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Latest Developments in Ukraine: July 14


A local resident stands in the window as she looks at a school building damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's invasion on Ukraine, in the town of Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, July 13, 2022.
A local resident stands in the window as she looks at a school building damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's invasion on Ukraine, in the town of Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, July 13, 2022.

For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT.

10:06 p.m.: In his Thursday night video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the international community to officially recognize Russia as a terrorist state in the wake of the Vinnytsia attack, CNN reported.

"Russia has shown its attitude to international law, to Europe, and to the entire civilized world," Zelenskyy said.

Zelensky's remarks come after missiles struck the city of Vinnytsia on Thursday. He said that among 23 people killed were three children younger than 10.

"Unfortunately, this is not the final number,” he added. “Debris clearance continues. Dozens of people are reported missing. There are seriously injured (people) among those hospitalized.”

8:30 p.m.: Moscow-backed separatist authorities in the southeastern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia say they plan to stage a referendum on joining Russia this year.

"We will organize a referendum this autumn," says Yevgeny Balitsky, head of the Moscow-installed administration in the occupied part of the region of Zaporizhzhia.

Zaporizhzhia has been largely under Russia's control since the first weeks of Moscow's invasion.

7:36 p.m.: Two people were killed when Ukrainian forces shelled a bus station in the separatist-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, a separatist leader said on Thursday.

In a post on Telegram, Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed, Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), said that two civilians had been killed and three wounded when the bus station was struck by a howitzer.

Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko accused Russian forces on social media of striking the center of Donetsk but pinning the blame on Ukraine.

Reuters was unable to independently establish who was responsible.

6:22 p.m.: About 40 people are missing in the missile strike on Vinnytsia, and about 100 people were injured, according to @KyivIndependent.

5:30 p.m.: The International Monetary Fund expects Ukraine to continue to service its foreign debt, an IMF spokesperson said Thursday.

At the moment Ukraine is servicing its debt in an orderly way, said Fund spokesperson Gerry Rice in a scheduled news briefing. "We would expect that to continue."

He said the IMF sees international community grant financing as a priority for the immediate and short-term, as "that would allow the Ukrainian government to remain operational without incurring further debt."

Ukraine's economy and government revenue have shrunk significantly since Russia's invasion in late February, Reuters reported.

4 p.m.: Bellingcat is an independent, international collective of researchers, investigators and citizen journalists.

3:05 p.m.: Ukraine is using Western-supplied long-range weapons and 155mm smart shells to hit Russian ammo dumps and supply lines, forcing Moscow to rethink how it supplies fuel and ammunition to the front line, a Ukrainian general said on Thursday, Reuters reported.

General Oleksiy Gromov told a news conference that Western-supplies of weapons were critical to Ukrainian strikes and singled out U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) that Kyiv began receiving last month.

"Right now the enemy is looking at placing brigade-level ammunition dumps no closer than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the front line, and depots at corps-level at distances of over 150 kilometers."

Gromov's assertions could not be independently verified by Reuters.

2:10 p.m.: Lithuania will not try to reverse a decision by the European Union's executive arm to allow certain sanctioned goods pass through its territory on the way to Russia's Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said Thursday.

The European Commission said Wednesday that Russia can continue transporting certain cargo to Kalingrad by rail — but not by road — as long as the goods don't serve a military purpose, The Associated Press reported. EU members Lithuania and Poland both border Kaliningrad, and Russia does not have a direct land route to the region.

Lithuania earlier this year barred trains carrying goods from Russia that were subject to EU sanctions, a move that angered Moscow amid tensions over the war in Ukraine.

1:15 p.m.: U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has condemned the latest deadly missile attack in Ukraine.

“The secretary-general is appalled by today's missile attack against the city of Vinnytsia in central Ukraine that reportedly killed at least 22 people, including three children and wounded more than 100 others. The secretary-general condemns any attacks against civilians or civilian infrastructure and reiterates his call for accountability for such violations.,” his spokesperson said in a statement.

Ukraine said three Russian missiles hit an office building in the center of the city and damaged residential buildings in the area. Russia has denied targeting civilians.

11:25 a.m.: French President Emmanuel Macron warned his country's people Thursday to prepare for a total cutoff of Russian natural gas by supporting alternatives, having public lights switched off at night and engaging in a period of nationwide energy “sobriety,” the Associated Press reported.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and ensuing sanctions have aggravated other factors driving up prices for energy and other goods. With no end in sight for the Ukraine war, Macron said, the French should brace themselves for costs to remain high.

10:32 a.m.: Turkish officials say there is a potential breakthrough in efforts to release Ukrainian grain to world markets as global food prices soar amid Russia’s war with Ukraine. Turkey's defense minister, Hulusi Akar, said an agreement is likely to be announced soon following four-way talks Wednesday among Russian, Ukrainian, United Nations, and Turkish officials in Istanbul.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said in a statement after Wednesday’s talks that a deal to allow the release of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain could come as early as next week. Reporter Dorian Jones has the details from Istanbul.

9:47 a.m. : More than 40 U.S. and European judicial authorities agreed on Thursday to coordinate investigations into suspected war crimes in Ukraine, shortly after what Kyiv said was a Russian missile strike that killed civilians far from front lines, Reuters reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the international conference in the Hague that Russian missiles had struck two community centers in the west of Ukraine, killing 20 people, including three children, and wounding many more.

Russia has denied targeting civilians in Ukraine.

On Thursday, 45 countries at the conference in The Hague - headquarters of the International Criminal Court (ICC) - signed a political declaration to work together on investigations into war crimes in Ukraine.

They also pledged $20 million to assist the ICC, as well as the prosecutor general's office in Ukraine and United Nations support efforts.

7:48 a.m.: A report by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) expresses "grave concerns" of alleged mistreatment by the Russian authorities of tens of thousands of Ukrainians who had been forcibly deported from their country and sent to so-called "filtration centers,” RFE/RL reported.

"There are reports indicating that people are subject to harsh interrogations and humiliating body searches in such centers," says a 115-page report seen by AFP.

The report calls the establishment of such centers an "alarming" development.

The report was based on information obtained by three experts named by the OSCE covering the Ukraine war from April 1 to June 25.

The Russian Embassy in Washington called the allegations an attempt to stoke "Russophobia" and "poor-quality Western disinformation."

6:25 a.m.: Ukrainian officials said Russian missiles struck the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on Thursday, killing at least 12 people and wounding 25 others.

Police said three missiles hit an office building in the center of the city and damaged residential buildings in the area.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the dead included a child.

“Every day Russia is destroying the civilian population, killing Ukrainian children, directing missiles at civilian objects where there is no military (targets). What is it if not an open act of terrorism?” Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia has denied targeting civilian targets.

5:50 a.m.: The Kyiv Independent shared, via Telegram, that a dozen people have died and 25 have been injured after a Russian missile struck Vinnytsia, a city in west-central Ukraine. The announcement said a child was among those killed.

"Every day, Russia kills civilians, kills Ukrainian children, carries out missile attacks on civilian facilities where there is no military target," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via social media, according to Agence France-Presse. "What is this if not an open act of terrorism?"

5:15 a.m.: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday that Russia's war in Ukraine has had negative effects all over the world, as evidenced by higher energy prices and growing food insecurity, said Reuters.

Yellen’s comments came during a news conference held on the Indonesian island of Bali, where finance leaders of G20 countries – including Russia – are meeting.

4:30 a.m.:

3:15 p.m.:

2:20 a.m.: Russian-designated mayor Konstantin Ivaschenko said water supplies will resume this month in the Russian-held Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Reuters reported citing Russia’s state news agency TASS.

Ivaschenko, whose appointment to the post has not been recognized by Ukraine, added in Wednesday’s comments that authorities plan to resume operation of the city’s passenger port that links to Russia’s Rostov-on-Don and Black Sea cities.

2:05 a.m.: The Guardian reports that a third American is now being held captive by pro-Russian separatists.

According to The Guardian, Suedi Murekezi was arrested last month in the Russian-occupied port city of Kherson in southern Ukraine. The 35-year-old had been living there for more than two years, said his brother Sele Murekezi. He had visited Ukraine for business.

1:05 a.m. North Korea said Thursday it has sent word to the leaders of the Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine – Donetsk and Luhansk – of its willingness to develop diplomatic relations, reports The Associated Press.

North Korea, along with Russia and Syria, is one of the few nations to recognize the independence of the provinces, which separatists have controlled since 2014.

12:05 a.m.:

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

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