Ukraine latest: UK to send helicopters; EU cap on oil exports

European Union ambassadors are scheduled to meet on Wednesday with the intention of approving a cap on Russia’s oil exports. The bloc watered down its latest sanctions proposal for the cap by delaying its full implementation and softening key shipping provisions.

The diplomats are expected to also discuss the price level at the meeting. If they back the proposal, the EU and the Group of Seven could announce the cap as early as this evening.

On the ground
Russian forces hit a maternity ward in the Zaporizhzhia region with missiles overnight, leaving one newborn baby dead, Governor Oleksandr Starukh said on Telegram. Russian troops are reinforcing their defensive positions on the Kryvyi Rih and Kherson axes and continue to shell Ukrainian forces and settlements on the right bank of the Dnipro River, Ukraine’s General staff said. Parts of the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk regions were also shelled over the past day, according to the military.

(All times CET)
UK Delivers Helicopters, Pledges Artillery Rounds (9:10 a.m.)
The UK said it completed its first delivery of helicopters to Ukraine and pledged an additional 10,000 artillery rounds, the Ministry of Defence said.

An undisclosed number of Sea King helicopters has been delivered to Ukraine to provide search and rescue capability, according to a statement from the ministry. It comes after Britain’s Royal Navy provided 10 weeks of Sea King training for 10 Ukrainian crews in the UK.

NATO Allies Test Air and Missile Defense Capabilities (9:05 a.m.)
NATO allies are testing their air and missile defense capabilities in Romania on Wednesday, simulating an attack by a fighter jet and using a French MAMBA surface-based system to repel it.

The exercise comes a week after a missile landed on Polish soil, killing two, that was likely the result of Ukrainian forces fending off a barrage of missile attacks from Russia. NATO has said the incident was likely caused by Ukrainian missile defense.

Putin Meets Fertilizer Tycoon Mazepin (8:30 a.m.)
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Dmitry Mazepin, an investor in the Uralchem-Uralkali fertilizer group, to discuss fertilizers shipments issues, state television reported.

Mazepin asked the president to help to re-start ammonium fertilizer shipments via Ukraine’s Odesa port as part of a grain shipment deal that was extended last week.

Aid Stations Being Readied Amid Blackout Threat (3 a.m.)
Ukraine’s government is preparing a network of emergency aid stations across the country to help citizens endure mass blackouts that could drag on for days if Russia continues large-scale attacks on the nation’s energy infrastructure.

‘’All of us should be prepared for any scenarios. given what kind of terrorists are fighting against our people and what they are struggling to do,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his regular nightly address on Tuesday.

The aid stations will give people access to basic services including electricity, mobile networks, Internet access, water and first aid.

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