AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Washington on Tuesday of seeking to prolong the war in Ukraine, as explosions rocked a Russian military installation in Moscow's Crimea peninsula. Simultaneously, the first UN ship to transport grain left Ukraine for Africa: the first shipment of food aid since Kyiv signed an agreement in July with Russia, brokered by Turkey and under UN supervision, providing for the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports after it was halted due to the war between the two countries. The war that broke out on February 24 led to the imposition of harsh Western sanctions on Russia and the provision of unprecedented financial and military aid to Ukraine, and this caused tensions, especially between Washington and Moscow. Putin has generally criticized the United States for seeking to "destabilize and create chaos in the region and the world" through the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. "The situation in Ukraine shows that the United States is trying to prolong this conflict. They act in the same way, raising the possibility of conflicts in Asia, Africa and Latin America," Putin said in televised remarks. He considered the visit "a blatant expression of the lack of respect for the sovereignty of other countries and (Washington's) international obligations." The accusation came as a fire broke out in an arms depot in the Dzhankoy region of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. The fire broke out at about 6:15 am local time (3:15 GMT) in a temporary warehouse of military equipment near the town of Maiskoye in the Dzhankoy region, causing an explosion of ammunition, according to a statement of the Defense Ministry carried by Russian news agencies. Two civilians were injured, said Crimea governor Sergei Aksyonov, who visited the site of the fire. An evacuation took place in a neighboring village. In a statement carried by Russian news agencies, the ministry confirmed that the explosion was "the result of an act of sabotage", without holding any party responsible. - 'Deterring a nuclear attack' - It revealed that "a number of civilian facilities were damaged, including power lines, a power plant and a railway, as well as a number of residential buildings." In response to this explosion, the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Administration Andreich Ermak welcomed on Telegram the "disarmament process accomplished by the Ukrainian armed forces", which, according to him, will continue "until the complete liberation of Ukrainian lands." This incident comes a week after the explosion of ammunition used in military aviation in a warehouse located in the land belonging to the military airport in Saki in western Crimea, killing one person and wounding others. While Russia described what happened as an accident, experts say that satellite images as well as ground-based videos suggest it was a Ukrainian attack. Since the invasion of Ukraine, Crimea has played a major role in Russian strategy. The attack on southern Ukraine, which allowed Moscow to seize large swathes of territory in the first weeks of the war, began from it. Russian planes also take off almost daily from Crimea to strike targets in areas under Kyiv's control; Many areas of this peninsula are within range of Ukrainian guns and drones. Despite the conflict, Crimea remains a favorite destination for many Russians who spend their summer vacation on its beaches. The Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine has been a source of intense tension for several days. The facility, the largest in Europe, has been hit with several strikes, with Moscow and Kiev accusing each other of being behind. Fear of a nuclear catastrophe prevailed, prompting the UN Security Council to hold a meeting last Thursday, but Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday tried to reassure Russia's intentions in the nuclear field. Shoigu stressed that "the primary objective of Russia's nuclear weapons is to deter any nuclear attack." French President Emmanuel Macron discussed by phone Tuesday with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky the situation at the Zaporizhia station. - A shipment of grain to Africa - At a time when the conflict has crippled Ukraine's grain exports for months, exacerbating food insecurity in many developing countries, the first UN ship loaded with grain set off for Africa on Tuesday. The Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure announced that the ship left the port of Pevdny in southern Ukraine, carrying "23 thousand tons of wheat" to Ethiopia. The World Food Program confirms that 345 million people, a record, in 82 countries, face food insecurity today, while famine threatens about 50 million people in 45 countries if they do not receive humanitarian assistance. The first commercial ship left on August 1, and 16 ships have set off from Ukraine since the agreement entered into force, according to a count of Ukrainian authorities, but no United Nations humanitarian ship has yet left the port. "I hope that other ships chartered under the World Food Program will arrive at our ports," Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kobrakov said Sunday at the port of Bivdny. Three more."