Closing summary
The time in Kyiv is 9.20pm. Here is a round-up of the day’s news:
Russia’s foreign ministry dismissed the G7 summit in Japan as a “politicised” event which it said had pumped out anti-Russian and anti-Chinese statements.
The US president, Joe Biden, has announced a new package of military aid of up to $375m to Ukraine, telling its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, that the US is doing all it can to strengthen Ukraine’s defence. The package includes ammunition, artillery, armoured vehicles and training.
Biden told a press conference that he had received a “flat assurance” from Zelenskiy that he would not use western-provided F-16 fighter jets to go into Russian territory. Biden said F-16 warplanes could, however, be used “wherever Russian troops are within Ukraine and the area”.
In a G7 speech, Zelenskiy said Kyiv’s plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine was “an obvious expression of rationality”, and sought support for his “peace formula”. He thanked western leaders for achieving “a level of cooperation which ensures that democracy, international law, and freedom are respected”, but questioned: “Is this enough?”
There has been some confusion over whether Russia has taken the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Vladimir Putin congratulated troops on its “liberation”. At the G7 meeting, Zelenskiy asserted that Bakhmut had not been captured by Russia and that Ukrainian troops remain in the city, but that he could not give clear information. He added that Bakhmut reminded him of pictures of a totally destroyed Hiroshima after the second world war. Ukraine’s deputy defence minister said that Ukrainian forces had partly encircled Bakhmut along the flanks and still maintained control of a private sector in the city.
The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said on Sunday he had visited frontline positions near the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut, where he thanked troops defending the area. In a Telegram post, Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi also said Ukrainian forces were continuing their advance along the flanks of the ruined city.
In a press conference, Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s peace formula offers a vision of a world of peace that will “paralyse other potential aggressors”.
Zelenskiy added that as well as regaining the northern territories, it was imperative that Ukraine recaptured the southern and eastern regions currently occupied by Russia.
Russia has announced indictments in absentia for a judge and prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC) who issued a war crimes warrant for President Vladimir Putin. A statement from the national investigative committee said the judge, Rosario Salvatore Aitala, and the prosecutor, Khan Karim Asad Ahmad, are both charged with “preparing to attack a representative of a foreign country enjoying international protection in order to complicate international relations”.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed the Ukraine live blog for today. Thanks for following along.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has denied Russian claims the Kremlin has captured the key Donbas city of Bakhmut, saying Ukrainian forces still held positions in the city.
“Bakhmut is not occupied by Russian Federation as of today,” he told a press conference at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
The Wagner mercenary group claimed that Russia had seized the last urban areas in Bakhmut, in a video posted on Telegram.
The contested city has been reduced to rubble in the longest battle of the conflict in Ukraine.
Updated
