Drone attacks reported near Moscow; Russia warns F-16 jet donations will escalate war

Ukraine is considering using its newly tested wartime Black Sea export corridor for grain shipments after the first successful evacuation of a vessel along the route last week, a senior agricultural official said on Monday.

Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since it invaded its neighbor in February 2022, and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets after pulling out of a U.N.-backed safe-passage deal for Black Sea grain exports last month.

In response, Ukraine announced a "humanitarian corridor" hugging the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria. A Hong Kong-flagged container ship stuck in Odesa port since the invasion travelled the route last week without being fired upon.

"Only one commercial vessel has passed through so far, (and this) has shown readiness to move by alternative routes," Denys Marchuk, deputy head of the Agrarian Council, Ukraine's largest agribusiness group, told national television.

"Further, there should be a movement of potentially 7-8 more ships... then perhaps in the future these alternative routes will become a corridor for the movement of ships that are travelling with cargoes of grain and oilseeds," he said.

— Reuters

An Iranian military delegation visited Moscow for talks on increasing cooperation between the two countries' ground forces, Russian state media reported, citing the country's Defense Ministry.

"The military delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, led by the Ground Forces Commander Brigade General Kioumars Haydari arrived in Moscow for discussion of issues of bilateral military cooperation," the Russian Defense Ministry said, according to an English translation provided by state media outlet TASS.

"The sides discussed issues of military cooperation and interaction, aimed at the implementation of projects that are supposed to improve the combat readiness of both countries' armed forces," TASS wrote.

The ministry's statement quoted Russian ground forces commander Gen. Oleg Salyukov as saying, "The Russian Federation views Iran as one of the key states in the Middle East - it is Russia's strategic partner, and the constant intensive political dialogue is a hallmark of the current stage of our partnership."

Iran has been a supporter of Russia during its invasion of Ukraine, and has drawn Western sanctions for its provisions of weapons to Moscow.

— Natasha Turak

Russia is preparing a "development plan" for the destroyed southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which involves bringing 300,000 Russians into the city to boost its population, according to the National Resistance Center, an organization run by Ukraine's special forces.

"Moscow reportedly intends on completing the transfer by 2035, the center wrote, citing sources in local underground resistance who obtained the occupation administration's documents," Ukrainian newspaper The Kyiv Post reported, referring to the National Resistance Center.

"The Kremlin started a program of cheap mortgages on properties in occupied parts of Ukraine, such as Donetsk oblast's Mariupol, to encourage Russians to move there," it said.

The newspaper added, "Moscow purportedly sends work migrants and civil servants from Russia's 'depressed' regions to the occupied territories ... At the same time, residents of Mariupol and other occupied settlements are forcibly deported to Russia."

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine featured heavy bombardment of Mariupol for several months in 2022 until Ukrainian forces lost the city. Much of it has been described by Ukrainian officials as uninhabitable and utterly devastated, with most of its population either having fled or been killed.

— Natasha Turak

Russian press praised the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa taking place this week as a means to further cooperation between the large emerging market economies and push back against what many outside the West describe as Western and specifically American "bullying" or global dominance.

"BRICS summit to push back on West’s bullying diktat," a headline by Russian state news agency TASS read.

"The Global South will be carefully monitoring the summit, hoping that BRICS can, at least partially, patch over some of the holes punched in the edifice of global governance by the heavy-handed, do-it-our-way-or-else approach of the United States," the agency wrote.

BRICS is comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa but is now potentially looking to expand its membership.

— Natasha Turak

Ukrainian forces have gained 43 square kilometers (16.6 square miles) of territory in eastern Ukraine's Bakhmut, the country's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar told local television.

"Our troops are advancing along the southern flank around Bakhmut. As of now, three more square kilometers have been liberated. In general, we can talk about the liberation of 43 square kilometers of our land in this direction," she said.

In the north of Bakhmut, "the enemy is trapped there," Maliar said. "The Russians cannot get out of Bakhmut and cannot fully advance there." CNBC is not able to verify details on the ground. Ukraine's counter-offensive has progressed more slowly than initially anticipated.

— Natasha Turak

Destroyed Russian military equipment are put on exhibition on Khreshchatyk Street in preparation for Independence Day on August 21, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. On Independence Day, which takes place on August 24, no mass events will be held in Kyiv.

-Getty Images | Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the decision of Denmark and the Netherlands to donate several of their F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, calling it powerful and historic.

The move is "absolutely historic, powerful and inspiring for us", Zelensky said while visiting Eindhoven air force base in the Netherlands. He spoke alongside Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Kyiv has been asking for F-16s since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with its allies until recently holding off due to fears of escalation and provoking Russia. Ukraine's Western allies who have agreed to supply it with jets say that they are not to be used beyond Ukraine's own territory.

Russian officials have responded with condemnation, warning the move will escalate the conflict.

Ukrainian pilots still need time to train, and will begin training this month, defense officials said. This could allow Ukrainian forces to be able to use the jets from early 2024.

— Natasha Turak

Flights to Moscow's four international airports — Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky — were suspended on Monday to ensure civil safety, Russia's Federal Agency for Air Transport (Rosaviatsiya) said on Telegram, according to a Google translation.

Forty-five passenger flights and two cargo flights were rerouted to alternative airports in Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan and St. Petersburg as a result of the disruption. Restrictions were lifted by 8:30 a.m. local time, with all four airports resuming regular service by 9 a.m.

The agency did not disclose the reason for the disruption. Earlier on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a Google-translated Telegram post that it had repelled a "terrorist attack" attempted by the Kyiv regime with drones against the Moscow region. Damage and injuries have been reported in Istra and Kaluga.

CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Russia's ambassador to Denmark criticized Denmark and the Netherlands' decisions, announced Sunday, that they would donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

"The fact that Denmark has now decided to donate 19 F-16 aircraft to Ukraine leads to an escalation of the conflict," Vladimir Barbin was cited in Russian press as saying.

"By hiding behind a premise that Ukraine itself must determine the conditions for peace, Denmark seeks with its actions and words to leave Ukraine with no other choice but to continue the military confrontation with Russia."

Denmark is set to donate 19 jets in total, while the Netherlands has not yet specified the number of jets it will supply. It has 42 F-16s in total.

Denmark's defense minister said a condition of the donation is that Ukraine can only use the jets over its own territory.

"We donate weapons under the condition that they are used to drive the enemy out of the territory of Ukraine. And no further than that," the minister, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, said Monday.

— Natasha Turak

Two people were injured on Monday after debris from two drones intercepted by Russia's air defense fell on a house in the Moscow region.

One of the victims — a man — was hospitalized, said Moscow governor Andrey Vorobyov in Google-translated comments on Telegram.

The house is in the town of Istra.

Russian authorities reported additional drone activity southwest of Moscow. Vladislav Shapsha, governor of the Kaluga region, said that despite adverse weather conditions, Russian forces repelled a drone attack locally. He reported no injuries or infrastructural damage in a Google-translated Telegram post.

CNBC could not independently confirm developments on the ground.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Ukraine to receive F-16 jets from Denmark and Netherlands; Russia reports Moscow drone attack