight attack, on July 17.

The key Crimean bridge linking the occupied peninsula to Russia was hit by two strikes early Monday, according to multiple reports. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and naval forces were responsible for the attack, according to a source.

The Kerch Bridge is strategically important because it links Russia’s Krasnodar region with the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014.

It also has huge symbolic importance for Russia, which built the 12-mile bridge — the longest in Europe — at a cost of around $3.7 billion. It was the physical expression of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s objective to take over Ukraine and bind it to Russia forever.  

The day it opened, Putin led a triumphant convoy over the bridge. Ukrainians revile the structure, which stands as a reminder of Russian occupation.

In October, the bridge was partially destroyed when a fuel tanker exploded and damaged a large section of the road. The Kremlin was quick to blame Kyiv and Putin alleged that it was an act of “sabotage” by Ukrainian security services. Moscow was quick to repair the bridge following that explosion.

The bridge is a critical artery for supplying Crimea with both its daily needs and supplies for the military, in addition to fuel and goods for civilians. Russian military convoys have regularly used the bridge to aid their full-scale invasion of Ukraine — carrying vehicles, armor and fuel. 

If the Russian military’s use of the bridge is hampered, its supply lines to forces in southern Ukraine would become more tenuous. 

Russia has used the Crimean railroads to ferry supplies to forces in Kherson and several rail hubs in both Crimea and Kherson have been attacked by long-range Ukrainian rockets. Rail traffic across the bridge continued to operate on Monday, albeit with delays, according to video on social media, a Russian official and Russian state media.

A UN official arrives to inspect the 'Chola Treasure' anchored in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 11, 2022.

A United Nations official has confirmed to CNN that the UN office in Istanbul, Turkey, has received written notice from Russia that they are ending participation in the Ukraine grain deal, officially called the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

The agreement allowed for the safe passage of grain exports from southern Ukraine to the global market after Russian forces barricaded ports in the region and exacerbated a widespread food crisis.

“The Secretary-General will not stop his efforts to facilitate the unimpeded access to global markets for food products and fertilizers from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation to preserve global food security,” the UN official said.

A United Nations official later told CNN that the organization sees Russia’s decision as “pretty final,” adding that the focus for Ukraine’s grain was now on exporting via land routes, road and rail. 

The Russian government on Monday said that it’s allowing a deal struck to allow the export of Ukrainian grain to expire, saying “it has been terminated.” The agreement, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022, was officially set to expire at 5 p.m. ET on Monday (midnight local in Istanbul, Kyiv, and Moscow). The deal allowed Ukraine to export grain from its ports and navigate safe passage through the Black Sea, to Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait.

A crew member prepares a grain analysis by members of the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) onboard the Barbados-flagged ship 'Nord Vind' coming from Ukraine and anchored in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 11.

The UN official said that their main concern was the inevitable human suffering that will result from the deal’s termination: “There is simply too much at stake in a hungry and hurting world.”

The initiative has allowed for the export of nearly 33 million metric tons of foodstuffs from Ukraine. The World Food Programme has shipped more than 725,000 tons to support humanitarian operations – relieving, the official said, hunger in some of the hardest hit corners of the world, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Bulk carrier ARGO I is docked at the grain terminal of the port of Odesa, Ukraine, on April 10.

The Russian government is allowing the Black Sea grain deal to expire, saying on Monday “it has been terminated.”

The agreement, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022, was officially set to expire at 5 p.m. ET on Monday (midnight local in Istanbul, Kyiv, and Moscow). The deal allowed Ukraine to export grain from its ports and navigate safe passage through the Black Sea, to Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait.

The Russian government has formally informed Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations that it is allowing the deal to expire, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told state media RIA Novosti on Monday.

When asked, Peskov denied that Russia’s decision to allow the deal to lapse was related to Ukraine’s claimed strike on the Crimean Bridge on Monday, which connects mainland Russia to the peninsula.

Key background: The Black Sea grain deal imposed measures for the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports after Russia launched its invasion and barricaded docks in the region.

The key deal helped stabilize global food prices and brought relief to countries in the Global South that rely on Ukrainian exports.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin told his South African counterpart on Saturday that “the relevant Russia-UN memorandum to remove obstacles to the export of Russian food and fertilizers still remain unfulfilled,” according to the Kremlin.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week accused Russia of using the grain deal “as a weapon.”

CNN’s Radina Gigova and Sophie Tanno contributed reporting.

A source from Ukraine’s security service (SBU) said Monday that an attack on the Crimean Bridge linking the peninsula with Russia overnight was a joint operation of the SBU and Ukraine’s naval forces.

The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they had not received authorization to speak on the record.

Russian investigators work at the scene on the section of a road sloping to one side following an alleged attack on the Crimea Bridge across the Kerch Strait, in this still image taken from video released on July 17.

Russia’s foreign ministry on Monday held the Ukrainian government responsible for an “attack” on the bridge connecting the Russian mainland to occupied Crimea, echoing claims from other senior officials in Moscow.

“Today’s attack on the Crimean bridge was carried out by the Kyiv regime,” Maria Zakharova said on her Telegram channel. “This regime is a terrorist one and has all the signs of an international organized criminal group.”

The Kremlin said earlier that it had opened an official investigation into what the Russian Investigative Committee calls “a terrorist act committed by the special services of Ukraine.”

Kyiv has not responded directly to the allegations, but the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) hinted that the Ukrainian government was responsible.

In a statement on Telegram, threaded to an October 2022 post referring to a previous attack on the Crimean Bridge last year, the SBU said: “Nightingale, my dear brother, The bridge has gone to sleep again. And once… Twice!”

CNN’s Mick Krever contributed reporting.

The Kremlin claimed two Ukrainian seaborne drones struck the Crimea bridge connecting the peninsula to Russia on Monday, though it did not provide evidence for the allegation.

Moscow has opened an official investigation into what the Russian Investigative Committee calls “a terrorist act committed by the special services of Ukraine.”

A couple traveling by car was killed and their daughter was injured in the incident, Russian authorities said earlier.

“At 3.05 a.m., two Ukrainian unmanned water-surface drones carried out an attack on the Crimean bridge,” the National Antiterrorism Committee of the Russian Federation said in a statement.

“As a result of the terrorist act, the road component of the Crimean bridge was damaged. Two adults were killed and one child was injured.”

The Russian Investigative Committee said that it had “opened a criminal case” into the incident, under legislation relating to terrorism.

“According to investigators, on the night of July 16-17, one of the sections of the Crimean bridge was damaged as a result of a terrorist act committed by the special services of Ukraine.”

“The necessary expert examinations have been commissioned as part of the criminal case. Investigators are identifying persons from among the Ukrainian special services and armed formations involved in the organization and execution of this crime.”

Ukrainian authorities have not responded to the accusations.

Rail traffic across the Crimean bridge continues to operate albeit with delays after an apparent attack halted road traffic on the structure early Monday, a Moscow-backed official said.

Russian state-run news agencies RIA Novosti and TASS also reported that rail traffic on the bridge is continuing to operate with delays.

The nearly 12-mile bridge, also known as the Kerch Bridge, is the longest in Europe and carries both road and rail traffic between the annexed Crimean peninsula and Russia. It also serves as a vital logistical node for Moscow’s military in its war against Ukraine.

The bridge was hit by strikes early Monday, killing two people, according to multiple reports.

A widely circulating video of significant damage to one of the bridge’s road spans appears to have been captured this morning from a train passing on the parallel rail bridge.

A screengrab from a video shows damage to the Crimea bridge on Monday, July 17.

A Moscow-appointed official in occupied Crimea on Monday blamed Ukraine for an “attack” on the bridge connecting the peninsula to Russia.

The key bridge was hit by strikes early Monday, according to multiple reports. Two people were killed in the incident, a Russian regional governor said earlier.

Cryptic message: Kyiv has not claimed direct responsibility for the alleged attack but the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) posted an opaque hint on social media that its government was behind the damage.

Some context: Last October, a huge blast partially damaged the bridge, causing parts of it to collapse. Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar made what appeared to be the clearest admission yet that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the October attack.

An “emergency incident” has been reported on the Crimean bridge, halting traffic on the only link between the annexed peninsula and Russia, a Moscow-backed official said Monday.

Sergey Aksenov, the Russia-appointed head of Crimea, did not specify the nature of the incident, but multiple Telegram channels reported strikes on the bridge.

CNN is unable to verify the reports.

Here’s what we know so far:

A boat sails next to the Crimean bridge connecting Russia with the peninsula across the Kerch Strait, in Crimea, on July 17.

The destruction of part of the Crimean bridge could create logistical difficulties for Russian forces, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s defense intelligence said Monday.

Spokesperson Andrii Yusov told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne that Russia has been using the bridge “as a major logistics hub for moving forces and resources deep into the territory of Ukraine,” and “any logistical problems are additional complications for the occupiers, which create potential advantages for the Ukrainian defense forces.”

However, Yusov stopped short of claiming Ukrainian responsibility for the incident.

Some context: The bridge linking annexed Crimea to Russia was hit by two strikes early Monday, according to multiple reports. Two people were killed in the incident, a Russian regional governor said. Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, have long stated their goal of recapturing Crimea but rarely comment directly on actions in the peninsula.

A couple traveling by car was killed and their daughter was injured in the incident on the Crimean Bridge Monday, the governor of Russia’s southwestern Belgorod region said.

Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said the family is from Novooskolsky district of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, and he has instructed local authorities to notify their relatives. 

The girl has injuries of “medium severity” and has been placed under medical supervision, Gladkov said.

This picture shows the Crimean bridge connecting the Russian mainland with the peninsula across the Kerch Strait, Crimea, on July 17.

The Russian Ministry of Transport said Monday that the Crimean bridge has sustained damage to its spans and is currently being inspected by officials. 

The spans on a bridge are the lengths between the support piers. 

The ministry did not mention the extent of the damage to the bridge. 

Earlier Monday, the Moscow-appointed head of Crimea Sergey Aksenov said an “emergency incident” occurred on the bridge, bringing traffic to a halt.

Multiple Telegram channels have reported strikes on the bridge, however there has been no official confirmation.

An armed ship sails next to Crimean bridge connecting the Russian mainland with the peninsula across the Kerch Strait, Crimea, on July 17.

The key Crimean bridge linking the annexed peninsula to Russia was hit by two strikes early Monday, according to multiple reports.

The governor of Russia’s Krasnodar, Veniamin Kondratiev, said on Telegram a crisis center has been formed to coordinate emergency services and rescue those stuck in traffic on the approach to the bridge.   

Two strikes were reportedly carried out on the bridge around 3 a.m. local time, damaging part of the structure, according to pro-Wagner Telegram channel Grey Zone.   

Explosions were heard around 3:04 a.m. and 3:20 a.m. local time, Grey Zone and Crimean blogger TalipoV Online Z said on Telegram.  

CNN is unable to verify the reports. CNN has reached out to the Moscow-appointed head of Crimea Sergey Aksenov.

Videos posted on Telegram by Russian news outlet Baza, Grey Zone and other Crimean media appeared to show part of the bridge collapsed and a vehicle damaged.

According to initial reports, at least two people were killed and another wounded, Baza posted on Telegram. 

Russian state media reported on Monday there has been an “emergency incident” that halted traffic, however there has been no official confirmation of recent strikes on the bridge.  

Emergency responders and law enforcement have been dispatched to the scene, Aksenov said on Monday morning. 

Russia-backed official Elena Elekchyan said Crimea is well supplied with fuel, food and industrial goods and that local warehouses have all necessary supplies, Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to Aksyenov, said on Telegram Monday. 

A Moscow-backed official in annexed Crimea said early Monday that an “emergency incident” has been reported on the Crimean bridge, halting traffic on the only link between the peninsula and Russia.

Sergey Aksenov, the Russia-appointed head of Crimea, did not specify the nature of the incident.

Last October, a huge blast partially damaged the bridge, causing parts of it to collapse.

Earlier this month, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister made what appeared to be the clearest admission yet that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the October 8 attack.

Here are some other key developments surrounding Russia’s war in Ukraine:

This picture shows the Crimean bridge connecting the Russian mainland with the peninsula across the Kerch Strait, Crimea, on July 17.

An “emergency incident” has been reported on the Crimean bridge, halting traffic on the only link between the annexed peninsula and Russia, a Moscow-backed official said Monday.

Sergey Aksenov, the Russia-appointed head of Crimea, did not specify the nature of the emergency incident. 

Aksenov urged residents and those traveling to and from Crimea to choose an alternative land route. 

Some context: Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar made what appeared to be the clearest admission yet that Ukrainian forces were responsible for an attack last October on the bridge.

The attack disrupted major transport links between Russia and Crimea, which Moscow has controlled since it seized the peninsula in 2014. It also hit Russia’s military effort in Ukraine and represented a psychological blow for Moscow and a major propaganda victory for Kyiv.

At least one person was killed and three others were injured after Russia shelled Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region on Sunday, Ukrainian authorities said.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office said the victims were all employees of an industrial enterprise in the Osnoviansky district of Kharkiv that was targeted in the attack.

Harvester works on a wheat fields near ongoing Ukrainian counter-offensive in Prymorske, Ukraine on July 5, 2023.

A crucial deal that allows the export of grain from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea is set to expire Monday unless Russia agrees to an extension.

The grain deal will end at midnight July 17 into July 18 Istanbul time (5 p.m. ET on Monday), according to Ismini Palla, the chief UN media and communications officer for the Black Sea Grain deal.

The last ship to travel under the deal left the port of Odesa early on Sunday, Palla said.

The deal was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022, after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and blockaded ports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in a phone conversation Saturday that the deal has not met its objectives.

Though Russia has renewed the deal three times, it has repeatedly complained about international sanctions that hinder its own shipments of fertilizers and grain.

In some previous negotiations on the deal, Putin has maintained a hard line until shortly before a deadline and then ultimately agreed to remain in the pact.

Some context: Under the deal, grain ships are able to navigate through a safe corridor in the Black Sea under the direction of Ukrainian pilots, and then pass through the Bosporus Strait — an important shipping corridor in northwest Turkey — in order to reach global markets. It has proven vital for stabilizing global food prices and bringing relief to the developing countries who rely on Ukrainian exports.

Despite saying Ukraine using cluster munitions is a “crime” — and vowing to retaliate if Kyiv uses the ones recently supplied by the US — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces have been using the controversial weapons throughout the course of the war, Ukraine and the United Nations have said. 

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office has launched a number of investigations on Russia’s use of cluster bombs since the very beginning of the war. 

Here’s what those probes and reports from international organizations have revealed so far:

Ukrainian claims: In a statement on March 27, 2022, the Prosecutor General’s Office said Russia has used cluster munitions on civilian targets in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, and the regional prosecutor’s office has launched “criminal proceedings over violation of the laws and customs of war.”

According to the investigation, Russian forces used cluster bombs in an attack on the region’s Kryvyi Rih district, the prosecutor’s office said in a Telegram post.

In a Telegram post May 11, the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration said Russian forces “massively attacked (the town of) Malokaterynivka with multiple rocket launchers, where 8 people were injured by cluster munitions.” Three of those wounded were ambulance workers who were responding to a call.

CNN is not able to independently verify the Ukrainian claims. 

Reports from outside organizations: Cluster munitions have also been used on civilian targets in the northeastern Kharkiv region, a CNN investigation found last year.

The report documented how a Russian general who oversaw atrocities in Syria led the cluster bombings on Ukraine’s second-largest city.

The UN and affiliated organizations have also published reports on the issue.

In a statement on March 30, 2022, the UN rights chief at the time, Michelle Bachelet, said credible reports indicated Russia had already used cluster munitions in populated areas of Ukraine “at least two dozen times,” just over a month after the invasion was launched.

In a report published August 25 last year the UN-partnered Cluster Munition Monitor civil society group said Russian forces had “repeatedly” used cluster munitions since the start of the war. 

Ukraine’s use of the weapons: The same report by the Cluster Munition Monitor group found that Ukrainian forces had also used cluster munitions “several times” and “mostly” in populated areas.

Ukraine has acknowledged its previous use of the weapons, saying it was using the bombs to defend its territory.

Ukrainian and US officials have said the cluster munitions provided by the US won’t be used in heavily populated areas, even if those areas are occupied by Russian forces, and that Kyiv will make efforts to sweep areas it bombs with the munitions for unexploded ordnance.

Cluster munitions have killed at least 215 civilians and injured 474 people overall since the start of the war, according to the monitoring group’s report. 

CNN’s Uliana Pavlova contributed reporting to this post.

Hanna Maliar attends a ceremony at St Sophia in Kyiv, Ukraine on June 23.

Positions on both sides are “changing dynamically” along the eastern front as fighting there has “somewhat escalated,” a Ukrainian official said.

Russia has been “actively advancing” near the city of Kupyansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region for two days in a row, Maliar said. “We are on the defense,” she added.

Further south along the eastern front, Maliar said Ukrainian forces are gradually moving forward around Bakhmut and there are “daily advances on the southern flank” of the long-contested city.

On Bakhmut’s northern flank, Ukrainian forces are trying to hold their positions, while Russian forces continue to attack, Maliar said.

“In Bakhmut itself, we are shelling the enemy, and the enemy is shelling us,” she added. 

And south of Bakhmut, Russian forces are also on the offensive in areas surrounding the towns of Avdiivka and Marinka, Maliar said.

“Our defenders continue to effectively hold them back. Hot battles continue with no change in positions,” she said.

It is not possible for CNN to immediately verify claims of territorial gains or losses by either side. 

Here are the areas each side controls in southern and eastern Ukraine:

The US will allow European countries to train Ukrainians on F-16 fighter jets, a top Biden administration official confirmed Sunday, a potential boon for Ukraine’s efforts to counter Russia’s air superiority.

The decision cements a stark turnaround for President Joe Biden, who said earlier this year that he did not believe that Ukraine needed the F-16s. One of the main issues Kyiv’s ground forces have faced as their counteroffensive gets underway is Russian air power holding them back. Russia still maintains air superiority, which makes it difficult for ground forces to advance.

In May, Biden had informed G7 leaders that the US would support a joint effort with allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth generation aircraft, including F-16s, though it was unclear at the time when that training would star.

The US-made jet has air-to-air refueling capabilities and is compatible with most NATO weapons already being supplied to Ukraine. Despite first entering production in the 1980s, it has gone through several upgrades, making it more advanced and versatile than any jet Ukraine currently has in its fleet, and a fierce rival for most Russian aircraft, with the exception of newer models that Moscow has hesitated to deploy in Ukraine.

Sullivan noted Sunday that European allies have said they need several weeks to prepare training abilities and that the US would meet whatever timeline they set out.

Read more here.