Russia yesterday accused the US of direct involvement in the war in Ukraine after claims that Washington was sharing intelligence on targets with Ukrainian forces.
Russia said it was responding to comments by Vadim Skibytskyi, the deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence service, about Kiev's use of the US long-range missile system, HIMARS, based on what he said was excellent satellite imagery and real-time information.
Skibicki told the British newspaper "Telegraph" that American and Ukrainian intelligence officials consult before the strike and that Washington practically has a veto on the intended targets, although he said that American officials do not provide direct information about the target.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the interview shows that Washington is directly involved, although it has repeatedly said that it is limiting its role in the conflict to the supply of weapons because it does not want a direct confrontation with Moscow.
"All this indisputably proves that Washington, contrary to the claims of the White House and the Pentagon, is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced, Reuters reported.
"It is the Biden administration that is directly responsible for all missile attacks authorized by Kiev on populated areas and civilian infrastructure and populated areas of the Donbass and other regions, which resulted in mass civilian casualties," said the ministry headed by Sergei Shoigu, a close associate Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Reuters reported that there was no reaction from the White House or the Pentagon to these Russian claims.
The spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova, as reported by the RIA Novosti agency, said: "No other confirmation is needed about the direct involvement of the USA in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine." The supply of weapons is accompanied not only by instructions for its use, but in this case they perform the function of an archer in its purest form".
Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of carrying out devastating missile attacks on civilian targets on an almost daily basis. Both sides deny that they are deliberately targeting civilians.
The delivery of Western sophisticated long-range weapons systems to Ukraine is seen as vital to Ukrainian forces' efforts to turn the tide of the war, in which Russia has relied heavily on long-range bombing of urban areas, Reuters writes.
Russia's verbal attack on Washington came as Turkey said the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain since a Russian invasion blocked exports more than six months ago had docked off the Turkish coast. The ship's departure on Monday from the Ukrainian port of Odesa to Lebanon under the July 22 agreement on safe passage raised hopes that the process will continue and global food shortages will be eased.
Turkey expects about one ship a day to leave Black Sea ports as long as the safe passage agreement is in place, a Turkish official told Reuters yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The United Nations has warned of the risk of famine this year due to the war in Ukraine.
Monday's departure was made possible after Turkey and the UN brokered a grain and fertilizer export deal between Russia and Ukraine, in a rare diplomatic breakthrough in a conflict that has turned into a protracted war of attrition.
It will take months for grain exports to return to pre-war levels
Ukraine's infrastructure minister has warned that it will take months for grain exports from Odessa and neighboring ports to reach pre-war levels and ease the global food crisis despite the easing of Russia's Black Sea blockade.
Oleksander Kubrakov said he does not expect more than five vessels to sail from Odessa, Chernomorsko and Pivdeni in the next two weeks.
Last August, 194 grain ships left Ukrainian ports, including Mariupol, which is now under Russian control, according to London-based shipbroker Braemar. About 60 percent of Ukraine's total grain exports used to go through Odesa, Chernomorsk and Pivdeni.
"The first two weeks will be a trial period, when one, two or three vessels will set sail, and then we will start receiving vessels," said Kubrakov, as reported by the "Financial Times".
"I hope that in one to one and a half months, if everything goes according to plan, the market will see that this mechanism works, that insurance is available, that it is cheaper and that it will simplify the whole process".
At least 16 ships with cargo and crew are stuck in Ukrainian ports waiting for authorities to test the safety of passage through sea mines - laid by both Russia and Ukraine - and the threat of Russian missiles. Moscow has promised not to target ships carrying food if it can carry out joint inspections to make sure returning ships are free of weapons.
In a speech late Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the ship's departure was "the first positive signal," but warned that it was too early to make predictions about how things would unfold.
"We cannot harbor illusions that Russia will simply refrain from trying to disrupt Ukrainian exports," he said.
The Sierra Leonean-flagged Razoni, carrying 26.527 tons of grain, arrived in Istanbul last night, where it was inspected by Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian and UN officials under a safe passage agreement, before proceeding to Tripoli, its final destination.
At least 16 ships with cargo and crew are stuck in Ukrainian ports waiting for authorities to test the safety of passage through sea mines laid by both Russia and Ukraine
Many vulnerable countries that depend on Ukrainian grain are facing an acute food crisis. Ukraine provided 80 percent of Lebanon's grain imports and is a major supplier to Somalia, Syria, and Libya.
Ukraine hopes to export 20 million tons of grain in silos and 40 million tons from the ongoing harvest to free up silos for new grains.
Russia announced that the sailing of the "Razoni" is "very positive" news. It denies responsibility for the food crisis and says Western sanctions have slowed its exports.
Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of laying mines floating in the Black Sea and posing a danger to ships.
Moscow's highest court yesterday designated Ukraine's Azov Battalion as a terrorist group, paving the way for its soldiers to be tried under strict anti-terror laws and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Azov, which has right-wing and ultra-nationalist roots, is one of the most prominent Ukrainian military formations fighting Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. It started as a paramilitary unit to oppose pro-Russian separatists in 2014 and was later integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard.
Bonus video:
