Ukraine war latest: Strike on Russia's Ust-Luga port damages 2 processing plants, Ukraine says
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Key developments on Aug. 14:
- Russia's Ust-Luga port struck, 2 processing plants damaged, Ukraine's General Staff says
- Russia strikes Ukraine's largest private port operator as Moscow rejects grain truce
- Russia to abolish border zones with occupied Ukrainian territories
- Ukrainians rally again for Fedorov reinstatement as organizers 'disappointed' in Zelensky's silence
Ukraine struck the Ust-Luga port in Russia's Leningrad Oblast overnight on Aug. 14, damaging two processing plants and sparking a fire, the General Staff said.
Ust-Luga is one of Russia's largest ports on the Baltic Sea and home to an oil terminal that serves as a major hub for the export of crude oil and petroleum products. Located west of St. Petersburg, far from Ukraine's border, the port plays an important role in generating revenue for the state budget.
Regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko earlier reported that "port infrastructure" had been hit and that a fire was burning at the port amid a wide-ranging drone attack on the region. Officials claimed that 51 Ukrainian drones were downed over Leningrad Oblast.
As Kyiv steps up its attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, the Ust-Luga port has repeatedly served as a target of attacks in recent months. The Ukrainian military carried out a series of deep strikes against the Ust-Luga port in March and April of this year.
Russia strikes Ukraine's largest private port operator as Moscow rejects grain truce
A Russian missile strike damaged a key Ukrainian port terminal on Aug. 14, as Russia continues to terrorize Ukraine's seaports.
The attack damaged at least one warehouse at the TIS terminal in Ukraine's Pivdennyi (Southern) Port complex, an agriculture-sector executive with knowledge of the matter told the Kyiv Independent under the condition of anonymity.
TIS's press service declined to comment on the attack.
The strike comes the same day as Russia rejected the idea of reinstating the 2022-2023 Black Sea grain initiative. Kyiv and Moscow have exchanged strikes on ports and vessels recently, leading to growing concern of a global food crisis.
Turkey has attempted to mediate negotiations, having helped broker the original grain initiative, although Moscow has said Ankara has yet to send an official ceasefire proposal.
Reviving the framework of the grain initiative would be "ill-advised," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakaharova told reporters on Aug. 14, accusing "the West" of using the deal to attack Russia.
She also claimed that Ukraine was currently conducting maritime terrorism and "escalating" the situation. Meanwhile, Moscow relentlessly attacks Odesa Oblast, particularly port infrastructure.
TIS is co-owned by Andriy Stavnitser, a Ukrainian businessman who also owns the Superhumans Center, a specialist clinic for war veterans.
In March, the world's largest container shipping company, the Swiss-headquartered Mediterranean Shipping Company, took a majority stake in a TIS container terminal in Ukraine's Pivdennyi (Southern) Port, marking a rare high-profile foreign investment into the country. The container terminal was not hit in the Aug. 14 attack.
Russia to abolish border zones with occupied Ukrainian territories
Moscow will begin removing border zones between Russia and occupied areas of Ukraine, according to internal FSB documents obtained by independent Russian media outlet Agentstvo and published on Aug. 13.
Border zones in Rostov and Voronezh oblasts along Russia's boundary with occupied parts of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts will be eliminated due to the "completion of the annexation" of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic, the documents state.
The border zones between occupied Crimea and the occupied parts of Kherson Oblast will also be eliminated for the same stated reason. In Crimea, Russia will retain a border regime "within the Black Sea islands belonging to the Russian Federation," according to the documents.
Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and declared the annexation of the partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in 2022, treating sovereign Ukrainian territory as part of Russia.
It is not clear whether the elimination of the border zones will mean the removal of checkpoints connecting territory Russia claims to have annexed, or whether this will be merely an administrative change.
Ukrainians rally again for Fedorov reinstatement as organizers 'disappointed' in Zelensky's silence
Protesters gathered in central Kyiv on Aug. 14 for another rally demanding that President Volodymyr Zelensky reinstate former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, as the president's silence on the issue fuels frustration among demonstrators.
Several hundreds took to the streets of the capital, a notably lower number than when the protests first started in mid-July after Fedorov was removed from his post during a chaotic government reshuffle.
Although Zelensky later dismissed then-Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, fulfilling one of the protesters' main demands, he has refused to restore Fedorov as defense minister.
"The president has maximally disappointed me with his silence, especially considering that the lack of communication has effectively become the trigger for these protests," Dmytro Koziatynskyi, a war veteran and one of the protest organizers, said on social media.
The new gathering comes as the Ukrainian parliament is set to return from its summer recess on Aug. 18, with protesters waiting to see whether Zelensky will officially nominate acting Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara to the position.
Some people close to the situation believe Zelensky could avoid putting Khmara's candidacy to a vote in an effort not to further inflame public anger.
Koziatynskyi also urges people to join a march in central Kyiv on Aug. 16.
