Summary
This blog is closed. Live coverage of the war in Ukraine will resume later. A summary follows.
- Rolls-Royce Germany has provided two super power generators to Ukraine, the country’s ministry of health announced on Saturday. In a statement, the ministry of health said: “One such generator is capable of providing the work of not only one building, but all the buildings, if it is a large regional hospital.”
- The US has announced that it will be boycotting the St. Petersburg International Forum that is set to take place in Russia later this month. “We urge governments and companies to join our boycott and send a clear message that there is no “business as usual” while Russian forces brutalize Ukraine,” US State department spokesperson Ned Price said.
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Russia’s military has set up another field hospital due to heavy casualties. Kyiv Independent reports. The Russian military is setting up an additional field hospital in the village of Shebekino in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, according to the general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- Ukraine remains in control of the Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk where hundreds of civilians are sheltering, the region’s governor said on Saturday, after a Russia-backed separatist claimed 300 to 400 Ukrainian fighters were also trapped there. Ukraine has said some 800 people were hiding in several bomb shelters underneath the Azot plant, including about 200 employees and 600 residents of Sievierodonetsk.
- A United Nations commission has arrived in Ukraine on Saturday to investigate war crimes. Deputy Speaker of Ukraine’s parliament Olena Kondratyuk said that the commission’s goal is to record war crimes and human rights violations.
- Approximately 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia’s invasion of the country in February, according to a military adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy. He added that the daily numbers of Ukrainian casualties were around “200 to 300 die, no less.”
- The European Border and Coast Guard Agency says that 2.5 million Ukrainians have returned to their home country since the war started in February.The agency also said that 5.5 million Ukrainians have fled to the EU since the war began.
- Russia is attempting to repeat the Holodomor, a man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of people under the Soviet regime, the head of the office of the Ukrainian president has said. On Saturday, Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office head, said: “Russians shell Ukrainian fields with firebombs. Those creating global food crisis attempt to reconstruct Holodomor.”
- The armed forces of Ukraine have received new Starlink satellite communication systems from SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk. The Ukrainian defense ministry said that the Starlinks will be used for its intelligence forces’ “special missions.”
- The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is planning a visit to Kyiv alongside the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi. The leaders want to meet the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, prior to the G7 summit.
Updated
The German division of Rolls-Royce has provided two super power generators to Ukraine, the country’s ministry of health announced on Saturday.
In a statement, the ministry of health said, “One such generator is capable of providing the work of not only one building, but all the buildings, if it is a large regional hospital.”
“Generators have already been distributed and sent to healthcare facilities. One of them has already been delivered to the Kyiv Regional Hospital, and the other one will provide for the operation of the emergency facility in Mykolaiv,” it added.
Rolls-Royce handed over two powerful generators to Ukraine. One of these can ensure the operation of several hospital buildings.
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) June 11, 2022
The generators have already been distributed & sent to health facilities. https://t.co/m3KlUenzOm pic.twitter.com/aS1TlZx9ve
Updated
The US has announced that it will be boycotting the St. Petersburg International Forum that is set to take place in Russia later this month.
In an announcement released on Saturday by US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price, he said, “The U.S. Government will not attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in any capacity. We urge governments and companies to join our boycott and send a clear message that there is no “business as usual” while Russian forces brutalize Ukraine.
The U.S. Government will not attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in any capacity. We urge governments and companies to join our boycott and send a clear message that there is no “business as usual” while Russian forces brutalize Ukraine.
— Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) June 11, 2022
Russia’s military has set up another field hospital due to heavy casualties, the Kyiv Independent reports.
⚡️Ukraine's military: Russian military sets up another field hospital due to heavy casualties.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) June 11, 2022
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said the Russian military is setting up an additional field hospital in the village of Shebekino in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast.
Ukraine remains in control of the Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk where hundreds of civilians are sheltering, the region’s governor said on Saturday, after a Russia-backed separatist claimed 300 to 400 Ukrainian fighters were also trapped there.
Reuters reports:
“The information about the blockade of the Azot plant is a lie,” Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the Luhansk region partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists, said on the Telegram messaging app.
“Our forces are holding an industrial zone of Sievierodonetsk and are destroying the Russian army in the town,” he wrote.
Ukraine has said some 800 people were hiding in several bomb shelters underneath the Azot plant, including about 200 employees and 600 residents of Sievierodonetsk.
Rodion Miroshnik, a Russian-backed representative of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, said late on Saturday that some civilians had started to leave.
“There are occasional exchanges of fire. ... They (the Ukrainian defenders) may still be holding several hundred civilians hostage,” he said in an online post. Reuters was not immediately able to verify his account.
Miroshnik had earlier said 300 to 400 Ukrainian fighters were blockaded on the grounds of the plant along with civilians and had tried to negotiate their passage to Lysychansk, Sievierodonetsk’s twin city.
UN commission arrives in Ukraine to investigate war crimes
A United Nations commission has arrived in Ukraine on Saturday to investigate war crimes.
Deputy Speaker of Ukraine’s parliament Olena Kondratyuk said that the commission’s goal is to record war crimes and human rights violations.
“I have assured the UN Independent International Commission that the Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian parliament] will contribute to the successful work of the mission! We discussed the work of the commission in Ukraine, which was established to record violations of human rights, international humanitarian law and other crimes related to Russian aggression. The major task is identify suspects, gather evidence and prepare materials so that no one escapes punishment,” Kondratiuk said.
Updated
Approximately 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia’s invasion of the country in February, according to a military adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
On Saturday, journalist Mark Fygyn asked military adviser Oleksiy Arestovych if 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed, the Washington Post reported.
“Yes, something like that,” Arestovych replied, adding that daily numbers of Ukrainian casualties were around “200 to 300 die, no less.” The Post has not been able to immediately verify the numbers.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency says that 2.5 million Ukrainians have returned to their home country since the war started in February.
The agency also said that 5.5 million Ukrainians have fled to the EU since the war began.
Over 2.5 million Ukrainians have returned to their home country since the war started - Frontex
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) June 11, 2022
European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex)
says 5.5 million Ukrainian citizens have fled to the EU since the beginning of the war in February.https://t.co/KXWgGyRvuO pic.twitter.com/iIwwwNWQ0d
Updated
Russia is attempting to repeat the Holodomor, a man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of people under the Soviet regime, the head of the office of the Ukrainian president has said.
On Saturday, Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office head, said on Telegram: “Russians shell Ukrainian fields with firebombs. Those creating global food crisis attempt to reconstruct Holodomor.”
Russians intend to repeat Holodomor- President’s Office Head
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) June 11, 2022
"Russians shell Ukrainian fields with firebombs. Those creating global food crisis attempt to reconstruct Holodomor" Yermak said, invoking memories of Stalin's famine that killed ~4mn in 1932-33 https://t.co/gbL80cIiRM pic.twitter.com/xedvcXQ8SM
Updated
The armed forces of Ukraine have received new Starlink satellite communication systems from SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk.
In a tweet on Saturday, Ukraine’s ministry of defense said:
Multitasker @elonmusk manages not only to work on preparations for the Mars mission but also to pass the Starlinks to our intelligence so needed for their special missions. #UAarmy defend freedom on Earth so that it can be established on Mars as well.
⚡️The Armed Forces of Ukraine received new Starlink satellite communications systems from Elon Musk. https://t.co/yVhvr1aQT4
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) June 11, 2022
Updated
German chancellor Olaf Scholz to visit Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is planning a visit to Kyiv alongside the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi, the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported on Saturday.
SCOOP: Chancellor Scholz is planning a visit to Kyiv together with Macron and Draghi. They want to meet Zelenskyy in Ukraine in June before the G7 summit. Our exclusive @bild report THREAD (1/3) https://t.co/V6SD3x7EsR
— Paul Ronzheimer (@ronzheimer) June 11, 2022
According to the outlet, the leaders want to meet the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, prior to the G7 summit.
Speaking previously about a potential trip to Kyiv, Scholz said: “I won’t join a group of people who go in and out for a quick photo opportunity. Instead, when I do, it’s always for a very specific thing.”
Updated
Russian strikes knocked out power supplies in Donetsk’s two largest Ukrainian-controlled cities, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on the Telegram app.
Speaking later on national television, he said the move was part of a deliberate strategy to cut off electricity in towns in Donetsk that remain in Ukrainian hands, Reuters reports.
“The enemy understands where he is hitting, and for what purpose,” he said.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has told Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, that the EU executive’s opinion on Ukraine’s request to join the bloc would be ready by the end of next week.
Russian shelling of the Azot chemical plant in Ukraine’s frontline city of Sievierodonetsk caused a powerful fire to break out after a leak of tonnes of oil, regional governor Serhiy Gaidai said on Saturday.
Speaking on national television, Gaidai did not say if the fire at the plant, where hundreds of civilians are sheltering, had been extinguished, Reuters reported.
He said there was non-stop fighting in Sievierodonetsk, a small city in the Luhansk region that has become the focus of Russia’s advance in eastern Ukraine.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for today. My colleague Nadeem Badshah will be along shortly to bring you all the latest news on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The EU executive will next week make a recommendation on whether Ukraine should be given candidate status to join the bloc, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has said.
Such a recommendation would be a preliminary step on a long road to full membership, and Ukraine would need the backing of all 27 EU governments before candidate status was given. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has been pushing for rapid admission into the EU to provide the country with more security since the Russian invasion.
“We want to support Ukraine in its European journey,” Von der Leyen said in a joint press conference with Zelenskiy on a surprise visit to Kyiv on Saturday. Heavy fighting is continuing in the eastern Donbas region, where Russia has been making incremental gains.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on Bulgaria to lift its veto on EU accession talks for North Macedonia, saying the bloc should avoid dashing the membership hopes of countries in the western Balkans.
Scholz, visiting Sofia as part of a two-day tour of the region ahead of an EU-western Balkans leaders’ summit on 23 June, said he sensed a “new willingness” by the EU to expand after Russia’s invasion to Ukraine.
The war has lent new urgency to the process of trying to tie the western Balkans closer to the 27-member bloc in a bid to counter Russian and Chinese influence, Reuters reported.
The German chancellor has made the matter a foreign policy priority, and fashioned himself as a mediator during his trip.
“I see chances for progress,” Scholz said in a news conference with the Bulgarian prime minister, Kiril Petkov. “We will stay in close exchange in coming days.”
Updated
In case you missed it earlier, Ukraine’s deputy agriculture minister has said that up to 300,000 tonnes of grain may have been stored in bombed-out warehouses in the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv.
Reuters reported Kyiv as saying that Russian shelling had destroyed the warehouses last weekend.
Turkey has tried to secure a deal so Ukraine can resume shipments from its Black Sea ports, which accounted for 98% of its cereal and oilseed exports before the war.
Moscow, however, says Kyiv must clear the ports of mines and Ukraine says it needs security guarantees so it is not left exposed.
Updated
Sanctions have affected many aspects of life in Russia, but one particular shortage has sent the wealthy elite into a spin: beauty clinics are running out of Botox.
The business daily Kommersant reported this month that imports dropped threefold to 74,500 units in the period between January and March compared with the same time last year, after one western manufacturer stopped exporting to Russia.
The beauty industry is a small cog in the machine, but the decision by western allies to sever financial and trade ties with Russia has plunged the country’s economy into a deep recession. The OECD forecasts a 10% contraction this year and a fall of more than 4% in 2023.
Updated
Summary
It’s approaching 6pm in Ukraine. Here’s a summary of today’s events before my colleague Tom Ambrose takes over:
- The European Commission president has told Ukraine’s president that the EU executive’s opinion on Ukraine’s request to join the bloc will be ready by the end of next week. All 27 EU governments would have to agree on granting Ukraine candidate status, after which extensive talks on reforms would be required before membership.
- The family of a British man sentenced to death for fighting Russian forces has asked for his safe release or exchange. Shaun Pinner, 48, from Watford, is one of three men captured while fighting with the Ukrainian army in Mariupol and sentenced to death by pro-Russia officials.
- Russian authorities in the occupied areas of Melitopol and Kherson have begun handing out Russian passports, the Tass news agency reported. Vladimir Putin signed a decree in May that simplified the application process for a Russian passport for residents of the southern Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
- Ukraine is in control of Azot factory in Sievierodonetsk, the governor of the Luhansk region said after a Russia-backed separatist claimed that between 300 and 400 Ukrainian fighters were trapped there. About 800 people, including children, are hiding beneath a chemical factory in the key eastern Ukrainian city, now 80% held by Russian troops.
- Russian air defence forces have shot down three Ukrainian war planes, according to the country’s defence ministry. It said the military had shot down two MiG-29 planes in the Mikolayiv region and one Su-25 fighter jet in the Kharkiv region.
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Ukraine’s president ‘didn’t want to hear’ warnings of Russian invasion, Joe Biden said at a fundraising reception in Los Angeles on Friday.
- Ukraine’s prosecutor general has learned of the death of 24 more children in Mariupol, the south-eastern port captured by Russian forces in May, the office said on Saturday. More than 287 children have died since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, and more than 492 have been injured.
- Intense fighting continues in Sievierodonetsk, according to UK intelligence. The UK MoD also says Russia is resorting to inefficient weapon systems that risk “significant collateral damage and civilian casualties” because it is running short of more precise modern missiles.
Updated
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has said he discussed deliveries of heavy weapons and the EU’s seventh sanctions package against Russia with his Polish counterpart on Saturday.
He tweeted that he had also spoken to Lithuania’s foreign minister about unblocking Ukrainian food exports. He said:
Lithuania fully understands and shares Ukraine’s security concerns and shares Ukraine’s security concerns. We need more heavy weapons to protect Odesa from the sea.
Updated
In some lighter news, Ukraine secured a 1-0 win over Armenia today in the UEFA Nations League. Here are some images:
Updated
We reported earlier on the family of a British man sentenced to death for fighting Russian forces calling for urgent cooperation to secure his release.
Shaun Pinner, 48, received the death penalty, along with fellow Briton Aiden Aslin this week in what the UK government hasa called sham judgment.
Read more from Tom Ambrose here:
Updated
A Ukrainian MP has said she was surprised and “extremely upset” by the lack of “strategy or a plan” from the collective west.
In a video posted on Twitter, Kira Rudik, the leader of the opposition liberal Golos party, said that while the World Economic Forum — which took place in May — was pro-Ukraine, her response to questions on timing of the war’s end would be determined by the level of international support provided.
Updated
Ukraine’s state-run nuclear power operator has helped to restore an internet connection between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the servers of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian forces, Reuters reports.
The operator, Energoatom, said the connection had been lost on 30 May but was restored on Friday. The connection allows the IAEA to resume monitoring data on the control of nuclear material at the plant.
Updated
Decision on Ukraine's request to join EU expected next week
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has told Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, that the EU executive’s opinion on Ukraine’s request to join the bloc would be ready by the end of next week, Reuters reports.
Their meeting, which took place during Von der Leyen’s second visit to Kyiv since Russia launched its invasion in February, “will enable us to finalise our assessment by the end of next week,” she said.
A recommendation as a candidate for membership, however, would only be a preliminary step. All 27 EU governments would have to agree on granting Ukraine candidate status, after which extensive talks on reforms would be required before membership.
At a joint news conference, Von der Leyen said:
You have done a lot in strengthening the rule of law but there is still need for reforms to be implemented, to fight corruption for example.
Updated
Campaigners and politicians are calling for the United Arab Emirates to be blacklisted over its failures to combat the flow of “dirty money” and to enforce sanctions imposed on Russian oligarchs.
The Gulf state has emerged as a key refuge for the Russian super-rich fleeing the impact of global sanctions, with private jets and superyachts linked to oligarchs heading to the UAE after the invasion of Ukraine.
Read more from Jon Ungoed-Thomas here:
Russian economy 'loses 15 years of gains'
After being hit with western sanctions, facing an exodus of companies, a “brain-drain” and a collapse in exports, Russia’s economy will shrink 15% this year, Reuters reports.
The report by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) also said Russia’s economy would shrink 3% in 2023, with figures likely to worsen as sanctions are expected to expand and tighten in the coming months.
The report said:
Additional measures, such as those related to the financial system and/or key Russian exports (and imports), would be possible and could lead to dramatic consequences for the Russian economy, as well as the government’s ability to continue its war effort in Ukraine. However, the costs of such actions could be significant for the sanctions-imposing countries as well.”
Updated
Images are emerging from the beleaguered city of Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine as civilians are evacuated:
The US president, Joe Biden, has said his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, “didn’t want to hear” warnings about the Russian invasion.
Speaking at a fundraising reception in Los Angeles on Friday, Biden said “there was no doubt” Vladimir Putin was planning to “go in”.
Nothing like this has happened since World War Two,” he told donors. “I know a lot of people thought I was maybe exaggerating.
“But I knew we had data to sustain [Putin] was going to go in, off the border. There was no doubt … and Zelenskiy didn’t want to hear it.”
Full report by Tom Ambrose:
Updated
Russia and China have opened a new cross-border bridge connecting the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk to the Chinese city of Heihe across the Amur river:
Captured South Korean fighter to be tried in self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic
A captured South Korean national who fought alongside Ukraine’s army will be put on trial in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Interfax news agency has reported, citing the separatist official Natalia Nikonorova.
“A verdict is being prepared now on a mercenary from South Korea. He is their citizen who fought for the armed forces of Ukraine,” Interfax quoted her as saying on Saturday, according to Reuters.
She did not reveal the name of the fighter.
The statement comes after two Britons and a Moroccan national captured while fighting for Ukraine were sentenced to death by a court in the DPR on Thursday. The UK government has said the men are entitled to combatant immunity as prisoners of war. The British foreign secretary, Liz Truss, called it a “sham judgment”.
Updated
Summary
It’s past 3pm in Ukraine. Here’s summary of the day’s most significant developments before my colleague Clea Skopeliti takes over for a while.
- The family of a British man sentenced to death for fighting Russian forces has asked for safe release or exchange. Shaun Pinner, 48, from Watford, is one of three men captured while fighting with the Ukrainian army in Mariupol and sentenced to death by pro-Russia officials.
- Russian authorities in the occupied areas of Melitopol and Kherson have begun handing out Russian passports, the Tass news agency reported. Vladimir Putin signed a decree in May that simplified the application process for a Russian passport for residents of the southern Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
- Ukraine is in control of Azot factory in Sievierodonetsk, the governor of the Luhansk region said after a Russia-backed separatist claimed that between 300 and 400 Ukrainian fighters were trapped there. About 800 people, including children, are hiding beneath a chemical factory in the key eastern Ukrainian city, now 80% held by Russian troops.
- Ukraine is ‘taking all necessary measures’ to save three foreign nationals sentenced to death, the Ukrainian lawmaker Fedir Venislavskyi said.
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Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told a summit in Singapore that the world faced an “acute and severe food crisis and famine”. Ukraine is unable to export enough food because of Russia’s blockade.
- Ursula von der Leyen is to meet Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Saturday. The president of the European Commission said they would discuss Ukraine’s reconstruction and progress towards EU membership.
- Russian air defence forces have shot down three Ukrainian war planes, according to the country’s defence ministry. It said the military had shot down two MiG-29 planes in the Mikolayiv region and one Su-25 fighter jet in the Kharkiv region.
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Ukraine’s president ‘didn’t want to hear’ warnings of Russian invasion, Joe Biden said at a fundraising reception in Los Angeles on Friday.
- Ukraine’s prosecutor general has learned of the death of 24 more children in Mariupol, the south-eastern port captured by Russian forces in May, the office said on Saturday. More than 287 children have died since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, and more than 492 have been injured.
- Intense fighting continues in Sievierodonetsk, according to UK intelligence. The UK MoD also says Russia is resorting to inefficient weapon systems that risk “significant collateral damage and civilian casualties” because it is running short of more precise modern missiles.
Updated
The family of a British man sentenced to death for fighting Russian forces ask for safe release or exchange
According to PA Media, a statement issued by the Foreign Office on behalf of the family of Shaun Pinner said:
Firstly, our whole family is devastated and saddened at the outcome of the illegal show trial by the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. As a Ukrainian resident for over four years and contracted serving marine in the 36th Brigade, of which he is very proud, Shaun should be accorded all the rights of a prisoner of war according to the Geneva Convention and including full independent legal representation.
Pinner, 48, from Watford, is one of three men captured while fighting with the Ukrainian army in Mariupol and sentenced to death by pro-Russia officials.
Requesting privacy at this “difficult time”, the family’s statement also said:
“We sincerely hope that all parties will co-operate urgently to ensure the safe release or exchange of Shaun. Our family including his son and Ukrainian wife love and miss him so much and our hearts go out to all the families involved in this awful situation.”
Updated
Up to 300,000 tonnes of grain may have been stored in warehouses destroyed by Russian shelling last week, Ukraine’s agriculture minister said on Saturday according to Reuters.
Speaking on national television, Taras Vysotskyi said records showed that at the start of the war warehouses at one of Ukraine’s largest agriculture terminals in the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv held 250,000 to 300,000 tonnes of grain, predominately wheat and corn.
The news comes after the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy told delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore earlier Saturday that the world faced an “acute and severe food crisis and famine”.
Updated
Russia has begun issuing passports to Ukrainians in Melitopol and Kherson
Russian authorities in the occupied areas of Melitopol and Kherson have begun handing out Russian passports, the Tass news agency reported on Telegram.
Tass then showed footage later on Saturday of Russian passports being presented to 23 residents in Kherson city in southern Ukraine.
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, signed a decree in May that simplified the application process for a Russian passport for residents of the southern Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry said in response at the time:
The illegal issuing of passports ... is a flagrant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as norms and principles of international humanitarian law.
Updated
The replacement for McDonald’s in Russia has unveiled its new logo, ahead of a grand reopening on Sunday.
The reopening at the same location in Moscow’s Pushkin Square where McDonald’s first opened in Russia in 1990 is timed to coincide with Russia Day, which marks the creation of the federation.
McDonald’s arrival in Moscow was seen at the time as a potent symbol of the opening up of the old Soviet economy to western companies, but now more than 1,000 of its former outlets will be part of a new chain, partly as a result of western sanctions on economic activity with Russia.
Read more from my colleague Martin Belam:
Updated
Ukraine in control of Azot factory in Sievierodonetsk, governor says
“Information about the blockade of the Azot plant is a complete lie spread by Russian propagandists,” Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the Luhansk region wrote on Telegram, after a Russia-backed separatist claimed that between 300 and 400 Ukrainian fighters were trapped there.
Our forces are holding an industrial zone of Sievierodonetsk and are destroying the Russian army in the town.
About 800 people, including children, are hiding beneath a chemical factory in the key eastern Ukrainian city, now 80% held by Russian troops.
Capturing Sievierodonetsk would give the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, control of all of Luhansk – the region that, with Donetsk, makes up Ukraine’s industrial heartland of Donbas.
Updated
Ukraine’s defence minister has thanked the UK for its “ironclad support” after a “productive and frank discussion” with his British counterpart, Ben Wallace.
I was pleased to meet with our great friend @BWallaceMP. We had a productive and frank discussion today. Thank you for the UK’s ironclad support to 🇺🇦. We will never give up!
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) June 11, 2022
BTW Ben Wallace was presented with a symbolic NLAW t-shirt from #AviatsiyaHalychyny pic.twitter.com/9QiknKverS
Updated
Ukraine is 'taking all necessary measures' to save three foreign nationals sentenced to death
Speaking on national television, according to Reuters, the Ukrainian lawmaker Fedir Venislavskyi said:
Both the Defence Ministry and the Main Directorate of Intelligence, which deals with the exchange of prisoners, are taking all necessary measures to ensure these citizens of foreign states ... are saved.
Two British men - Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48 - and a Moroccan national captured while fighting with the Ukrainian army in Mariupol were convicted of taking action towards violent seizure of power by a court in the self-proclaimed republic in Donetsk.
Ukrainian deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, said she believed the separatists would act rationally “for they are well aware of the irreparable implications for them and for the Russians if they take any wrong steps against these three of our soldiers”, Reuters reports.
Updated
The former head of the British army has said the west lacks a coherent strategy in Ukraine.
Writing in The Telegraph, Gen Lord Richards said British ministers and senior officials must be properly trained and qualified in strategy skills, and must have the “moral courage robustly to speak truth unto power”.
Taking aim at the government’s approach, he wrote:
There is, at best, what might be termed incremental strategy with again no early and decisive synchronisation of ends, ways and means. It is a “let’s see how it goes” “strategy”, in other words not really strategy at all. There is still little idea in London, Washington or elsewhere how “we” want the war to pan out, or what sort of Russia we are seeking to shape, especially on the vital long-term issue of relations with China.
Updated
Summary
It’s approaching 1pm in Ukraine. Here’s where things stand:
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Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told a summit in Singapore that the world faced an “acute and severe food crisis and famine”. Ukraine is unable to export enough food because of Russia’s blockade.
- Ursula von der Leyen is to meet Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Saturday. The president of the European Commission said they would discuss Ukraine’s reconstruction and progress towards EU membership.
- Russian air defence forces have shot down three Ukrainian war planes, according to the country’s defence ministry. It said the military had shot down two MiG-29 planes in the Mikolayiv region and one Su-25 fighter jet in the Kharkiv region.
- A Conservative MP has said the sentencing of two Britons to death for fighting against Russian forces is a “monstrous flouting of their human rights”, and criticised the human rights ombudsman in the self-proclaimed republic in Donetsk for not complying with international law.
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Ukraine’s president ‘didn’t want to hear’ warnings of Russian invasion, Joe Biden said at a fundraising reception in Los Angeles on Friday.
- Ukraine’s prosecutor general has learned of the death of 24 more children in Mariupol, the south-eastern port captured by Russian forces in May, the office said on Saturday. More than 287 children have died since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, and more than 492 have been injured.
- Intense fighting continues in Sievierodonetsk, according to UK intelligence. The UK MoD also says Russia is resorting to inefficient weapon systems that risk “significant collateral damage and civilian casualties” because it is running short of more precise modern missiles.
Updated
Former Ukrainian defence minister, Andriy Zagorodnyuk, has said “we shouldn’t overestimate the ability to fight against Russia”.
Speaking on CNN International on Saturday, Zagorodnyuk said:
We can win, Ukraine will win, however we need to complete those plans with ally countries and get those equipment we’ve been promised.
His comments follow reports that Ukraine is losing against Russia on the frontlines and is now reliant almost solely on weapons from the west to keep Russia at bay.
The international militarily community have to reassess the threats of Russian escalation, Zagorodnyuk said, explaining the current escalation from Russia comes as Ukraine exhausts equipment while awaiting weapons from western allies.
Updated
Ursula von der Leyen to meet with Zelenskiy and discuss EU membership
Returning to Kyiv on Saturday for a meeting with Ukrainian president Zelenskiy, she said they will discuss Ukraine’s reconstruction and progress towards European Union membership.
🇺🇦 Good to be back in Kyiv.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 11, 2022
With President @ZelenskyyUa I will take stock of the joint work needed for reconstruction and of the progress made by Ukraine on its European path.
Європа з вами! pic.twitter.com/JqtXvgamkV
Russian air defence forces have shot down three Ukrainian war planes, according to the country’s defence ministry.
The military shot down two MIG-29 planes in the Mikolayiv region and one Su-25 fighter jet in the Kharkiv region, Reuters reports.
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Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country would “definitely prevail in this war that Russia has started”, addressing delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore.
Ukraine is unable to export enough food because of the Russian blockade, Zelenskiy said, and warned the world would face an “acute and severe food crisis and famine”, Reuters reports.
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Here are some of the latest images from Ukraine to drop on our newswires today.
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A Conservative MP has said the two Britons sentenced to death for fighting against Russian forces is a “monstrous flouting of their human rights”, and criticised the human rights ombudsman in the in the self-proclaimed republic in Donetsk for not following international law.
Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, have been convicted of taking action towards violent seizure of power at a court in the self-proclaimed republic in Donetsk.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Richard Fuller, MP for North East Bedfordshire and one of two members of parliament representing the two men as constituents, met with Shaun’s family on Thursday, and said it’s “a very anxious time”.
Fuller added:
For weeks now the families have been receiving messages from Shaun and Aiden, obviously directed by those who are holding them, looking for a prisoner of war exchange, and then very suddenly, a few days ago, those holding them changed the rules, broke international law, and held a show trial.
What’s most concerning, Fuller said, is that he and the family have seen no evidence that the two men have been able to meet with representatives from the International Red Cross, and a trial has taken place without any independent legal advice.
They have someone, who counts herself as the human rights ombudsman, Daria Morozova, who has been speaking for weeks about how well they treat prisoners of war, how well they follow the rules. Well, what is she doing to ensure that Shaun and Aiden are given their rights under international law?”
Downing Street has also said that while Boris Johnson was “appalled” at the sentences, there were no plans for direct interventions with Russia, with the emphasis being on their status as members of Ukrainian forces.
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‘The return of banditry’: Russian car industry buckles under sanctions
Eldar Gadzhiev’s heart sank when he heard the sputtering from the engine of his Skoda one day in April. Gadzhiev, who owns a fleet of four cars that he leases as taxicabs in Moscow, knew it was a terrible and expensive time for a breakdown.
Prices for spare parts, if you even could find them, had spiralled out of control since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine two months earlier. “I understood that I was in a bad situation,” he said. “I thought: the repairs are going to cost as much as the car.”
Dealerships were useless, he said. His car parts shop told him that the waiting list was months long, time he could not wait to repair his vehicle.
Read more from The Guardian’s Moscow correspondent, Andrew Roth, and Russia affairs correspondent, Pjotr Sauer, here:
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Ukraine's president 'didn't want to hear' warnings of Russian invasion, said Biden
Speaking at a fundraising reception in Los Angeles on Friday, the US president said his counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy, “didn’t want to hear” America’s warnings of a Russian invasion, AFP reports.
Joe Biden, who reportedly said a lot of people thought he was exaggerating, added:
“[Russian President Vladimir Putin] was gonna go into the border. And there was no doubt, and Zelenskiy didn’t want to hear it, nor did a lot of people. I understand why they didn’t want to hear it, but he went in.
Speaking to reporters, Biden added they had data to sustain the assessment.
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Ukraine’s prosecutor general has learned of the death of 24 more children in Mariupol, the southeastern port captured by Russian forces in May, the office said on Saturday.
On Telegram, the office said:
During the recording of criminal offences, it has become known that 24 more children died in Mariupol, Donetsk region, as a result of the indiscriminate shelling by the Russian military.
In total, more than 287 children have died since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24, and more than 492 have been injured, according to the statement.
The office added: “These figures are not final, as work is underway to establish them in places of active hostilities, in the temporarily occupied and liberated territories.”
It’s Geneva Abdul taking over from my colleague Rebecca Ratcliffe. I’ll be taking you through the next few hours of coverage from London.
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Intense fighting continues in Sievierodonetsk, says UK intelligence
Some further detail here from the UK Ministry of Defence’s latest statement, which includes an update on the situation in Sievierodonetsk – the last pocket of Luhansk province that has not yet been claimed by Russia or Moscow-backed separatists. The small city has become the focus of Russian efforts.
According to the UK MoD:
As of 10 June, Russian forces around Sievierodonetsk have not made advances into the south of the city. Intense street to street fighting is ongoing and both sides are likely suffering high numbers of casualties.
The UK MoD also says that Russia is resorting to inefficient weapon systems that risk “significant collateral damage and civilian casualties” because it is running short of more precise modern missiles:
Since April, Russian medium bombers have likely launched dozens of 1960s era Kh-22 (NATO designation, AS-4 KITCHEN) air-launched, heavy anti-ship missiles against land targets.
These 5.5 tonne missiles were primarily designed to destroy aircraft carriers using a nuclear warhead.
When employed in a ground attack role with a conventional warhead they are highly inaccurate and can therefore cause significant collateral damage and civilian casualties.
Russia is likely resorting to such inefficient weapon systems because it is running short of more precise modern missiles, while Ukrainian air defences still deter its tactical aircraft from conducting strikes across much of the country.
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The latest from Ukraine
Hello, I’m Rebecca Ratcliffe and welcome to our rolling coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Here are some of the latest developments:
Kyiv said it had launched new airstrikes in the captured southern region of Kherson, while “very difficult battles” were ongoing, including in the eastern Donbas region and especially around the eastern industrial city of Sievierodonetsk.
The UK Ministry of Defence said “intense street-to-street fighting is ongoing” around Sievierodonetsk but that Russian forces have not made advances into the south of the city. Both sides are likely suffering high numbers of casualties, the UK MoD warned.
Ukraine’s deputy head of military intelligence told the Guardian on Friday that Ukraine is losing against Russia on the frontlines and is now reliant almost solely on weapons from the west. “This is an artillery war now… and we are losing in terms of artillery,” said Vadym Skibitsky.
The mayor of Mariupol, reduced to ruins by a Russian siege, said there is an outbreak of dysentery and cholera, and that some wells had been contaminated by corpses. Vadym Boichenko warned of thousands more casualties and called for a humanitarian corridor to allow remaining residents to leave the city, which is now under Russian control.
France was ready to assist in an operation to allow safe access to Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa, according to an adviser to the French president, Emmanuel Macron. The port is under a de facto blockade by Russia, with grain waiting to be shipped. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked warnings of a global food crisis.
The world’s chemical weapons watchdog said Friday it was keeping a close eye on Ukraine to monitor “threats of use of toxic chemicals as weapons”.
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