July 16 (Reuters) – Russian rockets hit a southern Ukrainian city on Saturday in the latest in a series of bombardments that Ukraine says have killed dozens of people in recent days, while the defence ministry in Moscow said its forces had been ordered to step up operations.
FIGHTING
* Two people were killed in Nikopol when heavy Russian rocket attacks hit the southern Ukrainian town, the emergency services and regional governor said.
* Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered Russian military units operating in all areas of Ukraine to step up their operations in order to prevent strikes on eastern Ukraine and other territories controlled by Russia, the ministry said in a statement on its website.
* A Russian missile strike hit the northeast Ukrainian town of Chuhuiv in Kharkiv region overnight, killing three people including a woman of 70, and wounding three more, the regional governor said.
* Russian armed forces have destroyed a factory in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro that produced parts for Tochka-U ballistic missiles, the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
* Ukrainian rocket strikes have destroyed more than 30 Russian military logistics centres in recent weeks and significantly reduced Russia’s attacking potential, Ukraine’s defence ministry said on Friday.
* Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts.
ECONOMY/DIPLOMACY
* The Group of 20 major economies’ finance chiefs reached what one called a “strong consensus” on issues including global food security at a two-day meeting in Indonesia but remained divided over Russia’s war in Ukraine. U.S Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the differences had prevented the finance ministers and central bankers from issuing a formal communique but that the group agreed on a need to address a worsening food security crisis.
* Agreements on the export of Ukrainian grain would not lead to resumed Russia-Ukraine negotiations, said Leonid Slutsky, a Russian lawmaker who has taken part in peace talks with Kyiv.
* Russia will block the sale of foreign banks’ Russian subsidiaries while Russian banks abroad cannot function normally, said Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev.
* The EU’s executive proposed new sanctions on Russia, including an import ban on Russian gold. EU governments must still sign off on the measures, expected as early as next week.
(Compiled by William Maclean and William Mallard)
Photo courtesy Ukrainian MOD
