Kiev: Russia also fights for Bachmut via social media – the night update without photos US authorities want to protect bank deposits – Biden comments Monday

Russia agrees to temporary extension of grain deal

Russia has agreed to extend the agreement on the continued export of Ukrainian grain through three Black Sea ports, but only for another 60 days. This is evident from a statement by State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Sergei Vershinin, which was published on Monday evening on the website of the Russian embassy in Geneva. There, representatives of Russia had negotiated with the United Nations (UN). Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Monday that his government was looking at ways to support agriculture in the second year of the war. Before the war, Ukraine was one of the most important grain suppliers in the world.

Russia: Bank payments must be facilitated

The July 2022 grain deal also included a UN pledge to work towards facilitating Russian exports, particularly of fertilizers. However, due to Western sanctions, this remains difficult. According to Verchinin, Moscow is making the approval of a further extension conditional on the progress of these export deals. Bank payments, transport logistics and insurance, among other things, should be made easier. Moscow is also pushing for the reopening of Russia’s ammonia pipeline, which runs through Ukraine. It has not been used since the Russian attack on the neighboring country in February 2022.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative Agreement, brokered by the UN and Turkey, was initially valid for 120 days and was extended once for 120 days. It would have expired over the weekend. The initiative brought no less than 23 million tons of grain to the world market and also benefited the poorest countries. Russia initially blocked grain exports through Ukraine’s Black Sea ports in February 2022, but the deal was later reached.

Selenskyj praises the heroic efforts of farmers

Zelenskyi said this is the second wartime sowing. “Thanks to the heroic efforts of our farmers and all workers in the agricultural sector, it has been possible over the past year to maintain agricultural production and Ukraine’s global role as a guarantor of food security.”

According to Zelenskyi, Ukrainian agriculture also suffers from another war-related problem. “To date, more than 170,000 square kilometers of our territory is threatened by enemy mines and unexploded ordnance,” Zelenskyj said. “A large part of this area is our farmers’ land.”

At its meeting on Monday, the Ukrainian government discussed possible measures to speed up mine clearance, Zelensky said. Among other things, cooperation with foreign partners is being intensified. Germany is already involved in mine clearance programs in Ukraine with financial support and also militarily by providing armored mine clearance vehicles.

Kiev: Battle for Bakhmut also takes place on social media

The attack by Russian troops on the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which has been going on for weeks, is accompanied by a battle for sovereignty over the interpretation of what happened in the battle. According to information from Kiev, this has been happening on social media for a long time: the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communication announced on Monday that Russia used anonymous channels to distribute advertisements on Facebook about alleged successes of Russian troops. Among other things, it is claimed that the battle for Bakhmut is “lost from a Ukrainian point of view” and that “the West does not believe in Ukraine”. It is also known that the US is cutting its arms shipments because “Ukrainian authorities were caught stealing”.

“The occupiers want to undermine the confidence of Ukrainian society in the government by claiming that the battle for Bakhmut is lost and that our allies have left us to our own devices,” the communications authority wrote. In the end, the exact opposite is the case. However, during the war, the accounts of both the Russian and Ukrainian sides often cannot be independently verified.

Social media users in Ukraine have been advised by the agency on ways to identify such false claims. “Fake news is spread through newly created pages that have no description, no content and usually have neutral names,” it says. The authority added several examples of such false reports to the warning.

What will be important on Tuesday

Russian forces continue to attack Ukrainian defenses in Bakhmut. The General Staff in Kiev reported heavy fighting in some suburbs on Monday. The front lines remained unchanged. (sda/dpa)