The US condemns “sham elections” being held by Russia this weekend in occupied areas of Ukraine, a year after Moscow staged similarly fake referenda “and purported to annex Ukraine’s Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. “The Kremlin hopes these pre-determined, fabricated results will strengthen Russia’s illegitimate claims to the parts of Ukraine it occupies, but this is nothing more than a propaganda exercise,” Blinken said
(Bloomberg) — The US condemns “sham elections” being held by Russia this weekend in occupied areas of Ukraine, a year after Moscow staged similarly fake referenda “and purported to annex Ukraine’s Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. “The Kremlin hopes these pre-determined, fabricated results will strengthen Russia’s illegitimate claims to the parts of Ukraine it occupies, but this is nothing more than a propaganda exercise,” Blinken said.
Ukraine’s air defense downed 16 of 20 Shahed drones fired from Russia and occupied Crimea overnight. Explosions were reported in Zaporizhzhia in the east and Sumy in the northeast as at least three areas of Ukraine were under an air-raid alert for two hours. One person was killed and nine injured in a missile strike on Kryvyi Rih, the region’s governor said. A large fire was reported at a customs service building in Moscow. No cause was immediately identified.
On the eve of what promises to be a contentious Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, the UK accused Beijing of refusing to back language condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine. Neither China’s Xi Jinping nor Russia’s Vladimir Putin will attend. The UN Security Council plans a hearing on the “peace and security” of Ukraine on Friday. The next tranche of US aid to Ukraine may run into a Republican roadblock.
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Oil fell for a second day, trimming much of a weekly gain that’s been driven by extended supply curbs from OPEC+ leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia and lower inventories.
Wheat prices fell Thursday, approaching the lowest levels since spring as key Ukrainian ports on the Danube continued working despite repeated Russian strikes on infrastructure and storage facilities. The UK plans a summit in November for countries hit by rising food prices.
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- Russia-China business forum in Kazan
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