July 29, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

An image taken from video shows a destroyed barrack at a prison in Olenivka, in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces, eastern Ukraine, on Friday, July 29

Josep Borrell, who is the European Union’s High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said on Twitter that he is “appalled by reports of Russia killing dozens” of Ukrainian prisoners of war who surrendered and were registered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

He added in the tweet the “EU condemns in the strongest possible terms atrocities committed by Russia.”

In a full statement released by the European External Action Service, Borrell said “Russia’s ongoing illegitimate and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine and its people brings further horrific atrocities day by day.”

He also said in the statement “the perpetrators of war crimes and other serious violations, as well as the responsible government officials and military representatives, will be held accountable,” adding that the EU support measures to “ensure accountability” for human rights violations.

During their first known conversation since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “strongly suggested” to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken the United States should return to a mode of “quiet diplomacy” regarding a possible prisoner exchange “without speculative information stuffing,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.

At a press conference Friday, Blinken said he spoke with Lavrov. The call lasted for about 25 minutes, a senior state department official said. Blinken said he had “pressed the Kremlin to accept the substantial proposal that we put forth on the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner.”

That proposal includes an offer to swap convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, CNN reported earlier this week.         

On the subject of “ongoing special military operation” in Ukraine, Lavrov told Blinken that Russia’s “goals and objectives will be fully implemented,” the foreign ministry’s statement read.

“In this context, the attention of the Secretary of State was drawn to the fact that the ongoing pumping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the national battalions with American and NATO weapons, which are widely used against the civilian population, only prolongs the agony of the regime in Kyiv, prolonging the conflict and multiplying the victims,” the statement added.

The two men also spoke “in detail” about the ongoing global food security crisis, according to the Russian statement.

“Blinken was informed about the details of the “package” agreement signed on July 22 in Istanbul, on the transportation of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports and on the promotion of Russian exports of food and fertilizers. The Minister emphasized that the situation is complicated by US sanctions, and US promises to provide appropriate exemptions for Russian food supplies have not yet been fulfilled. The unacceptability of the use of this problem by the ‘collective West’ in their geopolitical interests was indicated,” the statement added. 

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.

Russian government officials requested that a former colonel from the country’s domestic spy agency who was convicted of murder in Germany last year be added to the US’ proposed swap of a notorious arms dealer for Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, multiple sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.

The Russians communicated the request to the US earlier this month through an informal backchannel used by the spy agency, known as the FSB, that they wanted Vadim Krasikov released in addition to Viktor Bout, the sources said. Krasikov was convicted in December of murdering a former Chechen fighter, Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, in Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison. 

The request was seen as problematic for several reasons, the sources told CNN, among them that Krasikov remains in German custody. As such, and because the request was not communicated formally but rather through the FSB backchannel, the US government did not view it as a legitimate counter to the US’ offer which was first revealed by CNN on Wednesday.

But underscoring how determined the Biden administration has been to get Griner and Whelan back to the US, US officials did make quiet inquiries to the Germans about whether they might be willing to include Krasikov in the trade, a senior German government source told CNN. A US official characterized the outreach as a status check on Krasikov.  

The conversations were never elevated to the top levels of the German government and including Krasikov in a potential trade has not been seriously considered, the German source said. But the previously unreported discussions reveal that Russian officials have at least somewhat engaged with the US’ proposal.  

While the request was not made through formal channels, the FSB has an expansive remit and is a core part of the Russian security apparatus. Russian President Vladimir Putin famously worked for its powerful predecessor, the KGB.  

Asked for comment, a State Department official told CNN, “In order to preserve the best opportunity for a successful outcome, we’re not going to comment publicly on any speculation.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the US had put “a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago” to facilitate Griner and Whelan’s release. He added that “our governments have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal.”

Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday about the proposed swap. They had a “frank and direct conversation” Blinken said.

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed to this reporting.

Read more here.

Watch CNN’s Fred Pleitgen and Natasha Bertrand break down their new reporting:

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Ukrainian forces they they were able to repel Russian attempts at storming the districts of Soledar, Vershy and Smirhirya in the Donetsk region .

“The occupiers again tried to storm the Soledar, Vershyn and Semihirya districts. And again, without success — they suffered losses and left,” the Ukrainian military’s General Staff said in an update on Friday evening. “Our soldiers decisively suppressed all offensive and assault actions of the occupiers in the Avdiivka, Kamianka, Krasnohorivka and Pisky areas.”

Ukrainian forces reported intense shelling across most of the Eastern frontline but no advances from Russian forces. Some Russian reconnaissance groups were neutralized in the Shchurivka area and in the vicinity of Verkhnokamyanske. In both cases, the General Staff says Ukrainian forces were able to neutralize the groups. 

The Ukrainian military also said that across the northern frontlines, near Kharkiv, and southern flank, in the Kherson and Zaphorizhzhia, Russian forces focused on maintaining their positions. 

“The enemy’s main efforts are focused on preventing the advance of our troops. The enemy fears and supports the high intensity of UAV reconnaissance,” the General Staff said. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department in Washington on Friday, July 29.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday, the top US diplomat said at a press conference Friday.

He said it was “a frank and direct conversation.”

This is the first time the two have spoken since the war in Ukraine began in late February.

started shortly after 12:00pm/eastern and lasted for about 25 mins, a senior state department official said. 

That proposal includes an offer to swap convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, CNN reported earlier this week.

Blinken would not say whether he thought Moscow was more likely to move on a deal to free the two Americans held by Russia, nor would he say how Lavrov responded to the top US diplomat’s push to accept that “significant” proposal that was presented weeks ago.

“I can’t give you an assessment of whether I think things are any more or less likely,” Blinken said at a press conference Friday, but noted he thought it was important that Lavrov hear directly from him on the matter. 

“I raised exactly what I said I would raise with him,” Blinken added, referencing his announcement on Wednesday that he intended to speak with his Russian counterpart about the detainee proposal, the grain deal and the major concerns about further Russian annexation of parts of Ukraine.

The top US diplomat underscored that the US has seen “no willingness” on the part of Russia to end its aggression against Ukraine.  

Blinken also said he also discussed the expectation that the deal to allow Ukrainian grain to transit safely through the Black Sea be allowed to enter into force.

“We’re looking to see that move forward as soon as possible,” Blinken said Friday.

He also stressed that the “world will not recognize annexations” and “will impose additional significant costs on Russia if it moves forward with its plans.”

The call started shortly after 12 p.m. ET and lasted for about 25 mins, a senior State Department official said. 

Days after Moscow launched its bloody war on Ukraine, a Russian cargo plane stood on a Khartoum runway, a strip of tarmac surrounded by red-orange sand. The aircraft’s manifest stated it was loaded with cookies. Sudan rarely, if ever, exports cookies.

A heated debate transpired between officials in a back office of Khartoum International Airport. They feared that inspecting the plane would vex the country’s increasingly pro-Russian military leadership. Multiple previous attempts to intercept suspicious Russian carriers had been stopped. Ultimately, however, the officials decided to board the plane.

Inside the hold, colorful boxes of cookies stretched out before them. Hidden just beneath were wooden crates of Sudan’s most precious resource. Gold. Roughly one ton of it.

This incident in February – recounted by multiple official Sudanese sources to CNN – is one of at least 16 known Russian gold smuggling flights out of Sudan, Africa’s third-largest producer of the precious metal, over the last year and a half.

Multiple interviews with high-level Sudanese and US officials and troves of documents reviewed by CNN paint a picture of an elaborate Russian scheme to plunder Sudan’s riches in a bid to fortify Russia against increasingly robust Western sanctions and to buttress Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.

The evidence also suggests that Russia has colluded with Sudan’s beleaguered military leadership, enabling billions of dollars in gold to bypass the Sudanese state and to deprive the poverty-stricken country of hundreds of millions in state revenue.

In exchange, Russia has lent powerful political and military backing to Sudan’s increasingly unpopular military leadership as it violently quashes the country’s pro-democracy movement.

Read more from CNN’s investigation:

Related article Russia is plundering gold in Sudan to boost Putin's war effort in Ukraine

Inside Olenivka prison following the shelling in the settlement of Olenivka in the Donetsk Region, Ukraine, on July 29.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office has launched an investigation into a purported strike on Olenivka prison, under the violation of the laws and customs of war outlined in the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Russian and Ukrainian authorities on Friday traded accusations over the strike, which the separatist-controlled and self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said resulted in the death of at least 53 people.

According to the prosecutor’s office, pre-trial preliminary data shows “the occupying state struck the territory of penal colony No. 120 in the temporarily occupied Olenivka village of Volnovakha district of Donetsk region.”

CNN could not immediately verify the allegations of the strike. Brief clips of video aired on Russian networks and by social media channels in Donetsk show extensive destruction to a building and several bodies.

CNN has analyzed social media videos and footage from pro-Russian broadcasters of the strike in Olenivka and has been able to geo-locate it to an industrial area 3 kilometers (about 1.8 miles) outside of the town. 

The Olenivka prison has been used to house many of the Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol several months ago.

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suspended former Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova. On Wednesday, Ukrainian Parliament approved a resolution to appoint lawmaker Andriy Kostin as the country’s new prosecutor general.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, center right, visits the port of Odesa in Odesa, Ukraine on July 29.

The United Nations is expected to announce an agreed-upon route for grain shipments via the Black Sea on Friday.

Although a deal was brokered last week between Ukraine and Russia to allow urgent grain to be exported, no ship has left so far, despite hopes to resume shipments as early as this week.

Asked whether there would be shipments on Friday, Kubrakov said, “Let’s see. We are waiting until the end of this week, but it depends on how [the] UN team will work and facilitate.” 

“The United Nations is committed to remain fully involved and counts on the parties to really effectively comply with the agreement,” UN Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine Oslat Lubrani told reporters, saying that UN Secretary General António Guterres has been personally involved “day and night” in the negotiations.  

US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink told journalists that “the United States and the rest of the world will look to Russia to stand up and implement its agreements.” 

The UK’s Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons said that “the ball is in Russia’s court.”

“They are still signing off on the route that will be taken. The Ukrainians have put their ideas together, the Russians have other ideas, and the UN is having to mediate it. That’s what we are waiting on,” Simmons said.

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, center, speaks during a press conference with G7 ambassadors and UN representatives at the Odesa Sea Port, in Odesa, Ukraine, on July 29.

Some background: Turkey and the UN brokered the deal between Ukraine and Russia last week, which was aimed at easing a global food crisis sparked by the war.

The breakthrough followed months of negotiations, and promises to unblock ports on the Black Sea to allow the safe passage of grain and oilseeds – some of Ukraine’s most important exports.

Russia has so far been blocking maritime access to those ports, meaning that millions of tons of Ukrainian grain has not been exported to the many countries that rely on it.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the G7 ambassadors to Ukraine gathered at the Chornomorsk port near Odesa earlier Friday in a show of unity following an agreement to allow the resumption of grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. 

“It is important for us to remain the guarantor of world food security. As someone blocks the Black Sea and takes life in other countries, we allow people to survive,” Zelensky said on his Telegram account sharing pictures of the event.

CNN’s Nic Robertson, Kareem Khadder, Rob Picheta, Jomana Karadsheh, Radina Gigova and Tim Lister contributed reporting to this post.

Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin looks down during his appeal hearing at a court in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 29.

The Kyiv Court of Appeals announced Friday that it is reducing the sentence of 21-year-old Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin.

Shishimarin was sentenced to life in prison on May 23 in Ukraine’s first war crimes trial since Russia’s invasion. His sentence has been reduced to 15 years in prison.

He was found guilty of killing a 62-year-old civilian during his deployment with the Russian army in the early days of the war. 

Shishimarin was accused of premeditated murder and conspiracy. The Kyiv Court of Appeals said the judges no longer believe that it was a deliberate conspiracy.

Shishimarin’s more recent hearing that was scheduled for Monday had to be postponed following a request from Shishimarin’s lawyer, Viktor Ovsyannikov, after feeling sick.

Buses carrying service members of Ukrainian forces arrive under escort of the pro-Russian military at a detention facility in the settlement of Olenivka in the Donetsk Region, Ukraine, on May 17.

Russian and Ukrainian authorities on Friday traded accusations over a purported strike on a prison in separatist-held eastern Ukraine that Russia says resulted in the death of dozens of prisoners.

CNN could not immediately verify the allegations. Brief clips of video aired on Russian networks and by social media channels in Donetsk show extensive destruction to a building and several bodies.

CNN has analyzed social media videos and footage from pro-Russian broadcasters of the strike in Olenivka and has been able to geo-locate it to an industrial area 3 kilometers (about 1.8 miles) outside of the town. 

The Olenivka prison near Donetsk has been used to house many of the Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol several months ago.

What Russia is saying: In a statement, the Russian defense ministry said “the Kyiv regime deliberately carried out a bloody provocation.”

The Russian defense ministry was reiterating claims made earlier by authorities in the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, a separatist-held area of eastern Ukraine. 

“It was a direct hit on the prisoner barracks. The result as of now: 40 dead, 130 wounded. They are still clearing the rubble. The numbers may increase,” the deputy information minister of the DPR, Daniil Beznosov, said on his Telegram channel.

Russia’s defense ministry claimed that “this blatant provocation was committed to intimidate Ukrainian servicemen and prevent them from being taken prisoner.”

Later Friday, the deputy head of the militia of the DPR, Eduard Basurin, said the death toll had climbed to 53, with at least 71 wounded.

“At the moment, it is known for sure that 53 are dead, and 71 are wounded. The numbers may change,” Basurin said.

The senior on-duty surgeon at the Central City Clinical Hospital of Donetsk No. 16, Mikhail Yurenko, said seven survivors who were brought to his facility for treatment are in critical condition. 

“Seven prisoners of war of the Ukrainian army with lesions of different localization were delivered by ambulance. All patients received combined surgical care,” Yurenko said in a news conference broadcast over social media. “The patients are currently in the intensive care unit.”

What Ukraine is saying: The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces accused Russian forces of carrying out “a targeted artillery shelling of a correctional institution in the settlement of Olenivka, Donetsk oblast, where Ukrainian prisoners were also held.”

“Russian occupiers pursued their criminal goals – to accuse Ukraine of committing ‘war crimes,’ as well as to hide the torture of prisoners and executions,” the General Staff said.

The General Staff statement added: “According to the commander of the Missile Forces and Artillery of the Land Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not launch missile and artillery strikes in the area of Olenivka settlement.”

“Missile troops and artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, thanks to the high-precision weapons received from partner countries, deliver extremely accurate strikes only on Russian military objects.”

The General Staff said that the armed forces “have never conducted and are not conducting shelling of civilian infrastructure, especially places where combat fellows are likely to be kept as POWs.”

“Russia has committed another petrifying war crime by shelling a correctional facility in the occupied Olenivka where it held Ukrainian POWs. I call on all partners to strongly condemn this brutal violation of international humanitarian law and recognize Russia a terrorist state,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted.

A group that works on behalf of Ukrainian soldiers held as prisoners of war posted Friday that “it is with deep sadness that we are forced to confirm the information about the attack on the penal colony in Olenivka, where the ‘Azov’ regiment soldiers are being held as POW.”

On its Telegram channel, the group — known as the Angels of Azov — said: “We are finding out the names of the dead and injured through our own channels. The International Committee of the Red Cross also went to the place.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross, whose representatives had previously visited the prisoners, has not commented. 

Kostan Nechyporenko contributed reporting to this post.

Russian and Ukrainian forces have accused each other of killing 40 prisoners in a strike in separatist-held eastern Ukraine.

Plus, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces have made incremental gains in the Donetsk region by shelling frontline cities including Sloviansk and Bakhmut.

Here are the latest developments:

Allegations fly over prisoners’ deaths: Russian and Ukrainian authorities on Friday traded accusations over a purported strike on a prison in separatist-held eastern Ukraine that Russia says resulted in the death of at least 40 prisoners. CNN could not immediately verify the allegations. Brief clips of video aired on Russian networks and by social media channels in Donetsk show extensive destruction to a building and several bodies, but the location cannot be independently verified. The Olenivka prison near Donetsk has been used to house many of the Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol several months ago.

Russian shelling ramps up in the east: The Ukrainian military conceded that Russian forces made small gains near the Donetsk towns of Soledar and Vershyna in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities said Russian shelling twice struck the center of Kharkiv and hit frontline cities in Donetsk Friday. Earlier this week, the Ukrainian military assessed that Russia was focusing its main efforts on “establishing full control over the territories of Luhansk and Donetsk” and maintaining the captured southern Kherson region and parts of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv.

Fighting intensifies in the south: Ukrainian officials said a Russian ammunition depot in the southern Kherson region was destroyed. Video and images published overnight and Friday morning on local Telegram channels indicated a major explosion in the area of Brylivka, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the city of Kherson. Further north in Mykolaiv, a Russian strike near a bus stop killed five people and injured seven, according to Ukrainian officials.

Grain exports deal: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the G7 ambassadors to Ukraine gathered at the Chornomorsk port near Odesa on Friday in a show of unity following an agreement to allow the resumption of grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. Although a deal was brokered last week between Ukraine and Russia to allow urgent grain to be exported, no ship has left so far, despite hopes to resume shipments as early as this week. 

Global leaders meet to temper diplomatic ties: French President Emmanuel Macron discussed and stressed the importance of working with Saudi Arabia to resolve Europe’s energy fears in a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Thursday, according to an Élysée Palace readout released Friday. Saudi Arabia’s energy minister also met with Russia’s deputy prime minister on Friday in Riyadh to discuss diplomatic relations, the Saudi energy ministry said. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia and the US are coordinating the timing for a call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in regard to a potential prisoner swap, acknowledging his government has received an official request, according to Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a session of the Foreign Ministers Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on July 29.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia and the US are coordinating the timing for a call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in regard to a potential prisoner swap, acknowledging his government has received an official request, according to Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.

The contact “should happen when I’m in my office,” Lavrov said while on a visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Friday.

“Obviously, it is unlikely to happen today, but in the coming days we will offer our American colleagues a suitable date,” Lavrov said.

On Thursday, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Lavrov will “pay attention” to the US State Department request to speak with Blinken when “time permits,” according to RIA Novosti.

Some background: Biden administration officials are frustrated that Moscow has yet to respond in a meaningful way to their “substantial proposal” to try to free two detained Americans, Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan – a deal which includes a trade for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, as CNN exclusively reported Wednesday.

That proposal was presented to Russia weeks ago, Blinken said when publicly announcing it Wednesday. Administration officials told CNN that they felt Moscow would jump at the offer, but it is now almost August and they have not received a substantive response, officials say.

On Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov confirmed that “so far, there is no agreement on this issue.”

Frustration at Russia’s lack of substantive response to the deal was an underlying factor in the administration’s decision to publicize that an agreement from the US is on the table.

CNN’s Uliana Pavlova, Kylie Atwood and Kaitlan Collins contributed reporting to this post.

A Russian ammunition depot in the southern Kherson region has been destroyed, according to Ukrainian officials.

Video and images published overnight and Friday morning on local Telegram channels indicated a major explosion in the area of Brylivka, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Kherson city.

“One of the important logistical hubs of the occupiers, the railway station in Brylivka, was destroyed in Kherson region. The Russians just brought equipment and ammunition there; everything has burned down,” Serhii Khlan, advisor to the head of Kherson Civil Military Administration, said on Facebook Friday.

“People are reporting loud explosions and detonation. It is likely the oil depot was hit,” Khlan added.

Satellite imagery shows a fuel storage site close to the railway in Brylivka.

Social media videos uploaded on a community Telegram channel overnight indicated multiple detonations in the area, but darkness prevented their accurate geolocation. 

Photographs published by a Ukrainian official Friday showed damage in the area of the railway station.

The official, Yurii Sobolevskyi, who is deputy head of Kherson regional council, captioned the photographs as “Brylivka now.”

“I want to appeal to everyone who is forced to stay in the temporarily occupied territory of the Kherson region … If you were unable to evacuate (for whatever reason), please stay as far away from their military infrastructure and deployment sites as possible,” Sobolevskyi said.

“The Ukrainian AF will continue to strike because there is no other way to free our people and our area,” Sobolevskyi added.

A Russian missile strike Friday has injured at least three people in the residential area of Bilenke in Kramatorsk, according to the city’s mayor.

Houses have suffered serious destruction and explosive unit specialists, firefighters and rescue teams are on the scene where operations are still ongoing, Oleksandr Honcharenko said on Facebook.

The nearby towns of Sloviansk and Bakhmut in Donetsk also came under heavy Russian shelling Friday, as Russian forces attempt to advance westwards through the eastern region.

Some background: On Thursday, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces made further incremental progress in Donetsk.

The Russian military had “partial success” in the direction of Vidrodzhennia-Vershyna and were entrenched southeast of the settlement of Vershyna, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian military.

Vershyna is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) southeast of Bakhmut. Earlier this week, the Russians took the nearby village of Novoluhankse and an adjacent power plant.

The General Staff assessed that Russia was focusing its main efforts on “establishing full control over the territories of Luhansk and Donetsk,” and maintaining the captured southern Kherson region and parts of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Mykolaiv.

Russia was blocking Ukraine’s maritime communications in the Black Sea, it added.

CNN’s Tim Lister contributed reporting to this post.

France's President Emmanuel Macron, left, greets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he arrives at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on July 28.

French President Emmanuel Macron discussed and stressed the importance of working with Saudi Arabia to resolve Europe’s energy fears in a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday.

The French President underlined “the importance of pursuing the committed coordination with Saudi Arabia in the perspective of the diversification of European states’ energy supplies,” according to an Élysée Palace readout released Friday. 

In a wide-ranging discussion, the two also touched upon the question of human rights in Saudi Arabia.

Some background: As the war in Ukraine rages on, a gas emergency is unfolding in Europe.

This week, Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom cut flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany in half, to just 20% of its capacity. A US official said the move was retaliation for western sanctions, and that it put the West in “unchartered territory” when it comes to whether Europe will have enough gas to get through the winter.

The Biden administration has been working furiously behind the scenes to keep European allies united against Russia as Moscow further cuts its energy supplies to the European Union, prompting panic on both sides of the Atlantic over potentially severe gas shortages heading into winter, US officials say.

In response to the turmoil, the White House dispatched presidential coordinator for global energy Amos Hochstein to Europe on Tuesday, officials said. He will be traveling to Paris and Brussels to discuss contingency planning with the US-EU energy task force created in March, one month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand contributed reporting to this post.

Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, during the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland, on November 10.

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister met with Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister on Friday in Riyadh to discuss cooperation between both countries, the Saudi energy ministry said.

The meeting between Saudi Arabia’s Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Russia’s Alexander Novak covered “the latest developments in the work of the Saudi-Russian joint committee,” and “opportunities for cooperation between the two countries within this framework,” the ministry tweeted. 

The tweet did not specify what areas both countries plan to cooperate in. 

The meeting came after a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on July 21, where they discussed the oil market at length and emphasized expansion of “mutually beneficial trade and economic ties,” according to a Kremlin readout. 

A Russian strike near a bus stop killed five people and injured seven early Friday, according to Ukrainian officials.

Emergency services found 12 people on the ground, Vitaliy Kim, head of Mykolaiv regional military administration, said.

Close to the front lines in neighboring Kherson, Mykolaiv has been struck almost every night for the last month.

The bombardment follows attacks on the southern city early Thursday, when “powerful explosions” were heard, according to the city’s mayor Oleksandr Senkevych.

Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace leaves Downing Street after attending the weekly cabinet meeting in London, England, on July 12.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace claimed Friday that the “Russians are failing on the ground in many areas” in Ukraine.

He added that he believed the fight against Russia to be a “noble cause,” characterizing the war as a “fascist state invading Ukraine.”

Wallace, who has overseen British efforts to equip Ukraine with anti-tank weapons, armored vehicles and ammunition, said “everyone” believes the invasion to be “wrong” and “brutal.”

Parts of the eastern Donetsk region came under heavy Russian shelling Friday, according to local officials.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, said on Telegram Friday that it was a “restless night” in Sloviansk, Bakhmut, and the nearby towns of Pokrovsk and Krasnohorivka.

At least four people have been killed and five injured in Bakhmut since Thursday, Kyrylenko said. The city was hit by another airstrike overnight, damaging seven high-rise buildings and 27 houses, he added.

Five people were also injured by shelling in Pokrovsk, Kyrylenko said..

Sloviansk is partially out of power after it came under Russian shelling on Friday morning, with at least one injured, said Sloviansk Mayor Vadym Liakh.

Russian forces have been trying to advance west through Donetsk region for several weeks, but have so far made only incremental progress.