Russia-Ukraine crisis live updates | Russia steps up attacks across Ukraine’s north, east, south

Russian forces fired missiles and shells at cities and towns across Ukraine on July 17 after Russia’s military announced it was stepping up its onslaught against its neighbour. Ukraine reported at least 17 more civilians killed. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu gave “instructions to further intensify the actions of units in all operational areas, in order to exclude the possibility of the Kyiv regime launching massive rocket and artillery strikes on civilian infrastructure and residents of settlements in the Donbas and other regions,” his ministry said Saturday.

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Ukraine’s atomic energy agency accused Russia of using Europe’s largest nuclear power plant to store weapons and shell the surrounding regions of Nikopol and Dnipro that were hit on July 16. More than 20 weeks since Russia invaded its neighbour, leading to thousands of deaths and millions of displaced Ukrainians, the war-ravaged nation’s President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Moscow for seeking to cause maximum damage, but pledged that Ukraine will “endure” in the conflict.

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Ukrainian authorities across the country reported new Russian missile strikes and shelling on July 16 that killed at least 16 more civilians, deaths that came after Russia’s top military announced it was stepping up its onslaught against its neighbour.

Here are the latest updates:

Abidjan

Ukraine war must not blind West to African needs: French minister

The war in Ukraine “concerns the West as a whole” but at the same time must not lead to “forgetting Africa’s security” needs, France’s armed forces minister Sebastien Lecornu said Saturday.

“We have a form of myopia in Europe and France, where the Ukraine war mobilises all our energy, and that is natural — it is a conflict that concerns the West as a whole,” said Mr. Lecornu in Ivory Coast after a visit to Niger.

“Yet it should not lead to forgetting about news on security in Africa,” he argued ahead of meeting with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. – AFP

Indonesia

G20 finance talks overshadowed by Ukraine end without joint communique

A two-day meeting of finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies ended Saturday in Indonesia without a joint communique after Russia’s war in Ukraine divided the global forum.

During talks on the Indonesian resort island Bali, the finance chiefs looked for solutions to food and energy crises, while accusing Russian technocrats of exacerbating the problems.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Friday blamed the invasion of Ukraine for sending a shockwave through the global economy. – AFP

Russia

Russia remains barred from international soccer as sports court upholds bans

Russia remains barred from international soccer competitions including the Champions League after the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected appeals by the national soccer federation and four clubs on Friday.

CAS upheld decisions by UEFA and FIFA which excluded Russian national teams and clubs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine

Russia steps up missile attacks across Ukraine

Ukrainian authorities across the country reported new Russian missile strikes and shelling on July 16 that killed at least 16 more civilians, deaths that came after Russia’s top military announced it was stepping up its onslaught against its neighbour.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu gave “instructions to further intensify the actions of units in all operational areas, in order to exclude the possibility of the Kyiv regime launching massive rocket and artillery strikes on civilian infrastructure and residents of settlements in Donbas and other regions.”