Evening summary
Good evening. It is now approaching 9pm in Kyiv. Here is a summary of today’s main news stories.
Kyiv reported progress in its newly launched counteroffensive, despite strong resistance from Russian troops. The Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar told a briefing “There is a gradual but steady advance of the armed forces. At the same time, the enemy is putting up powerful resistance [on the southern front].”
Ukraine has regained control of more than 100 sq km (38 sq miles) of territory in its counteroffensive, a senior Ukrainian military commander claimed. Brig Gen Oleksii Hromov told a media briefing: “We are ready to continue fighting to liberate our territory even with our bare hands.”
Ukrainian fighter pilots are being trained to fly F-16 jets, Nato’s secretary general revealed. Nato allies have yet to agree on delivering the so-called fourth-generation US fighters to Ukraine, but Jens Stoltenberg said the training of Ukrainian personnel was under way.
A group of UN experts said they had written to Moscow raising concerns about the use of torture by Russian military forces on Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war.
Republican and Democratic members of the US Congress introduced legislation that would make it easier for Ukraine to fund its fight against Russian invaders by using seized and frozen Russian assets.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it had summoned a Canadian diplomat in Moscow in protest over the confiscation of an Antonov plane in Toronto, and warned that Russian-Canadian relations were on the “verge of being severed”.
Vladimir Putin and the Algerian president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, pledged to deepen their two countries’ “strategic partnership” during a three-day state visit by Tebboune as the Kremlin seeks to pivot towards Asia and Africa.
A Russian anti-war activist died in a detention centre in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don where he had alleged he was being mistreated, his lawyer said.
The president of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, said Russians living abroad in western countries should be closely monitored by security services, given Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
In Brussels, the US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, says the Ukraine Defence Contact Group remained “laser-focused” on meeting Ukraine’s ground-based air-defence system needs.
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said a number of measures had been taken to stabilise the situation at Europe’s largest atomic power plant. Rafael Grossi said inspectors would stay at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, occupied by Russia, but that signing a document on security on the site was “unrealistic” while the two sides were still fighting.
The US, UK, the Netherlands and Denmark announced they will partner to send defence equipment – including hundreds of missiles – to Ukraine. A joint statement released by the British government said delivery of the equipment had already begun and should be completed “within several weeks”.
As many as 100 Russian troops gathered for a motivational speech near Ukraine’s eastern frontline may have been killed in a strike earlier this week, prompting fury among Russian military bloggers.
MEPs called on Nato allies to honour their commitment to Ukraine by inviting the country to join the defence alliance and support opening EU accession negotiations this year.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Switzerland to allow the re-export of weapons to Ukraine, saying the move would be vital in combating the Russian invasion. In a video message shown in the Swiss parliament, he said: “I know there is a discussion in Switzerland about the exportation of war material to protect and defend Ukraine. That would be vital. We need weapons so we can restore peace in Ukraine.”
Russian missiles hit two industrial facilities in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Thursday, and an elderly woman was killed by Russian fire in the southern Kherson region, local officials said. The Kryvyi Rih mayor, Oleksandr Vilkul, reported no deaths in the latest attack on Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s home town, but said a 38-year-old man was reportedly wounded when three missiles struck two industrial enterprises overnight.
Russian forces claimed they successfully hit drone production facilities in Ukraine using high-precision, long-range weapons.
The head of Russia’s electoral commission said the defence ministry and Federal Security Service (FSB) consider it possible to hold elections on 10 September in the four Ukrainian regions that Russia claims to have annexed, the state news agency Tass reported.
Russia has said it plans to go back to the UN security council over the investigation of the Nord Stream pipeline gas explosions.
Follow our live coverage again tomorrow for the latest in Ukraine. Thank you for reading.
Updated
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said on Thursday that he hoped for a positive outcome from Vladimir Putin’s planned talks with African leaders on the future of a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of grain from Ukraine.
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Ukrainian fighter pilots are being trained to fly F-16 jets, Nato’s secretary general has revealed
Ukrainian fighter pilots are being trained to fly F-16 jets, Nato’s secretary general has revealed, as Kyiv claimed further incremental progress in its counteroffensive against Russian forces in the east and south of Ukraine.
Nato allies have yet to agree on delivering the so-called fourth-generation US fighters to Ukraine, but Jens Stoltenberg said the training of Ukrainian personnel was under way.
As he arrived at a meeting of defence ministers in Brussels, the former prime minister of Norway said:
The fact that training has started provides us with the option to also decide to deliver the planes and then the pilots will be ready to fly them.
As recently as February, Joe Biden declined Ukrainian requests for the lightweight fighter aircraft. Volodymyr Zelenskiy is understood to have subsequently given firm commitments that the planes would be used only to target Russian forces within Ukraine.
It will still take months to train Ukraine’s pilots, who will have previously flown mainly in Soviet-standard aircraft. Ukraine does not yet even have runways suitable for F-16s, should Nato allies agree to provide the hardware.
Beyond the provision of fighter jet training, it has been announced in Brussels that the US, UK, the Netherlands and Denmark are sending “high-priority” air defence equipment including hundreds of missiles to Ukraine and that the delivery will be completed within weeks.
Updated
A group of UN experts said on Thursday they had written to Moscow raising concerns about the use of torture by Russian military forces on Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war.
The UN experts said the torture included electric shocks, hoodings and mock executions and had been carried out to extract intelligence, force confessions or in response to alleged support for Ukraine’s forces, Reuters reports.
The UN special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, said the alleged victims included civilians and prisoners of war. She said she had written to Moscow about this.
A spokesperson for Russia’s diplomatic mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Moscow has previously denied torturing or mistreating prisoners of war and says it does not deliberately target civilians in Ukraine.
While torture allegations have previously been levelled against both sides in the 15-month conflict, the team of UN independent experts said Russian forces’ methods may be “state-endorsed”.
The consistency and methods of alleged torture suggested “a level of coordination, planning and organisation, as well as the direct authorisation, deliberate policy or official tolerance from superior authorities,” according to Edwards.
She said:
Obeying a superior order or policy direction cannot be invoked as justification for torture, and any individual involved should be promptly investigated and prosecuted by independent authorities.
Updated
Russia’s economy shrank by a revised 1.8% year on year in the first quarter of 2023, data from the Rosstat federal statistics service showed on Thursday, after growth of 3% in the same period of last year.
Russia’s economy defied early expectations of a double-digit collapse in 2022 but still contracted 2.1% after the west imposed sanctions in response to Moscow dispatching troops to Ukraine in February.
Rosstat had previously forecast a 1.9% decline in the first quarter, Reuters reports.
Updated
African leaders could propose a series of “confidence-building measures” during their initial efforts to mediate in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, according to a draft framework document seen by Reuters on Thursday.
Those measures could include a Russian troop pullback, removal of tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus, suspension of an international criminal court arrest warrant targeting Vladimir Putin, and sanctions relief.
A cessation of hostilities agreement could follow and would need to be accompanied by negotiations between Russia and the west, the document states.
Updated
Republican and Democratic members of the US Congress introduced legislation on Thursday that would make it easier for Ukraine to fund its fight against Russian invaders by using seized and frozen Russian assets.
The US Congress has approved more than $100bn in military, humanitarian and economic aid for Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. While leaders of both parties insist US support for the Kyiv government remains strong, some members of Congress have questioned how long that level of aid can continue amid calls to clamp down on government spending.
The bill’s sponsors said their intention was to ensure Moscow pays for damage caused by the invasion, not US taxpayers.
Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate foreign relations committee and a sponsor of the bill, said:
Over a year into Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, more than $300bn in Russian sovereign assets remain frozen globally. Given Russia’s brutality and continued war crimes against the Ukrainian people, it is only right that Russian government funds in the United States be seized and repurposed to help Ukraine rebuild its country.
Among other things, the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (Repo) for Ukrainians Act introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives would give the US president the authority to confiscate Russian assets frozen in the US and transfer them to help Ukraine.
It also would bar the release of funds to sanctioned Russian entities until Russia withdraws from Ukraine and agrees to provide compensation for harm caused by the war.
The bill’s other Republican sponsors include representatives Michael McCaul, chair of the House foreign affairs committee, and Joe Wilson, Thomas Kean and Brian Fitzpatrick.
Democratic sponsors include Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and representative Marcy Kaptur, a co-chair of the congressional Ukraine caucus, as well as representatives Steve Cohen and Mike Quigley.
Updated
Vladimir Putin and the Algerian president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, pledged to deepen their two countries’ “strategic partnership” during a three-day state visit by Tebboune as the Kremlin seeks to pivot Russia towards Asia and Africa.
The two leaders signed a declaration on “deep strategic partnership”, among other agreements.
Putin said:
We are really happy to receive our friend, the president of Algeria, Mr Tebboune, in the Kremlin. Algeria is a key partner for us in the Arab world and in Africa. We will be glad to see you in St Petersburg. Relations with Algeria are of particular importance for our country.
Tebboune said western pressure on Algeria would not have any impact, and both men stressed the Soviet Union’s robust support for Algeria during and after its fight for independence from France. Tebboune said:
Foreign countries may put pressure on us today but this will never affect our ties. Our ties never changed. Algeria has always supported Russia.
Tebboune saidRussia had been providing his country with weapons to help it “maintain our independence in these difficult circumstances”.
Updated
The Russian foreign ministry tweeted that Vladimir Putin held talks with the president of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, during a state visit to Russia.
Putin reportedly said there was “tangible potential for further development” between the two nations.
🇷🇺🤝🇩🇿 President Vladimir Putin held talks with President of Algeria @TebbouneAmadjid, who is in Russia on a state visit.
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) June 15, 2023
💬 Vladimir Putin: #RussiaAlgeria interaction is truly multifaceted and has a tangible potential for further development.https://t.co/sDgYfa1JJ5 pic.twitter.com/Sy9pLtDwQu
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Russia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that it had summoned a Canadian diplomat in Moscow in protest over the confiscation of an Antonov plane in Toronto, and warned that Russian-Canadian relations were on the “verge of being severed”.
Canada on Saturday ordered the seizure of a Russian-registered Antonov-124 cargo plane at Toronto’s airport, its first such asset seizure aimed at putting pressure on Moscow over the Ukraine invasion, Reuters reports.
Russia told Brian Ebel, the deputy head of Canada’s embassy in Moscow, that it viewed the plane seizure as “cynical theft”, according to a statement from the foreign ministry.
In a statement, the Russian ministry said:
[Canada’s’] Russophobic policy will entail the most serious repercussions for Russian-Canadian relations, which are on the verge of being severed through the fault of the Trudeau administration.
The Canadian foreign ministry did not have an immediate comment.
Canada announced the aircraft seizure while the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, was in Kyiv on Saturday, where he announced $500m (£392m) in military aid for Ukraine.
Updated
A Russian anti-war activist has died in a detention centre in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don where he had alleged he was being mistreated, his lawyer said today.
Anatoly Berezikov’s lawyer Irina Gak said in a video posted on Facebook that the body of her client, who had been due to be released on Thursday, had been taken to a morgue on Wednesday.
A video filmed on Wednesday showed Gak standing outside the detention centre where 40-year-old Berezikov had been held as an ambulance that she said was there to collect his body drove in, Reuters reports.
These claims have not been independently verified.
In the video, Gak said Berezikov had complained of beatings and of being given electric shocks and had told her he feared for his life.
According to Gak, Berezikov was arrested after he posted leaflets around the city advertising a Ukrainian government project called I Want to Live, which helps Russian soldiers voluntarily surrender.
Rostov-on-Don is the capital of a region adjoining Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine.
According to OVD-Info, a human rights monitoring group, nearly 20,000 people have been detained for protesting against Russia’s war in Ukraine since the start of the invasion. They claim criminal cases have been launched against more than 580 people.
Updated
The Polish deputy prime minister, Mariusz Błaszczak, reaffirmed his support for Ukraine, saying he had “no doubts” that Vladimir Putin’s true intentions were to “go further” after conquering Ukraine.
Deputy Prime Minister @mblaszczak: We support Ukraine 🇺🇦 as we do not want to let Russia go further after conquering Ukraine. There is no doubt that these are Russia's true intentions, Putin's true intentions.
— Poland MOD 🇵🇱 (@Poland_MOD) June 15, 2023
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The president of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, said on Thursday that Russians living abroad in western countries should be closely monitored by security services, given Moscow’s “aggressive war” in Ukraine.
The Czech leader and former chair of the Nato military committee said he was sympathetic to Russians outside the country finding it hard to cope with the invasion but in the context of a war, security measures should be more stringent.
He told the Prague-based, US-financed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
When there is an ongoing war, the security measures related to Russian nationals should be stricter than in normal times.
All Russians living in western countries should be monitored much more than in the past because they are citizens of a nation that leads an aggressive war,” Pavel said.
That’s simply the cost of war.
He said the situation was similar to the second world war when more than 100,000 Japanese descendants based in the US were under “a strict monitoring regime as well” as they were placed in local internment camps.
Pavel also said he expected the July Nato summit in Vilnius to voice clear support for Kyiv’s membership of the alliance.
He said:
I strongly believe that all the leaders will understand that having Ukraine onboard – both in Nato and EU – is probably the only guarantee [of] how to ensure stability in this region, how to make both Nato and EU stronger, and how to keep Russia and its aggressive policies at bay.
I see a number of countries agreeing on a long-term plan of support to Ukraine that will not be based on one-off contributions but on a carefully planned long-term procedure.
Updated
In Brussels, the US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, says the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting has concluded and it remains “laser-focused” on meeting Ukraine’s ground-based air-defence system needs.
He added:
That’s especially important since Russia has ruthlessly ramped up its missile and drone attacks over the past month against Ukraine’s cities.
We have just wrapped up our 13th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. It once again demonstrated the unity and the resolve that has characterized this group ever since I convened our very first meeting. pic.twitter.com/TTKOojCOdB
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) June 15, 2023
Today we received briefings from Ukraine, as well as briefings on future training plans and efforts to maintain and sustain the equipment that we’ve already provided and to ensure that Ukraine can do so for future equipment as well.
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) June 15, 2023
We also heard from our friends from Germany and Poland on their work on sustaining Ukraine’s new Leopard tanks. Our colleagues from the Netherlands and Denmark shared the progress that they’ve made on plans to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft,…
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) June 15, 2023
We remain laser-focused on meeting Ukraine’s urgent needs for ground-based air-defense systems. And that’s especially important since Russia has ruthlessly ramped up its missile and drone attacks over the past month against Ukraine’s cities.
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) June 15, 2023
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Zelenskiy’s former spokesperson has shared this video of Kyiv graduates waltzing in the subway during an air raid alert:
💔Unbreakable children: Kyiv graduates waltz in the subway during air raid alert #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/847v2Lj0RP
— Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) June 15, 2023
UN nuclear watchdog says 'number of measures' taken to stabilise Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog has said a “number of measures” have been taken to stabilise the situation at Europe’s largest atomic power plant.
Rafael Grossi said inspectors would stay at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, occupied by Russia (see also this earlier post), but that signing a document on security on the site was “unrealistic” while the two sides were still fighting.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief visited the plant, in southern Ukraine, today after meeting Volodymyr Zelenskiy to discuss concerns about the site.
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Russia’s deputy finance minister, Alexei Sazanov, has said the country is approaching the tax ceiling for commodity industries.
He cited what he called weak global demand for its products, reports Interfax news agency.
Updated
The US, UK, Netherlands and Denmark to send hundreds of missiles to Ukraine
The US, UK, Netherlands and Denmark have announced they will partner to send defence equipment – including hundreds of missiles – to Ukraine.
A joint statement released by the British government said delivery of the equipment had already begun and should be completed “within several weeks”.
Updated
As many as 100 Russian troops gathered for motivational speech may have been killed
As many as 100 Russian troops gathered for a motivational speech near Ukraine’s eastern frontline may have been killed in a strike earlier this week, prompting fury among Russian military bloggers.
While the details remain unclear and unconfirmed, a number of Russian Telegram channels have been discussing the attack, which they say took place near Kreminna, an eastern town in the Luhansk region where there has been heavy fighting.
The alleged incident took place as soldiers were gathered and made to wait for two hours for a speech from a divisional commander, identified by some as Sukhrab Akhmedov, of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army, an already controversial figure who had been blamed for the deaths of large numbers of his troops in a botched offensive last year.
According to the Russian military blogger Rybar, the soldiers who were due to be deployed on an offensive had been told to muster for a speech.
The tragic incident occurred near Kreminna, in one of the divisions that was about to go on the offensive.
For two hours, people stood in a crowd in one place and waited for the division commander to deliver a motivational speech. But instead, Himars and enemy artillery spoke.
Rybar added there “were fewer casualties in several days of fighting in the south Donetsk direction than from the criminal stupidity of the division commander”.
Other military bloggers quickly weighed in. “If by the middle of the second year of the war there are commanders who take the columns to the front, make the personnel form a big heap and then wait for the enemy’s artillery to hit them, then such commanders should be shot in front of the columns, even if they are colonels or generals,” said one.
“We are at war with our own stupidity and negligence,” said another.
The strike was given additional credence by the US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War, which included it in its daily updated on the conflict:
ISW has observed both of the 20th CAA’s divisions, the 144th and 3rd Motorized Rifle Ddivisions, operating in the Kreminna area for the past several months and could not confirm which division was struck by the Ukrainian forces.
One milblogger[military blogger] suggested that the reported Ukrainian HIMARSimars strike killed around 100 Russian personnel and wounded another 100, although ISW has not observed any visual confirmation of the strike or its aftermath.[9]
The outrage is reminiscent of previous instances of notable irresponsible Russian military actions resulting in dramatic losses, particularly the 31 December 2022, Ukrainian strike on a large Russian force concentration in Makiivka, Donetsk oblast.
Updated
MEPs have called on Nato allies to honour their commitment to Ukraine by inviting the country to join the defence alliance and support opening EU accession negotiations this year, a press release from the European parliament says.
There were 425 votes in favour of the resolution and 38 against, with 42 abstentions. The release says:
MEPs stress that they expect that the “accession process will start after the war is over and be finalised as soon as possible”.
Until full membership is achieved, the EU and its member states, together with Nato allies and like-minded partners, must work closely with Ukraine to develop a temporary framework for security guarantees, MEPs say, which is to be implemented immediately after the war.
Parliament emphasises that Ukraine’s integration in both Nato and the EU would enhance regional and global security and strengthen the bonds between Ukraine and the Euro-Atlantic community.
MEPs condemned “in the strongest possible terms Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka dam” on 6 June, which they said had caused extensive flooding and created an environmental disaster as well as ecocide in Ukraine.
All those responsible for war crimes, including the destruction of the dam, would be held accountable in line with international law, they added.
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Switzerland to allow the re-export of weapons to Ukraine, saying the move would be vital in combatting the Russian invasion.
In a video message shown in the Swiss parliament, he said:
I know there is a discussion in Switzerland about the exportation of war material to protect and defend Ukraine. That would be vital
We need weapons so we can restore peace in Ukraine.
Switzerland has a longstanding policy of barring any country that buys Swiss arms from re-exporting them to the parties in a conflict. The country also imposed a specific Swiss embargo on munitions going to either Russia or Ukraine in November last year, Reuters reports.
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed the Swiss parliament via video message, where he asked Switzerland to take a leading role in the global peace summit on Ukraine, Reuters reports.
Here are some images from the wires.
More information to come …
Updated
Russian missiles hit two industrial facilities in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Thursday, and an elderly woman was killed by Russian fire in the southern Kherson region, local officials said.
Kryvyi Rih mayor Oleksandr Vilkul reported no deaths in the latest attack on Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s home town, but said a 38-year-old man had been wounded when three missiles struck two industrial enterprises overnight.
On Telegram, Vilkul wrote:
The destruction is significant.
The attack on Kryvyi Rih followed missile strikes that killed at least 12 people in the city on Tuesday. Russia denies targeting civilians, but Ukrainian officials said none of the buildings hit had any links to the armed forces, Reuters reports.
Ukraine’s military also reported a new Russian attack on the southern port city of Odesa overnight but said all 18 drones launched by Russia had been shot down.
An 80-year-old woman was killed and another person wounded in an attack on the Zelenivka settlement in Kherson in southern Ukraine, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
Russia’s Tass news agency quoted Moscow-installed officials in Russian-occupied territory in the Kherson region, which was hit by flooding after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, as saying a child had been killed by Ukrainian shelling.
Both sides have reported heavy fighting in the early stages of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Ukraine has regained control of more than 100 sq km, or 38 sq miles, of territory in its counteroffensive against Russian forces, a senior Ukrainian military commander claimed on Thursday.
Brig Gen Oleksii Hromov told a media briefing:
We are ready to continue fighting to liberate our territory even with our bare hands.
He confirmed that in the early stages of the offensive, which Ukraine said had begun last week, seven settlements had been liberated in the eastern region of Donetsk and in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, Reuters reports.
The army has advanced by to 3km (1.8 miles) near the village of Mala Tokmachka in the Zaporizhzhia sector and by up to 7km near a village south of Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk sector, military officials said.
Russia has not officially acknowledged the Ukrainian advances.
These claims have not been independently verified.
Updated
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog visited Europe’s largest atomic power plant on Thursday in southern Ukraine, where the Kakhovka dam burst earlier this month.
The visit was announced by Ukraine’s national nuclear energy company, Energoatom, in a Telegram post.
Rafael Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)chief, met Tuesday in Kyiv with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to discuss concerns about the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
The IAEA has repeatedly expressed alarm over the facility, which has repeatedly been caught in the crossfire since Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022 and seized the facility shortly after.
Last week, the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine’s partially Russian-occupied Kherson region added a new concern. The dam, further down the Dnipro River, helped keep water in a reservoir that cools the plant’s reactors.
The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months, but it still needs power and qualified staff to operate crucial cooling systems and other safety features.
Updated
Russia’s central election commission on Thursday set the date for regional elections in four Ukrainian provinces that Moscow claims to have annexed for 10 September coinciding with votes in other Russian regions, state news agency RIA reported.
Tass, another state news agency, cited election chief Ella Pamfilova as saying that Russia’s Defence Ministry and Federal Security Service (FSB) considered it possible to hold the votes in September.
Ruslan Stefanchuk, chair of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, has said the European parliament expects that the summits in Vilnius and Washington in the coming months will mark the start of Ukraine’s accession to Nato after strong support for the country’s integration into the Euro-Atlantic community.
I am grateful to the @EP_President and @Europarl_EN MEPs for supporting 🇺🇦's accession to @NATO!
— Ruslan Stefanchuk (@r_stefanchuk) June 15, 2023
Thank you for adopting a resolution supporting #Ukraine's integration into the Euro-Atlantic community.
The European Parliament expects that the upcoming summits in Vilnius and… pic.twitter.com/wvEmMhNurH
Updated
Nato sees no sign that Russia has changed its nuclear stance, the head of the military alliance said Thursday, after the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, claimed that Belarus had already received some tactical nuclear weapons from Moscow.
In an interview on state television on Tuesday, Lukashenko brashly warned that he would not hesitate to order their use if Belarus faced an act of aggression. The Russian president Vladimir Putin has said the weapons will be deployed to Belarus next month and will remain under Moscow’s exclusive control.
At the Nato headquarters in Brussels, Belgium the secretary general of Nato, Jens Stoltenberg, told reporters:
We are, of course, closely monitoring what Russia is doing. So far, we haven’t seen any changes in the nuclear posture that requires any changes in our posture.
Russia’s nuclear rhetoric and messaging is reckless and dangerous.
Russia must know that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. Russia has invested heavily in new modern nuclear capabilities and also deployed more nuclear capabilities, including close to Nato borders, for instance, in the high north.”
Nato’s secretive nuclear defence planning group is due to meet on Friday.
Updated
Russian forces successfully hit drone production facilities in Ukraine using high-precision, long-range weapons, Russia’s defence ministry said on Thursday, according to the state-run RIA news agency.
The ministry also said Russian air defences had intercepted five US-built Himars-launched missiles and shot down 25 drones, the Tass news agency also reported.
These claims have not been independently verified.
More information to come …
Updated
Ukraine reports progress on counteroffensive despite resistance from Russia
Kyiv on Thursday reported progress in its newly launched counteroffensive, despite strong resistance from Russian troops.
The Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar told a briefing:
There is a gradual but steady advance of the armed forces. At the same time, the enemy is putting up powerful resistance [on the southern front].
Around the frontline hotspot of Bakhmut, “the enemy is pulling up additional reserves and is trying with all its might to prevent the advance of Ukrainian forces”, according to AFP
Still, Maliar reported an advance of more than 3km (1.8 miles) in the area of Bakhmut.
Oleksiy Gromov of the Ukrainian armed forces’ general staff said Ukrainian forces have recaptured seven settlements and more than 100 sq km of territory.
Russia claims to have repelled all Ukrainian assaults.
Updated
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said the soldiers who have lost their lives have not died in vain because Ukraine will defeat Russia. He said Ukrainians would honour their memory by winning and “living in freedom”.
It is only through the common strength of all our people that we can stop the enemy. And we will definitely stop Russia. We will drive it out of our land and with the freedom of 🇺🇦 Ukraine we will honor the memory of all those who gave their lives for Ukraine, the memory of all… pic.twitter.com/9zOE6Uy68v
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 15, 2023
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The head of Russia’s electoral commission has said that the country’s defence ministry and Federal Security Service (FSB) consider it possible to hold elections in September in the four Ukrainian regions that Russia claims to have annexed, state news agency Tass reported on Thursday.
Russia does not fully control the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and fighting is ongoing in all four regions. The regions are scheduled to elect local governors in September, Reuters reports.
Russia declared the regions part of its own territory after hastily conducting what it called referendums in occupied areas of Ukraine last September that Kyiv and the west denounced as illegal and coercive.
Updated
Here's a summary of the latest developments ...
Russia has said it plans to go back to the UN security council over the investigation of the Nord Stream pipeline gas explosions.
The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said the war in Ukraine is a “marathon, not a sprint” and that America will “stand with Ukraine for the long haul”. He made the comments at a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels.
Also speaking in Brussels, the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said defence ministers meet today at a “critical time” for the war in Ukraine in a “more dangerous world”.
Oleksandr Vilkul, the mayor of Kryvyi Rih, has said that missile strikes on an industrial complex in the city caused “significant” damage, but the two enterprises that had been hit “had nothing to do with the military.”
Handing over to Mabel Banfield-Nwachi now. Thanks for reading.
Updated
The UN nuclear chief, Rafael Grossi, has arrived at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, Reuters reports. Grossi is expected to inspect the plant after last week’s breach of the Kakhovka dam.
Updated
Russia plans to go back to UN security council over Nord Stream investigation
A Russian foreign ministry spokesperson has said that Russia intends to go back to the UN security council over the investigation of the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin accused Australia of being “hostile” and of “Russophobic hysteria” after it refused to grant approval for its plans to build a new embassy in Canberra, reports Reuters.
It also said it saw no positive prospects of renewing the Black Sea grain deal, claiming that parts of the accord affecting Russia remained unfulfilled.
A Kremlin spokesperson said:
Work is ongoing, but to be honest we don’t see any particularly positive prospects. Everything that was agreed on regarding us has not been fulfilled.
The current situation, he said, could not go on indefinitely.
Updated
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained a resident of the southern Bryansk region who it said had been gathering data on security forces in areas bordering Ukraine, Russian state news agency Tass reports.
Separately, it said, the FSB had detained two men in the southern Stavropol region on suspicion of planning to blow up the interior ministry headquarters in the city of Pyatigorsk.
The RIA news agency said the two men were believed to be supporters of the Islamic State group, reports Reuters.
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The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, has reportedly been pictured on a visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
⚡️#IAEA Director General Rafael #Grossi has started a visit to the #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Energoatom reported. pic.twitter.com/hu9fO9BzhI
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) June 15, 2023
Ukrainian pilots have started training to fly F-16 fighters, the Nato secretary general has said.
Jens Stoltenberg was speaking in Brussels at a meeting of Nato defence ministers.
#NATO Secretary General Jens #Stoltenberg said that #Ukrainian pilots have begun training on F-16 fighters. pic.twitter.com/z2j27GMHGG
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) June 15, 2023
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The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has thanked Norway and Denmark for their new joint defence package announced earlier (see also this post).
He tweeted:
I am grateful to the governments of Norway 🇳🇴 and Denmark 🇩🇰, led by @jonasgahrstore and @Statsmin, for the new joint defense assistance package. The additional batch of artillery shells is much needed by 🇺🇦 on the battlefield. Together we are bringing our common victory closer.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 15, 2023
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A child was killed by Ukrainian shelling in the partly Russian-held southern Kherson region, Reuters reports, citing the Tass news agency.
Kherson is one of four regions Russia claims to have annexed from Ukraine last year, though its forces do not fully control the territory.
Vladimir Putin has praised his “dear friend” Xi Jinping on the Chinese leader’s 70th birthday.
The Russian president told Xi “it is difficult to overestimate the efforts you have been making to foster the comprehensive partnership” between his country and China, which have ramped up cooperation in recent years, reports AFP.
He expects “constructive dialogue ... to continue for the sake of the Russian and Chinese people”, he said.
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War in Ukraine 'marathon not a sprint' US tells Nato, vowing to 'stand with Ukraine for the long haul'
The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said the war in Ukraine is a “marathon, not a sprint” and that America will “stand with Ukraine for the long haul”.
In public opening remarks at the meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group at Nato HQ in Brussels he paid tribute to the Ukrainian defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, who he was earlier pictured embracing, and said Ukraine “stands well positioned for the challenges ahead.”
“Make no mistake, we will stand with Ukraine for the long haul,” he said, adding that US commitment is reflected in its security and defence support.
The contact group, he said, has been focused on protecting Ukrainian infrastructure with air defence assets and will continue to adapt systems to meet changing needs on the ground. In today’s meeting they will talk about future training plans, he said.
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US defence secretary says attack on Kryvyi Rih is another reminder of the war's devastating impact on civilians
The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, has said the attack on Kryvyi Rih is “one more reminder of the war’s devastating consequences to civilians”.
The Russian missile attack “killed nearly a dozen people and injured many more”, he said, adding that recently people have had to ration water due to the attack on the Nova Kakhovka dam in Kherson.
The war was at a “critical and historic moment”, he told the Ukraine defence contact group at Nato HQ in Brussels.
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The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, is about to make his opening remarks in Brussels.
Ukraine said it intercepted one cruise missile and 20 drones overnight. But it said three other missiles struck “industrial installations” in the Dnipropetrovsk region in Ukraine’s centre-east, reports AFP.
Meanwhile, the Moscow-installed governor of Crimea said Russian forces had downed nine drones over its territory, without causing any casualties.
It comes after the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, claimed on Tuesday that his forces were inflicting “catastrophic” losses on Ukrainian troops.
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Nato members are racing to complete a plan to provide long-term support to Ukraine, but are wrestling with now best to assure its security until it can join the military alliance, reports Reuters citing US and European officials.
The plan is expected to be approved next month at the Nato summit in Vilnius.
Tweeting from Nato HQ in Brussels, the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, pledges continued support to Ukraine “for as long as it takes”.
He is due to deliver public opening remarks at the meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group later this morning.
Thank you @USAmbNATO for the warm welcome to NATO HQ. It’s great to be back. I look forward to meeting with Defense Ministers from around the world as we resolve to continue to support Ukraine 🇺🇦 for as long as it takes. pic.twitter.com/SEcm46f13i
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) June 15, 2023
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Oleksandra Matviichuk, the head of Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties, has shared a picture of a “cabinet with children’s books” from flooded Kherson, which she said had floated to the Odesa shore:
A cabinet with children's books from the flooded Kherson region floated to the Odesa shore.#RussianWarCrimes
— Oleksandra Matviichuk (@avalaina) June 15, 2023
Photo by Mykola Ovsiiko pic.twitter.com/86Rv1PLRoW
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Russia's nuclear rhetoric is 'reckless and dangerous' says Stoltenberg
Russia’s nuclear rhetoric is “reckless and dangerous”, the Nato secretary general has said.
Speaking in Brussels at a meeting of Nato defence ministers, Jens Stoltenberg said Russia’s behaviour is “part of a pattern” which Nato has responded to.
“If we want a just and enduring peace” then Nato has to continue with its military support for Ukraine, he added.
He said he expects Nato leaders to extend their defence spending pledges, but that he doesn’t expect it to be agreed until the Nato summit in Vilnius next month.
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Nato secretary general says it is a 'critical time' for war in Ukraine
Speaking in Brussels, the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said defence ministers meet today at a “critical time” in a “more dangerous world”.
He said:
Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive, what we see is fierce fighting. It’s still early days but we also see that Ukrainians are making gains and that Ukraine is able to liberate occupied land.
He highlights support Nato allies have been giving to Ukraine “for many many months actually makes a difference on the battlefield”. They will be looking at how to sustain support in meeting today.
“The war in Ukraine just demonstrates the need to stand with Ukraine” and for continued support, he said.
They also plan to strengthen defence spending.
Today they will meet defence industry members and agree at the meeting “new capability targets” to ensure sufficient ammunition which he said will be “significantly higher” than previously.
“Ukraine needs many different types of support” but focus will be on sustainment, he said during questions.
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Nato defence ministers are meeting in Brussels today. A doorstep statement by the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, is due to come shortly.
Norway and Denmark have agreed to donate an additional 9,000 rounds of artillery to Ukraine.
Norway will send shells and Denmark fuses and propellant charges, the Norwegian government announced.
The Norwegian defence minister, Bjørn Arild Gram, said:
Ukraine has an urgent need for artillery ammunition. We have therefore decided to join forces with Denmark for a new donation, so that Ukraine receives the ammunition as quickly as possible.
It is important that we continue to stand together in demonstrating our support of Ukraine. Norway will continue to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion forces as long as it is needed.
The acting Danish defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, said Denmark would additionally donate 1,500 complete artillery rounds and 500 shells.
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The breach of the Kakhovka dam will not affect Russia’s crop forecasts, the Russian deputy prime minister, Viktoria Abramchenko, has said, according to the state-owned news agency Tass.
Hi, I’ll be looking after the blog for the next few hours. Please get in touch with any tips or suggestions: miranda.bryant@theguardian.com
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The Australian government has rushed through special legislation allowing it to cancel Russia’s lease on a site for a new embassy near the country’s parliament, citing national security concerns.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese promised to act “quickly to ensure the leased site does not become a formal diplomatic presence”.
The Russian government took legal action after a decision in August to terminate its lease on a block of land in the capital, Canberra. On 31 May the Russian government won its case in Australia’s federal court, which found the termination was “invalid and of no effect”.
Albanese told reporters in Canberra the government had “received very clear security advice as to the risk presented by a new Russian presence so close to parliament House”.
Australia’s home affairs minister said “the principal problem with the proposed second Russian embassy in Canberra is its location. This location sits directly adjacent to Parliament House.”
The governor of Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region has shared images that are reportedly from the site of the strikes on Kryvyi Rih.
Serhiy Lysak said that two industrial complexes were hit in overnight strikes on the city, injuring one person. While the damage was reported to be ‘“significant”, the city’s mayor said the two enterprises that had been hit “had nothing to do with the military.”
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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Japan is in talks to provide artillery shells to the US to bolster stocks for Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia.
To date, Japan has only provided non-lethal aid to Ukraine.
The report claims that Tokyo is considering supplying 155mm artillery shells “under a 2016 agreement that allows the Japan and the US to share ammunition as part of their longstanding security alliance.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held talks earlier this month in Tokyo with Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada. After the meeting, Austin praised Japan for the nonlethal military support it has given Ukraine and said additional assistance would be welcome.
In March, the EU’s most senior diplomat warned that there would be “difficulties” if western countries failed to reach a deal to replenish Ukraine’s dwindling stocks of ammunition.
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Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Wednesday that one of his senior commanders was alive and well, dismissing reports that he had been killed or wounded in Ukraine.
The commander, Adam Delimkhanov, heads the Chechen division of the Russian national guard and is also a member of Russia’s parliament. He is widely seen as Chechnya’s second most senior official after Kadyrov himself.
Kadyrov, who has led Chechnya since 2007 and is a close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app that Delimkhanov was “alive and well and not even wounded”.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian media, citing the parliamentary press service, said that Delimkhanov had been wounded in Ukraine. It followed rumours on Ukrainian social media channels that the Chechen commander had been killed in an artillery strike in southern Ukraine.
'Significant' destruction at Kryvyi Rih industrial complex, says mayor
Oleksandr Vilkul, the mayor of Kryvyi Rih, has said that missile strikes on an industrial complex in the city caused “significant” damage, but the two enterprises that had been hit “had nothing to do with the military.”
Three missiles hit two industrial enterprises overnight, Vilkul said, adding that a fourth was shot down by air defences.
Thank you to the employees of the enterprises who, after the announcement of the air raid alert, went to the shelter, because of which they remained unharmed … All important infrastructure, public transport, social and medical institutions [in] the city work stably.”
Vilkul said that at noon local time, a planned explosion would be carried out for “production purposes”.
Odesa targeted by Russian strikes for second day in a row
Odesa was reportedly targeted by Russian strikes overnight, after already enduring a deadly wave in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Ukraine’s southern military command released a statement in the early hours of Thursday morning, saying Russia was attacking “with unmanned aerial vehicles” – meaning drones – and there was “also a threat of a missile attack”, while advising residents to go to shelters.
Officials later said that all 20 drones that attacked in the south were destroyed by air defence forces.
On Wednesday, three people were killed and at least 13 injured in a Russian missile attack on Odesa, Ukrainian forces said.
Authorities said that air defences downed two of the Russian Kalibr cruise missiles launched on Wednesday morning, but the attack still struck civilian infrastructure including a business centre, an educational institution, a residential complex, restaurants and shops.
It was a one of a number of attacks across the country on Wednesday that left 13 civilians dead and 24 injured.
Ukrainian military officials said that Wednesday’s attack on Odesa was “apparently aimed at the objects sought by the enemy in the area of logistics support for the defence forces.”
Kryvyi Rih hit by Russian strikes overnight
Russian cruise missiles hit two industrial complexes in the central city of Kryvyi Rih overnight, according to Serhiy Lysak, the region’s governor.
Lysak said the strikes caused significant damage, including broken gas pipelines.
Fires broke out at enterprises, which rescuers have already put out.”
A 38-year-old man was injured in the attack and has been hospitalised.
Military officials said that four cruise missiles were launched by Russia overnight. One of the missiles was destroyed by air defences, the rest hit industrial facilities in the Dnipropetrovsk region, where Kryvyi Rih is located.
It’s the second time that Kryvyi Rih – Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s home city – has been targeted by Russian airstrikes this week.
On Tuesday morning, at least 12 people were killed and many more were wounded after a missile struck an apartment block and a food warehouse in the city.
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Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine, my name is Jonathan Yerushalmy.
The central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih has been hit by Russian airstrikes for the second time this week. Cruise missiles struck two industrial enterprises, the region’s governor said. A 38-year-old man was injured in the attacks.
Elsewhere, Ukraine’s port city of Odesa was targeted by Russian airstrikes for the second day in a row. Users on Ukrainian social media reported hearing explosions and Ukraine’s southern military command said that Russia was attacking “with unmanned aerial vehicles” and there was also “a threat of a missile attack.”
More on that shortly, first here’s are the other key developments from the last 24 hours:
Ukraine is taking significant casualties and making slow progress towards the Russian main line of defence, western officials have admitted in one of the west’s first assessments of the Ukrainian counteroffensive launched on 4 June. “This is incredibly difficult,” the official said. “They are going against a well-prepared line that the Russians have had months to prepare.”
Ukraine reported incremental advances in its counteroffensive against Russian forces on Wednesday, in what the Ukrainian deputy defence minister described as “extremely fierce” fighting. In the past day, Ukrainian troops had advanced 200-500 metres in various areas near the largely devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, and 300-350 metres in the direction of the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, Hanna Maliar said.
Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, has said alliance members must ensure Ukraine keeps getting enough arms to pursue its counteroffensive against Russia. “It is still early days and we do not know if this will be a turning point,” he said.
UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi delayed a trip to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station on Wednesday for security reasons, as heavy fighting raged in southern Ukraine. Russian news agencies quoted a senior official in Russia’s nuclear industry as saying Grossi was likely to visit the plant on Thursday.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has appeared to side with his top military commanders in calling for Russia’s “volunteer detachments” fighting in Ukraine to be placed under the direct control of the defence ministry. The order from Moscow had been seen as an attempt to rein in the Wagner mercenary group and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, by incorporating them into the army.
Western microchips and other components coming largely via China are being used to manufacture Russian cruise and ballistic missiles that are being launched at Ukraine, Kyiv has said in a presentation prepared for G7 members this week. The document calls for the world’s leading economies to further tighten export controls.
The Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov said on Wednesday that one of his senior commanders was alive and well, dismissing reports that he had been killed or wounded in Ukraine. Adam Delimkhanov heads the Chechen division of the Russian national guard and is also a member of Russia’s parliament. He is widely seen as Chechnya’s second most senior official after Kadyrov himself.
A former campaign leader for the jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison on Wednesday for “creating an extremist organisation”, Reuters reported, citing the rights group OVD-Info. Navalny supporters reacted with outrage to the sentence against Liliya Chanysheva.
