A Russian fighter jet struck the propeller of a US military surveillance drone on Tuesday, causing the US to crash the drone into the Black Sea, the Pentagon said. Russia denied striking the drone. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
8:20pm: US says forced to crash own drone into Black Sea after damage from Russian jet
The United States military was forced to essentially crash its MQ-9 Reaper surveillance drone because of the damage caused when it was struck by a Russian jet, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
“Because of the damage, we were in a position to have to essentially crash into the Black Sea,” Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters, adding that the drone was basically unflyable after the damage.
Ryder said Russia had not recovered the crashed drone at this point.
8:03pm: Russia denies striking US drone over Black Sea
The Russian defense ministry says Russian fighter jets didn’t use weapons or impact a US drone that went down after an encounter over the Black Sea.
The ministry said the US drone was flying near the Russian border and intruded into an area declared off limits by Russian authorities. It said the Russian military scrambled fighters to intercept the drone, which it claimed crashed into the water after a sharp maneuver.
The US military previously said that a Russian fighter jet struck the propeller of a US surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday in a “brazen violation of international law,” causing American forces to bring down the unmanned aerial vehicle.
7:53pm: US says it will continue flights over Black Sea despite drone incident
White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby said that the incident involving a US drone and Russian fighter jets over the Black Sea wouldn’t deter the US from continuing their missions in the area.
“If the message is that [the Russians] want to deter or dissuade us from flying, and operating in international airspace, over the Black Sea, then that message will fail,” Kirby said, adding “that is not going to happen”.
“We’re going to continue to fly and operate in international airspace over international waters,” he said. “The Black Sea belongs to no one nation.”
7:24pm: US to summon Russian ambassador after drone incident over Black Sea
The United States will on Tuesday afternoon summon Russia’s ambassador to Washington after a Russian Su-27 fighter jet struck a US military drone over the Black Sea, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.
The US ambassador to Moscow has conveyed a strong message to Russia’s foreign affairs ministry and US officials had briefed allies and partners over the incident, Price told reporters on a phone briefing.
6:38pm: Top NATO commander has informed allies about drone incident, alliance official says
NATO’s top military commander has informed allies about an incident over the Black Sea involving a Russian fighter jet and a US military drone, a NATO official said on Tuesday.
“General (Christopher) Cavoli has briefed NATO allies on the incident today,” the official told Reuters.
The US Air Force said a Russian Su-27 fighter jet had struck the propeller of a “Reaper” surveillance drone on Tuesday, causing it to crash into the Black Sea in an incident condemned as “reckless” by the US military.
6:25pm: Putin says state actors responsible for Nord Stream sabotage
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that last year’s blasts on the Nord Stream gas pipelines had been carried out on a “state level”, dismissing the idea an autonomous pro-Ukraine group was responsible as “complete nonsense”.
“The terrorist act, quite obviously, was committed at the state level, because no amateurs can commit such an action,” Putin said, according to state media.
6:21pm: ‘Unsafe and unprofessional’: US criticises Russian jet collision with drone over Black Sea
US President Joe Biden was briefed on Tuesday about an incident over the Black Sea in which a Russian Su-27 fighter jet struck the propeller of a US military “Reaper” surveillance drone, White House spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.
While there have been other such intercepts, Kirby said, this one was noteworthy because it was “unsafe and unprofessional” and caused the downing of a US aircraft.
“So it’s unique in that regard,” Kirby said.
6:04pm: Russian jet ‘hits’ US military drone above Black Sea, US Air Force says
A Russian Su-27 fighter jet struck the propeller of a US military “Reaper” surveillance drone on Tuesday, causing it to crash into the Black Sea in an incident condemned as “reckless” by the US military.
“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9,” US Air Force General James Hecker, who overseas the US Air Force in the region, said in a statement.
“In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash.”
5:51pm: Lithuania labels Wagner Group a ‘terrorist organisation’
Lithuania on Tuesday labelled Russia’s Wagner mercenary group a “terrorist organisation” for its activity in Ukraine, where it has been fighting alongside the Russian army.
Mercenary outfits like Wagner, which claims to be spearheading Moscow’s assault on the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, have gained a large public profile in recent months.
Lithuania’s parliament adopted a resolution saying “Wagner is a terrorist organisation” and called on other countries to do the same.
Ukraine took to Twitter to express its gratitude to Vilnius.
“Thanks to the Lithuanian Seimas (parliament) for passing a resolution designating the Russian ‘Wagner’ PMC as a terrorist organisation,” said Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office.
5:45pm: Russia says all parties have not yet responded to grain deal proposal
Russia said on Tuesday that it had not yet received an official response from all parties to its proposal to extend the Black Sea grain deal by 60 days.
“We have not yet received an official response from the parties,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said, according to the RIA news agency. “Our position has been communicated to the parties and the United Nations representatives were informed about it yesterday.”
5:36pm: ‘Incident’ reported involving US-made Reaper drone over Black Sea
Western military sources on Tuesday told AFP that there had been an “incident” involving a US-made Reaper drone flying over the Black Sea, an area of intense NATO military activity close to the Ukraine war frontlines.
“Something happened but we don’t have confirmation that the drone has been shot down. An investigation is under way,” one of two Western sources who confirmed “an incident” told AFP.
The sources, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information, did not say which country was operating the drone, which is used extensively by the United States as well as many of its NATO allies.
3:27pm: Russia ties longer extension of Black Sea grain deal to ‘normalisation of agricultural exports’
“When the (Black Sea grain) deal was signed in July in Istanbul, there was a parallel agreement that Western sanctions on Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports would be alleviated, so that Russia could earn some money as well,” FRANCE 24’s Jasper Mortimer explains. “That hasn’t happened.
“Yesterday, the deputy Russian foreign minister Sergey Vershinin said, ‘OK, we’ll renew the deal for 60 days, but whether we go beyond that will depend on the normalisation of our agricultural exports’.
“He said, ‘Russia wants to see deeds, not words’,” Mortimer reports.
The European Commission will announce its next steps on Wednesday on launching a scheme for countries to jointly purchase gas in global markets, the bloc’s energy policy chief said on Tuesday.
“Tomorrow our services will announce next steps on joint gas purchase, and by doing so, by diversifying our gas supplies away from Russia, there is less room for Russia to manipulate our markets,” EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson told a news conference.
The Commission is also preparing a proposal to extend beyond this winter a voluntary target for EU countries to cut their gas use by 15 percent during winter months, Simson said.
The EU introduced the target last year to attempt to avoid energy shortages and tame soaring gas prices.
2:24pm: Zelensky, top Ukrainian officials agree to continue defence of Bakhmut
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his military chiefs agreed on Tuesday to keep defending Bakhmut, which the country’s top general said was vital to the defence of the whole eastern front.
Zelensky’s office said the president, top government officials and military commanders had discussed the situation in the small eastern city, where Russian and Ukraine forces are taking heavy casualties.
“After considering the defensive operation in the Bakhmut direction, all … expressed a common position to continue holding and defending the city of Bakhmut,” it said in a statement.
General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander in chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said the defence of Bakhmut was of “paramount strategic importance”.
“It is key to the stability of the defence of the entire front,” he said, praising Ukrainian soldiers’ strength and courage.
After nearly eight months of battle, Ukrainian forces are surrounded on three sides in Bakhmut but show no signs of falling back to a new defensive line. Russia sees taking Bakhmut as a stepping stone for its troops to advance on two bigger cities in the Donetsk region, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
Zelensky and the military command also discussed the pace and scale of the supply of weapons and equipment from Ukraine’s Western partners, and how to allocate them to troops. The president’s office did not give details of these discussions.
1:04pm: Poland could give Ukraine MIG fighter jets in coming 4-6 weeks, PM says
Poland could give Ukraine MIG fighter jets in coming 4-6 weeks, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Tuesday.
12:00pm: Russian parliament votes to censor criticism of mercenary groups
Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, voted on Tuesday to approve an amendment that would punish those found guilty of discrediting “volunteer” groups fighting in Ukraine, extending a law that censors criticism of Russia’s armed forces.
The amendment is seen as a move to “protect” fighters working for the private Wagner Group, a mercenary force, which is leading Russia’s campaign for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has welcomed the proposals – an expansion of Russia’s wartime censorship measures introduced after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
11:53am: Russia’s defence minister orders arms supplier to double production of high-precision weapons
Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday ordered a top Russian arms manufacturer to double its production of high-precision rockets, the TASS news agency reported.
11:47am: Ukraine grain deal ‘consultations’ continuing after Russian proposal, UN says
The United Nations said Tuesday that “consultations” were continuing after Russia agreed to extend a vital Ukraine grain export deal, but only for a further 60 days, instead of the usual 120.
“The United Nations will do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the agreement and ensure its continuity,” Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, told reporters, adding that “the consultations… with all parties, and various levels continue.”
10:47am: Strike on residential buildings in Kramatorsk kills one
A Russian missile strike on several residential buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk killed one and wounded three people on Tuesday, Ukraine’s president said.
“A Russian missile hit the city centre,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Facebook post, adding that six buildings were damaged. “At least three people were injured. One person died.”
Images released by Zelensky showed police and rescuers working in front of a three-storey partially-destroyed brick building with shattered windows.
“The evil state continues to fight against the civilian population,” Zelensky said, adding that a rescue operation was ongoing.
Kramatorsk is located in the eastern industrial region of Donetsk, parts of which, including its largest city, have been controlled by Kremlin-backed separatists since 2014.
10:29am: Consultations ongoing with all parties to Black Sea grain deal, UN says
Informal dialogue between the United Nations and parties to the Black Sea grains deal continue over an extension, a UN spokesperson said on Tuesday, adding that the in-person talks with Russia have already ended.
“The talks completed yesterday as agreed, but consultations continue with all parties,” a spokesperson for the humanitarian office of the United Nations led by Martin Griffiths said in an emailed response to Reuters questions.
Griffiths and top UN trade official Rebeca Grynspan met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin in Geneva on Monday where the latter suggested renewing the deal for 60 days, or half the term of the last extension.
10:29am: Turkey says talks continue on extension of Black Sea grain deal
Turkey‘s defence ministry said on Tuesday that talks over the extension of a deal that allows the export of Ukrainian grain on the Black Sea is still continuing.
In a statement, the ministry cited Russia as agreeing to back a 60-day extension to the deal, brokered between Moscow and Kyiv in July by Turkey and the United Nations.
Russia said the deal had been extended for 60 days, but Ukraine said the agreement allows only a 120-day extension.
09:18am: Russia’s goals in Ukraine can only be achieved by military force, Kremlin says
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Kyiv’s position means Russia’s goals in Ukraine can only be achieved by “military means”, the TASS news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.
09:17am: Kremlin says Russia does not recognise ICC jurisdiction, TASS reports
The Kremlin said on Tuesday it does not recognise the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, the TASS news agency reported, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Peskov was asked about reports which indicated that the International Criminal Court (ICC) was expected to seek its first arrest warrants against Russian individuals in relation to the conflict in Ukraine shortly.
09:04am: Ukraine will stick to terms of previously signed 120-day grain export deal, Kyiv official says
Ukraine will stick to the terms of the previously signed agreement on a 120-day extension of the Black Sea grain export initiative, a senior Ukrainian government official said on Tuesday.
“We will follow the agreement strictly,” the official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
Russia‘s TASS news agency cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying on Tuesday that the deal that facilitates Ukrainian agricultural exports had been extended on the previous conditions.
Ukraine live briefing: Russia suffering heavy losses in Bakhmut, Zelensky says
