The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday called for additional access to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine to "confirm the absence of mines or explosives at the site". Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of planning to sabotage the site, raising alarm over risks of a radioactive disaster at Europe's largest nuclear plant. Follow our live blog for the latest updates on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
05:15am: Three dead after missile strike on apartment block in Ukraine's Lviv, says mayor
Three people were killed in a Russian missile attack that hit an apartment building in Lviv overnight, the mayor of the western Ukrainian city said on Thursday.
"Three people have been killed," he said in a post on his Telegram channel, adding that about 60 apartments and 50 cars were damaged.
In an earlier post he had said eight people had been injured. It was unclear whether the three people he confirmed as dead were included in that number.
03:06: After Ukraine missile alerts, Lviv mayor says four wounded, number growing
Strikes on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv damaged "critical infrastructure" and wounded at least four people Thursday, Ukrainian authorities said.
Russia has launched waves of drone and missile strikes across Ukraine since its invasion in February 2022.
The Lviv region -- hundreds of kilometres from the frontlines -- has been largely peaceful.
"A critical infrastructure facility in Lviv has been damaged, there are injured according to initial reports," Lviv governor Maksym Kozytski wrote on Telegram.
He did not give further details or specify whether the strikes were from drones or missiles.
Earlier, he had warned that "several" missiles were "moving in the direction of the western regions", citing Ukraine's Air Forces Command,
Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi said on Telegram that a "series of explosions" had been heard in the historic city and warned residents to stay in shelters.
"At this moment, we know about 4 wounded as a result of the missile attack," he said.
01:30am: Ukraine's Zelensky says sought weapons for counteroffensive to start sooner
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN he wanted a counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces to have started sooner than it did in June and that he had urged Western allies to quicken the supply of weapons for that mission, according to excerpts via a translator released on Wednesday.
"I wanted our counteroffensive to happen much earlier, because everyone understood that if the counteroffensive unfolds later, then a bigger part of our territory will be mined," Zelensky said. "We give our enemy the time and possibility to place more mines and prepare their defensive lines."
He said difficulties in the battlefield had led to Ukrainian forces slowing down the counteroffensive, which is aimed at reclaiming territory in eastern and southern Ukraine seized by Russia since its February 2022 invasion began.
The Ukrainian leader has consistently pushed the United States and other Western allies to supply his armed forces with more sophisticated weaponry, such as U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets and longer range missiles.
12:13am: Aid to Ukraine, Europe steps up
The United States may be the biggest provider of aid to Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion, but former Soviet states and ex-Soviet satellite states are among Kyiv's most generous backers.Here are the latest figures on global aid to Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees:
The United States remains by far the biggest donor with 70.7 billion euros in military, financial and humanitarian aid pledged to Ukraine between February 24, 2022 and May 31, 2023, according to figures released Thursday by the Germany-based Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
The second-biggest is Germany with 18.01 billion euros (10.68 billion euros in bilateral aid and 7.33 billion euros through the European Union). In third place is the United Kingdom with 10.74 billion euros.
Outside Europe and the US, the biggest donor is Japan, which pledged 6.62 billion euros to Ukraine during the first 15 months of the war.
Compared to the US their contributions may seem paltry, but the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania allocate a far bigger share of their gross domestic product towards fellow former Soviet nation Ukraine.
Their aid commitments between February 2022 and May 2023 amount to 1.26 percent, 1.09 percent and 0.95 percent of their GDP respectively, compared to 0.33 percent for the US, the Kiel Institute's aid tracker showed.
Poland and Slovakia, both of which border Ukraine, complete the top five of most generous countries, contributing 0.68 percent and 0.63 percent of their GDP respectively.
11:49pm: Russia opens criminal case into attack on journalist, lawyer in Chechnya
Russia on Wednesday opened a criminal case into a brutal attack by masked men in Chechnya on a prominent female Russian journalist and a lawyer as the serious nature of the injuries sustained in the assault became clearer.
Armed masked men on Tuesday attacked Yelena Milashina, a journalist for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper who was in Chechnya with lawyer Alexander Nemov when they were ambushed as they drove from the airport, Milashina's employer and rights groups said.
Milashina and Nemov had planned to attend a court hearing in the case of a woman they believed was being unjustly persecuted for political reasons.
The attack on them, in which their assailants put guns to their heads, shaved Milashina's head, doused her with green dye, and stabbed Nemov in the leg -prevented them from attending.
They were flown back to Moscow for medical treatment amid calls from the Kremlin for the authorities in Chechnya, a southern mainly Muslim region ruled by Ramzan Kadyrov, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, to investigate.
10:17pm: Swedish PM says Vilnius summit natural time for NATO bid finale
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Wednesday after meeting US President Joe Biden that the two leaders agreed that the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius was a "natural time" to finalise the Nordic country's bid to join the alliance.
"We both realize that the NATO summit in Vilnius in a week is a very natural time to finish this. But we both also know that only Turkey can make Turkish decisions," Kristersson told reporters at the Swedish embassy in Washington.
10:11pm: Georgian ambassador says he will leave Ukraine under president's order
Georgia's ambassador to Ukraine, ordered home by President Volodymyr Zelensky in a disagreement over Georgia's jailed former leader, told media on Wednesday he would comply with the order, though he described Kyiv's stand as "misguided".
"Forty-eight hours runs out tomorrow at 12 noon. I will try my very best to leave Ukraine by 12," Ambassador Giorgi Zakarashvili told Georgia's Rustavi-2 television in reports published in Ukrainian and Russian media.
Zakarashvili was summoned to Ukraine's foreign ministry in connection with Kyiv's complaint that Georgian former President Mikheil Saakashvili was being refused permission to leave the country for medical treatment.
9:18pm: The White House is continuing to monitor conditions at Ukraine's nuclear power plant
The White House said on Wednesday it is continuing to monitor conditions at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine after Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of plotting to stage an attack on the facility.
Experts from the UN nuclear watchdog based at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine have yet to observe any indications of mines or explosives at the plant, but they need more access to be sure, the agency said on Wednesday.
8:45pm: Biden supports Sweden's NATO bid, hosting prime minister at the White House
President Joe Biden welcomed Sweden's prime minister to the White House on Wednesday in a show of solidarity as the United States ramps up pressure for the Nordic nation’s entry into NATO ahead of the alliance's summit next week.
Biden said it was very important for Sweden to join, something that's been held up by objections from Turkey and Hungary. NATO requires the unanimous approval of all members to expand.
“You are a valued, valued friend," the president said to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson during brief public remarks in the Oval Office.
Kristersson responded by saying that “we highly appreciate your strong support" for joining NATO.
8:42pm: Suspect in Ukraine detonates explosives at a courthouse, killing himself and wounding 2 officers
A criminal suspect died Tuesday when he detonated explosives inside a court building in the Ukrainian capital, and two police officers were wounded, officials said.
The suspect, Ihor Humeniuk, detonated an explosive device inside the Shevchenkivskyi District Court, as he made an abortive attempt to escape, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko told reporters.
It wasn’t immediately clear how Humeniuk received the explosives and managed to bring them inside the court building. The two wounded officers belong to a special police unit.
Humeniuk has been in custody for eight years on charges of throwing a grenade during a demonstration outside the country's parliament that killed three members of the National Guard and wounded more than 140 others in 2015.
7:22pm: Lithuania says NATO summit will not disappoint Ukraine
The president of Lithuania, which will host next week's NATO summit, said he expected the talks to satisfy Ukraine as it seeks a clear invitation to join the defence alliance.
"I have a sense that we will find formulations which will not disappoint Ukrainians and will convey more than we are used to saying," Gitanas Nauseda told AFP in an interview on Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country is battling Russian forces, "might not receive everything he expects in his most ambitious plans, but he will certainly receive a lot," Nauseda added.
7:05pm: Two police wounded in apparent Kyiv court suicide bombing
Two police officers were wounded in a Kyiv district court on Wednesday as a man who was brought to attend a hearing apparently blew himself up, officials said.
It is believed there were two explosions at Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi district court. Authorities did not say that the blasts were linked to Ukraine's war effort.
"An offender died at the scene. According to preliminary information, he blew himself up," Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said on social media.
Two law enforcement officers were wounded as they stormed the premises, Klymenko added.
"Their lives were saved by their shields," he added.
6:47pm: Another explosion heard at court in Ukrainian capital Kyiv
Another explosion was heard Wednesday at a district court in the Ukrainian capital, an AFP correspondent said.
The building of Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi court was cordoned off and there were a number of ambulances outside. The interior ministry earlier said police received a report of an explosion.
5:21pm: 'Explosion' at Kyiv court, emergency services on site, says minister
Ukraine's interior minister said Wednesday that police in the capital Kyiv had received reports of an explosion at a district court and that emergency services were responding on the scene.
"There is an emergency in the Shevchenkivskyi court of Kyiv. The police received a report of an explosion. Police investigative teams, special forces, explosives experts and other necessary services arrived at the scene," Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said in a statement on social media.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from officials.
"According to preliminary information, an unidentified device was detonated by a man who was brought to the court hearing," Klymenko added in his statement.
4:51pm: Ukraine urges 'immediate' global action over nuclear plant tensions
Ukraine called on the international community on Wednesday to respond to what it said was Russia's military escalation at the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the centre of mounting tensions between Kyiv and Moscow.
"Russia deploying military personnel, installing fortifications on at least three reactors, placing explosives at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant directly threatens a nuclear incident at Europe's largest atomic power station," Ukraine's foreign ministry said in a statement on social media, adding: "It's high time the world took immediate action."
4:01pm: Access needed to confirm no explosives at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, says IAEA
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday called for additional access to Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to "confirm the absence of mines or explosives at the site".
"With military tension and activities increasing in the region where this major nuclear power plant is located, our experts must be able to verify the facts on the ground," IAEA head Rafael Grossi said in a statement.
Read moreIAEA saw no evidence Moscow planning attack on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, but 'anything can happen'
"Their independent and objective reporting would help clarify the current situation at the site, which is crucial at a time like this with unconfirmed allegations and counter allegations," he added.
3:50pm: Ukrainian authorities warn that a nuclear attack by Russia could take place
"Ukrainian intelligence said that Russia had planted what looks like explosives around the power plant and also on the roof of [...] of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant," reports FRANCE 24's correspondent in Ukraine, Emmanuelle Chaze. She added that Western observers say that they don't believe that Russia would be ready to provoke a nuclear attack but the fear remains in Ukraine, not just because of the accusations being made by Ukrainian authorities but also because Russia is suspected of having blown up the Kakhovka dam in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.
1:40pm: Russian says it struck Ukrainian forces near Bakhmut
Russian forces struck three Ukrainian army groups near Bakhmut, the Russian defence ministry has claimed amid conflicting reports about fighting in the area.
The ministry made no comment in its daily briefing on reports that Russian forces have retreated from the village of Klishchiivka southwest of Bakhmut, which a Russian-installed official in eastern Ukraine has denied.
Ukraine has said its forces had "partial success" in the Klishchiivka area.
The battleground claims could not be independently verified.
1:20pm: Kremlin yet to decide on Black Sea grain deal as UN calls for extension
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told reporters that Moscow is yet to decide whether to renew the Black Sea grain deal, which allows for the safe export of grain from Ukraine and is due to expire on July 17.
"We have not yet officially announced the decision, we will announce it in a timely manner," Peskov said.
Russia has consistently said it sees no grounds to renew the agreement because of obstacles to its own exports of grain and fertiliser. But Peskov said there was still time for the West to address those issues.
"There is still time to fulfil that part of the agreements that concerns our country. Until now, this part has not been completed, and, accordingly, at the moment, unfortunately, there are no particular grounds for extending this deal," he said.
Under the deal signed in July 2022, Russia guaranteed the safety of grain ships heading to and from Ukrainian ports through waters it controls – while the UN pledged to facilitate unimpeded access of Russian fertilisers and other products to global markets.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva earlier today, top UN trade official Rebeca Grynspan said both parts of the agreement were crucial.
1pm: Putin’s former election spokesman to head state news agency TASS
Russian President Vladimir Putin's former election spokesman has been appointed to run the state news agency TASS.
The Kremlin has tightened its control over the media since the start of the Ukraine war, forcing the closure of leading independent news outlets and designating many journalists and publications as "foreign agents".
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed an order dismissing Sergei Mikhailov as general director of TASS and appointing Andrei Kondrashov in his place. Mikhailov had served as general director since 2012.
Kondrashov, 50, is a state television journalist who in 2018 worked as the press secretary of Putin's election headquarters.
12:10pm: Kremlin says measures taken at Zaporizhzhia plant to prevent Ukraine 'threat'
The Kremlin has reiterated its unsubstantiated claims that Kyiv is planning some sort of sabotage of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.
Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday accused each other of plotting to stage an attack on Europe's biggest nuclear power facility.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the consequences of such sabotage could be catastrophic.
"The situation is quite tense because there is indeed a great threat of sabotage by the Kyiv regime, which could be catastrophic in its consequences," he said, without presenting evidence to back his assertion.
"The Kyiv regime has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to do anything. Therefore, all measures are being taken to counter such a threat," Peskov added.
11:50am: FSB says Russian man planned attack on Pacific island
Russia's FSB security service says it has detained a man suspected of planning to destroy an energy facility on Sakhalin island off Russia's Pacific coast.
The FSB published a video showing what it said were improvised explosive devices and various chemicals at the house of the man who it said was a follower of "Ukrainian neo-Nazism".
Fires and explosions have occurred at a number of Russian energy, railway and military facilities since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Self-styled partisan groups opposed to the war have claimed responsibility for some of the attacks.
The FSB did not say what site the man was suspected of planning to target on Sakhalin, which hosts industrial enterprises owned by Japanese and Indian companies.
10:25am: Russia says one killed, 41 injured in Makiivka attack
Russian-installed officials have given a revised toll for the attack on the town of Makiivka in the occupied eastern Donetsk region, saying one person was killed by Ukrainian fire and another 41 people were injured.
The Donetsk region has been partially occupied by Kremlin-backed separatists since 2014 and its complete capture is Russia's primarily military objective in Ukraine.
But the industrial territory is also now the focus of a Ukrainian counter-offensive launched several weeks ago.
"Forty-one people have been injured due to the shelling, including two children. One person has died from their wounds," Vladislav Klyucharov, the Russian-appointed head of the city's administration said on Russia's state-run broadcaster Rossiya-24.
Ukraine's military earlier said it had destroyed a Russian "formation" in Makiivka and released video showing a huge explosion lighting up the night sky and the silhouette of at least one building.
10:06am: China’s position on nuclear threat from Russia is ‘important’, says top Zelensky advisor
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff said on Wednesday that China's position in the face of a potential nuclear threat from Russia was "important".
Andriy Yermak posted a screenshot of an article from the Financial Times about Chinese leader Xi Jinping's reported warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin against a nuclear attack in Ukraine.
"(This is) an important position of (China) regarding the nuclear threat from the insane Russian terrorist," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
7:45am: Russia says border regions come under fire from Ukraine
Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions came under fire from Ukrainian forces across the border in the early hours of Wednesday, the regions' governors have said, adding that no casualties were reported.
"The town of Valuyki is under fire from Ukraine's armed forces," Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on the Telegram messaging app at 07:36 am local time (0436 GMT).
He did not specify whether it was rocket fire, artillery shelling or some other form of attack.
"Air defence system worked, but there is destruction on the ground," Gladkov said.
Separately, Roman Starovoyt, the governor of the Kursk region, north of Belgorod and also bordering Ukraine, said that a school and a private house were damaged when the village of Tyotkino came fire, again without specifying the form of attack.
5:35am: Ukrainian army says it destroyed 'Russian formation' in Donetsk
Ukraine's military says it has destroyed a Russian "formation" in Makiivka in the frontline Donetsk region, where Moscow-installed officials and media say one civilian was killed and dozens wounded in attacks by Kyiv.
"As a result of the effective fire impact of the units of the defence forces, another formation of Russian terrorists in the temporarily occupied Makiivka ceased to exist," Ukraine's armed forces said in a statement.
A video accompanying the post showed a huge explosion lighting up the night sky and the silhouette of at least one building. It did not give further details.
The Russian-installed head of the Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, said Ukrainian forces had launched "fierce attacks" on residential areas and a hospital complex in Makiivka.
One man had died and 36 civilians "received injuries of varying degrees of severity" as a result of Ukrainian strikes, according to Russian state news agency Interfax.
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Key developments from Tuesday, July 4:
The NATO military alliance said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg would remain in his post until October 2024, extending his tenure by another year amid a failure to agree on a replacement in the context of the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials accused Russian forces of targeting a military funeral in the Kharkiv region in a missile strike that wounded 43 people, including 12 children.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that Russia was planning "provocations" at the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – whereas Russia accused Kyiv of planning an attack at the facility.
Read yesterday's liveblog to see how all the day's events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
