July 1, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

The United States doesn't know the whereabouts of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led a short-lived rebellion last weekend in Russia and hasn't been seen in public in a week.

Prigozhin was last spotted leaving the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, after abruptly calling off his troops’ march on Moscow.

 "We don't have perfect visibility here on where Mr. Prigozhin is or where all of his fighters are," said John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.

According to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the Wagner chief arrived in Belarus on Tuesday. While there are no videos or photos showing Prigozhin there, satellite imagery of an airbase outside Minsk showed two planes linked to Prigozhin landing there on Tuesday morning.

On Friday, Lukashenko invited Wagner mercenaries to train his military. “Unfortunately, they (Wagner mercenaries) are not here,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Patriot media group, which is associated with Prigozhin, announced it's shutting down. And Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor has restricted access to media sites belonging to the Patriot media group.

Here's what else you should know:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered Ukraine’s military to bolster the country’s northern defenses.

After a meeting with military commanders, Zelensky said that “the situation in the north, in particular, on the territory of Belarus, was considered separately. … By the decision of the (General) Staff, Commander-in-Chief (Valerii) Zaluzhny and General (Serhiy) Naiev were instructed to strengthen the northern direction – to guarantee peace.” 

There has been an uptick in cross-border shelling and air strikes by Russian forces into the northern Sumy and Chernihiv regions in recent weeks. But Ukrainian officials have played down any threat of a renewed assault from Belarus. 

Zelensky said that Ukrainian units “have made progress in all directions” of the front lines on Friday, adding that Ukraine’s “work with partners to receive rounds for Ukrainian soldiers is already at its best capacity.”  

Missile strikes against Ukrainian soldiers who had crossed the Dnipro River have caused high casualties, according to the Russian-appointed governor of the occupied Kherson region.

An Iskander missile struck near the Antonivskyi bridge, killing at least 30 fighters and maiming a dozen others, Vladimir Saldo claimed Friday on Telegram.

“The rest of them are hiding in summer houses on both sides of the bridge,” Saldo said, adding that special forces would begin a final sweep of the area.

CNN cannot verify the governor's claims of Ukrainian casualties, but geolocated video of the area south of the bridge shows fresh damage, with an entire stretch of the elevated roadway demolished.

There has been heavy fighting in the area for nearly a week as Ukrainian troops have established a bridgehead on the east bank of the Dnipro.

The United Nations urged the Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul to expedite the clearance of ships under the Black Sea grain deal that clears vessels to export Ukrainian grain.

No ships have been authorized to travel to Black Sea ports since June 26, according to a UN statement. Under the terms of the deal, Russian and Ukrainian inspectors must clear ships for passage. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of impeding the traffic.

Only 13 ships remain in the Initiative, Haq said, and they are “either loading in the Ukrainian ports or on the move to or from Istanbul.”   

“Every day counts,” he said. “Without new ships entering the Black Sea Initiative, a million or more tonnes of food will remain stuck between now and the run-up to 17 July,” when the current deal expires.   

“The parties must ensure that additional vessels are allowed to sail the maritime humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea, which serves as a global lifeline for food security,” Haq went on to say, adding that the beginning of the harvest season “underscores the urgency.”  

Haq said that in June, 2 million tonnes of foodstuffs were exported, well below port capacity and industry demands. 

Some background: The Black Sea grain deal was first reached in July 2022.

Russia had been blockading vital grain exports from key Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which meant that millions of tons of Ukrainian grain were not being exported to the many countries that rely on it.

The impact of the war on global food markets was immediate and extremely painful, especially because Ukraine is a major supplier of grain to the World Food Programme. According to the European Commission, Ukraine accounts for 10% of the world wheat market, 15% of the corn market, and 13% of the barley market. It is also a key global player in the market of sunflower oil.

The Food and Agriculture Organization, a UN body, warned at the time that as many as 47 million people could be pushed into “acute food insecurity” because of the war. Western officials accused Russia of using food as a weapon.

The deal – brokered by the United Nations and Turkey with Russia and Ukraine – created procedures to ensure the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports.