Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said attempts by the West to punish a nuclear power such as Russia for the war in Ukraine risked endangering humanity, as the near five-month conflict leaves cities in ruins and thousands homeless.

Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

Fighting

• Russia’s armed forces have destroyed two advanced US-made HIMARS rocket systems and their ammunition depots in eastern Ukraine, the Russian defence ministry said.

• Lysychansk was once a city of a 100,000 people in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, but it lies in ruins after its fall to Russian forces with many residents living in bomb shelters and basements.

Economy

• Ukraine’s grain exports plunged 68.5% year-on-year to 163,000 tonnes in the first six days of July, the first month of the 2022/23 season, the agriculture ministry said.

• Ukraine’s grain traders union revised upwards its forecast for the grain and oilseed harvest to 69.4 million tonnes from the previous 66.5 million, but still far below the 2021 level of 106 million tonnes.

• France must be prepared for possible cuts in Russian gas deliveries linked to the context of the Ukraine war, French Prime Minister Borne said.

The port of Mariupol in Russian-controlled territory of Ukraine is operating at full capacity, the TASS news agency reported, citing port officials.

Refugees

• More than 8.79 million people have crossed the border from Ukraine since the invasion on Feb. 24 the UN refugee agency said.