July 6, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

US Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Ramin Toloui said “food and energy security are going to feature very prominently in the discussions” at the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Bali this week

The United Nations “is now undertaking an initiative to try to reopen the Black Sea to commerce to get Ukrainian and Russian foodstuffs and fertilizer to local markets,” Toloui added. “We support that and we would like the G20 to hold Russia accountable” and “support that initiative, whether that happens at the level of the G20 or the level of individual G20 countries.”

Some context: Up to 60 million tons of grain could be stuck in Ukraine by the fall if Russia continues to block its exports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday. Zelensky added he was working with the UN to try to open a safe corridor that would allow Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports. 

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the upcoming G20 foreign ministers meeting in Bali is not a time for business as usual with Russia due to the Ukraine war.  

Before the Russian invasion, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would historically meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of major events, but the top US diplomat is not planning to have a one-on-one meeting with his Russian counterpart in Bali. 

A US official familiar with the matter said Blinken plans to avoid appearing in any official group photos with Lavrov during the meeting.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to avoid appearing in any official group photos with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Bali this week, and will aim to rebut his Russian counterparts false narratives about the Ukraine war, according to a US official familiar with the matter.

For weeks, the US and its G7 allies — all of whom are in the G20 — have been discussing how to approach Lavrov’s presence at the meetings of the world’s 20 largest economies in Bali, according to US and European diplomats familiar with the conversations.

Many different ideas were discussed, including UK officials testing the waters on completely boycotting the meetings, but that strategy was ultimately not pursued, a UK official said.

Blinken is not — as of now — planning to partake in any staged walk-out with allies, US officials said. Part of the calculation is that the Biden administration wants to challenge Russia, not cede the floor to them, the official said.

The US wants to be seen as acting in unison with G7 allies, diplomats said. Things could change however, as the US is still “fine tuning” its approach and will have to react based on what happens during the meetings, the official said. 

This will be the first time Blinken and Lavrov have been in the same place since Russia invaded Ukraine, and Blinken's approach to his Russian counterpart could foreshadow how President Joe Biden might approach President Vladimir Putin later this year if the two leaders attend the G20 leaders summit.

Russian and Ukrainian forces are engaged in “heavy battles” in the outskirts of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, according to Serhiy Hayday, the head of Luhansk region military administration.

Russian forces have suffered “huge number of losses and wounded,” because some troops are being tactically withdrawn to regroup, Hayday claimed. 

“The hospitals are overcrowded and the mortuaries are overcrowded,” he said.

CNN cannot independently confirm the number of casualties on either side.

Hayday added that “many warehouses behind enemy lines have been blown up” in the past few days, destroying “a huge amount” of Russia’s ammunition and fuel.

Hayday estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 residents remain in the city of Lysychansk.

Ukraine’s military said Sunday that it had been “forced to withdraw” from the city, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying the retreat aimed to save the lives of Ukrainian troops.

In a separate update, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Tuesday that Russian troops are concentrating their “main efforts” on taking control of the highway linking the cities of Lysychansk and Bakhmut and attempting to seize the nearby settlement of Bilohorivka.

A new set of economic measures aimed at supporting the Russian military passed the first vote in the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament.

There are still several rounds of parliamentary procedure to go, but if the measures are adopted, legal entities in Russia will not be able to refuse contracts with the Russian armed forces.

Although Russian officials call the war in Ukraine "a special military operation," the new measures would effectively mean the country is reshaping its industry in support of the ongoing invasion, placing the country on a war economy footing.

In a statement, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov noted the "enormous sanction pressure" from the West.

The economic measures will still need to undergo second and third readings at the State Duma, be reviewed by the upper house of parliament and be signed by President Vladimir Putin to become law.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. While it has made gains in the east of the country, it has also suffered heavy losses in terms of its army and equipment.