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Ukraine has dismissed as “empty words” assurances from Russia that the Kremlin will not use the situation to its advantage if Kyiv allows grain shipments to leave safely via the Black Sea.
“Military equipment is required to protect the coastline and a navy mission to patrol the export routes in the Black Sea,” foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko tweeted.
“Russia cannot be allowed to use grain corridors to attack southern Ukraine.”
Earlier Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said Ukraine had Vladimir Putin “guarantees” that shipments would not be affected if the Kremlin’s vessels were allowed to sail safely.
Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, but the war and a Russian blockade of its ports have halted much of that flow, endangering food supplies to many developing countries.
Key Points
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Putin’s promises on grain shipments ‘empty words’, Kyiv says
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Lavrov claims invasion going to plan
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Russia inches closer to capturing Donbas
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Russian authorities admit sending conscripts to Ukraine
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Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk are ‘dead cities’ due to Russian bombing, says Zelensky
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Zelensky announces ‘Book of Executioners’ on Russian war crimes
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‘Every five minutes a Russian soldier dies’, Ukraine military official claims
Russian Orthodox Church sends its second most powerful figure on lower-ranking overseas posting
13:49 , Matt Mathers
Russia’s Orthodox Church has ousted its second most powerful bishop from his role in charge of foreign relations and sent him to Budapest, an abrupt decision indicating discord at the top of the Moscow Patriarchate over the war in Ukraine.
The Holy Synod, which met at the white-walled 13th century Danilovsky Monastery in Moscow on Tuesday, decreed to remove Metropolitan Hilarion as the chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations.
The Synod had discussed the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which is being challenged as the leader of Slav Orthodoxy by the rival autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Metropolitan of Kyiv.
More than 700-words into the minutes of the meeting, the Synod decreed Hilarion be relieved of his roles as head of foreign relations, permanent member of the Synod and rector of the Saints Cyril and Methodius Institute of Post-Graduate Studies.
“It is decreed that Bishop Hilarion, Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, will be the administrator of the Budapest-Hungarian Diocese, Metropolitan of Budapest and Hungary,” the minutes said.
Russian proxies plan vote in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region on joining Russia
13:35 , Matt Mathers
The Russian-installed administration in the occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region plans to stage a referendum later this year on joining Russia, Russian news agencies quoted one of its members as saying.
“The people will determine the future of the Zaporizhzhia region. The referendum is scheduled for this year,” the official, Vladimir Rogov, was quoted by TASS as saying, giving no further details about the timing.
Around 6 per cent of the region is under Russian control, part of a swathe of southern Ukraine that Moscow seized early in the war, including most of neighbouring Kherson province where Russian-installed officials have also discussed plans for a referendum.
Rogov said the administration would draw up plans for how to proceed with a referendum even if Russia could not gain control over the entire region. Zaporizhzhia city, the main urban centre, is still held by Ukraine.
Ukraine forces could pull back from embattled eastern city, governor says
13:19 , Matt Mathers
Ukrainian forces battling Russian troops in a key eastern city appear on the cusp of retreat, although the regional governor insisted they were still fighting “for every centimetre” of the city.
The urban battle for Sievierodonetsk testifies to the painstaking, inch-by-inch advance by Russian forces as they close in on control of the entire Luhansk region, one of two that make up the industrial heartland known as the Donbas.
Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai acknowledged the difficulties in Sievierodonetsk on Wednesday, saying “maybe we will have to retreat, but right now battles are ongoing in the city”.
Ukraine grain silos half-full ahead of harvest, industry group says
12:58 , Matt Mathers
Grain silos in Ukrainian territory controlled by the government are about half full in the run-up to this year’s harvest, the head of the Ukraine Grain Association said on Wednesday.
There were some 30 million tonnes of grain stored in Ukrainian-held territory out of capacity of around 55 million tonnes, Mykola Gorbachov told an International Grains Council conference in London.
There were 13-15 million tonnes of storage capacity in Russian-occupied areas, he added.
Back to Lavrov’s visit to Turkey…
12:57 , Zoe Tidman
Sergei Lavrov has said Moscow would not use the situation over grain shipments in and around the Black Sea to advance its invasion as long as Ukraine lets ships leave safely.
“These are guarantees from the president of Russia,” the foreign minister said.
Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, but the war and a Russian blockade of its ports have halted much of that flow, endangering food supplies to many developing countries.
Turkey is involved in efforts for the establishment of a UN-led mechanism that would create a secure corridor for the shipment of the Ukrainian grain – and for Russia to export food and fertiliser.
PA
Ukraine files more war crime cases, prosecutor says
12:28 , Zoe Tidman
Ukraine has filed eight more war crimes cases to court in addition to three sentences already handed down to Russian soldiers, its top prosecutor Iryna Venediktova has said.
It has opened more than 16,000 investigations into possible war crimes during the Russian invasion starting in late February, she said.
Ms Venediktova said there was a daily increase in probes. “We are talking about people who didn’t just come as military combatants … but also came to rape, kill civilians, loot, humiliate and so on,” she said.
Moscow denies allegations of war crimes.
Zelensky discusses Russia treatment of prisoners of war with Germany call
11:53 , Zoe Tidman
Ukraine’s president said he raised the issue of Russia’s compliance with international rules governing the treatment of prisoners of war during a phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday.
He did not elaborate further about the prisoners.
Reuters
What will happen to vital grain supplies?
11:24 , Zoe Tidman
Amid the carnage and bloodshed in Ukraine, a new tragedy is looming, as businesses in the wartorn country increasingly fear that they may soon have to start throwing away food that the world desperately needs.
Hopes are fading among Ukrainian business leaders that Vladimir Putin will lift a blockade on the Black Sea ports before the harvest begins in just a few weeks, Ben Chapman writes.
Full story here:
Ukraine in race to export millions of tonnes of food as Putin ‘blackmails’ world
Lavrov claims invasion going to plan
10:55 , Zoe Tidman
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, has claimed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is going to plan.
He made the comments while in Turkey, where he met with his counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss global grain supplies affected by the war.
The battle for Sievierodonetsk
10:22 , Zoe Tidman
“No one is going to give up” the embattled southeastern city of Sievierodonetsk, the region’s governor, Serhiy Gaidai, has said.
He said this would be the case even if forces have to pull back in the pivotal battle.
Mr Gaidai said Russia’s key objective in the coming days is to capture the city and he expects bombardments to step up.
“The battles will be very fierce and they will give up everything they have to accomplish this task,” he said in a TV interview.
War ‘threatens food security worldwide’ – von der Leyen
09:54 , Zoe Tidman
On that note, the European Commission’s head has warned the war threatens food security around the world.
Here are her comments – and her outline of what action the bloc will take:
Food security and Ukraine
09:22 , Zoe Tidman
Russia and Turkey are to discuss ways to get Ukraine’s food to the rest of the world, a formula that has inspired scepticism in Kyiv and in western capitals, Borzou Daragahi, our international correspondent, writes:
Russia’s Lavrov in Turkey for talks on grain exports as global food crisis looms
Ukraine may have to pull back to stronger positions in Sievierodonetsk, governor says
08:53 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukraine‘s military may have to pull back to stronger positions in the embattled eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, but they will not give up the city and fierce fighting raged there on Wednesday, the region’s governor said.
Ukraine expects Russia to step up its bombardment of Sievierodonetsk and to mount a huge offensive where Moscow is focusing all its efforts, the governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said on television.
Sievierodonetsk will not be surrendered, Luhansk governor says
08:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Serhiy Haidai, Ukraine’s governor of Luhansk, has said Sievierodonetsk will not be surrendered.
Posting on Telegram, he said that the regional centre of Luhansk is seeing the most intense fighting: “Fierce battles are taking place in Sievierodonetsk, our defenders are fighting for every inch of the city.”
He also claims that Russians “do NOT control the Lysychansk-Bakhmut route, but fire heavily. We do not use this road, it is too dangerous”.
He added: “The plans of the racists have not changed, they ‘want’ to capture Sievierodonetsk and the ‘way of life’ by 10 June. All the racist forces have been thrown into this. In addition, the orcs [slang term for Russian forces] again plan to cross the Seversky Donets River to create a bridgehead for the offensive.”
World Bank approves $1.49 billion in funds for Ukraine
08:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The World Bank has approved $1.49 billion of additional financing for Ukraine.
Funding from this latest project will be used to pay for wages for government and social workers.
‘Every five minutes a Russian soldier dies’, Ukraine military official claims
08:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa regional military administration, said Ukraine has been attacking Russian forces in the South.
In a Facebook video, he said: “Every five minutes a Russian soldier dies in Ukraine.”
Radiation detectors around Chernobyl back on line
07:58 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Radiation detectors in the Exclusion Zone around Ukraine‘s defunct Chornobyl nuclear power plant are back on line for the first time since Russia seized the area on Feb. 24, and radiation levels are normal, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said.
Russian attacks on agricultural sites leading to global food crisis
07:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russian attacks on agricultural sites in the Mykolaiv region were compounding a world-wide food crisis, Ukraine‘s southern military command said on Facebook on Wednesday.
“Those who pretend to be concerned about the world food crisis are in fact attacking farmland and infrastructure sites where fires of considerable scale have broken out,” it said.
The governor of the region that includes the port of Mykolaiv said weekend shelling had destroyed warehouses in one of Ukraine‘s largest agricultural commodities terminals.
Moscow denies responsibility for the international food crisis, blaming Western sanctions.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the Russian-occupied Ukrainian ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol were ready to resume grain exports. Ukraine says any such shipments from territory seized by Moscow would amount to illegal looting.
Russia returns bodies of 210 Ukrainian fighters
07:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukraine‘s military intelligence agency says Russia has so far turned over the bodies of 210 Ukrainian fighters killed in the battle for Mariupol.
It says most of them were from the last holdouts in the city’s Azovstal steelworks.
The agency did not specify on Tuesday how many more bodies are believed to remain in the rubble of the fortress-like plant where their last-ditch stand became a symbol of resistance against Moscow’s invasion.
It began turning over bodies last week. Ukraine said on Saturday that the two sides had exchanged 320 bodies, with each getting back 160. It is unclear whether any more bodies have been given to Russia.
The Ukrainian fighters defended the steelworks for nearly three months before surrendering in May under relentless Russian attacks from the ground, sea and air.
Ukraine says it is holding off Russian assault in key eastern city
07:18 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukrainian forces were successfully holding out against the assault in Sievierodonetsk, the general staff said on Wednesday, while Russian troops were bringing in new resources towards Donbas in an intense battle for control of the eastern region.
The days-long battle for the industrial city has emerged as pivotal, with Russia focusing its offensive might in the hope of achieving one of its stated aims – to fully capture surrounding Luhansk province on behalf of Russian-speaking separatists.
“The absolutely heroic defence of Donbas is ongoing,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video statement on Tuesday. Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, and Popasna, remain the most difficult places, he added.
“It is absolutely felt that the occupiers didn’t believe the resistance of our military would be so strong and now they are trying to bring in new resources towards the Donbas,” he said.
Reuters could not independently verify the situation on the ground.
Norway sends 22 Howitzers to Ukraine
07:01 , Arpan Rai
Norway has sent 22 self-propelled Howitzers to Ukraine as donation, officials from the Norwegian defence ministry announced on Wednesday.
These include spare parts, ammunition and other gear, the ministry said.
“The Norwegian government has waited to publicly announce the donation for security reasons. Future donations may not be announced or commented upon,” the ministry said in a statement.
Russia attacking Sieverodonetsk from three directions – British MoD
06:46 , Arpan Rai
Russia has not achieved much success even as it continued assualts on Sieverodonetsk in country’s east from three directions, the British defence ministry said on Wednesday.
“Russia continues to attempt assaults against the Sieverodonetsk pocket from three directions although Ukrainian defences are holding. It is unlikely that either side has gained significant ground in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update.
While Russia is concentrating its offensive on the central Donbas sector, it has remained on the defensive on its flanks, it added.
The ministry said that the Ukrainian forces recently manged to secure “some success by counter-attacking in the south-western Kherson region, including regaining a foothold on the eastern bank of the Ingulets River.”
“With the frontage of the occupied zone stretching for over 500km, both Russia and Ukraine face similar challenges in maintaining a defensive line while freeing up capable combat units for offensive operations,” the ministry said.
On the southern front, the ministry said that the Russian forces are forcibly aligning its administration in occupied Kherson “with that of the Russian Federation by introducing the Russian rouble as legal tender and employing Russian teachers to introduce the Russian curriculum and language to schools.”
Russia will highly likely claim its occupation of Kherson as evidence of delivering improved governance and living standards to the Ukrainian people, the British ministry said.
Zelensky announces ‘Book of Executioners’ on Russian war crimes
06:01 , Arpan Rai
More than three months into Russian invasion, Ukraine will launch ‘Book of Executioners’ to detail war crimes, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.
The book will highlight all the information on war criminals and criminals, including those in Bucha and Mariupol, the Ukrainian president said.
“A special “Book of Torturers” is planned to be launched – an information system that collects confirmed data on war criminals and criminals from the Russian army,” Mr Zelensky said.
“I have repeatedly stressed that they will all be held accountable. And we are approaching this step by step,” he added.
“The creation of such an information system has been going on for some time already. These are specific facts about specific people who are guilty of specific violent crimes against Ukrainians,” the wartime president said.
He added: “And such a “Book of Torturers” is one of the foundations of the responsibility of not only the direct perpetrators of war crimes – soldiers of the occupying army, but also their commanders. Those who gave orders. Those who made possible everything they did in Ukraine. In Bucha, in Mariupol, in all our cities, in all the communities they have reached.”
Russia inches closer to capturing Donbas
05:44 , Arpan Rai
Russian soldiers in Ukraine are inching closer to gaining complete control over Donbas, Ukraine’s eastern industrial hub of coal, as the Kremlin on Tuesday announced that it has captured 97 per cent of the two provinces that form Donbas.
Moscow’s forces hold nearly all of Luhansk province, Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday. The claim has been partially backed by the Ukrainian officials and military analysts who said that Russia now occupies roughly half of Donetsk province.
In a shift from its failed objective to capture Kyiv by force two months ago, Russia has now shifted its focus of taking the entire Donbas region as the main target.
Satellite images show heavy damage in Ukraine’s east
05:19 , Arpan Rai
New satellite images reveal the impact of intense bombarding and attacks on villages and cities in eastern Ukraine as fields appear peppered with hundreds of artillery craters.
The photos show vast territory in Sievierodonetsk, and villages and towns of northwest Slovyansk damaged by artillery strikes.
The aerial view also shows Russia’s multiple rocket launchers, self-propelled and towed artillery deployed and positioned for firing towards the cities.
More than 31,000 Russian servicemen killed in Ukraine, says Zelensky
04:45 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia is paying almost 300 lives in a day in its “pointless” war on Ukraine and that it has lost more than 31,000 Russian servicemen in the siege.
“More than 31,000 Russian servicemen have already died in Ukraine. Since February 24, Russia has been paying almost 300 lives a day for a completely pointless war against Ukraine. And still the day will come when the number of losses, even for Russia, will exceed the permissible limit,” Mr Zelensky said late on Tuesday.
He added that Ukraine’s frontline situation “has not changed significantly over the past 24 hours”.
“The absolutely heroic defense of Donbas continues. The hottest spots are the same. First of all, Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Popasna,” Mr Zelensky said.
“It is felt, absolutely felt, that the occupiers did not believe that the resistance of our military would be so strong, and now they are trying to attract additional resources in the Donbas direction. Just as in the Kherson direction – new units are being transferred there to restrain our actions,” he added.
Referring to rumblings within the Russian army, Mr Zelensky said: “But what’s the point for them? The majority of the occupying contingent is already well aware that they have no prospects in Ukraine. We hear this mood in the appropriate interceptions of conversations. This is the prevailing mood in the Russian army. We are free people. We are not your slaves.”
Ukraine to stop sending gas and coal abroad, says Zelensky
04:36 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine will not be selling its gas and coal abroad at the time of the war to direct the energy resources of the battered country for meeting the domestic needs, Volodymyr Zelensky said late on Tuesday.
“At this time, we will not be selling our gas and coal abroad. All domestic production will be directed to the internal needs of our citizens,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address.
He added: In the current situation due to Russia’s aggression, this will indeed be the most difficult winter of all the years of independence. But! Everything is alright. We must go through it so that our people feel the normal work of the state.”
The Ukrainian president said his administration is doing everything it can to increase its electricity export capabilities.
“This will be made possible by the capacities available in Ukraine. And after the historical accession of our country to the unified energy network of Europe, such exports not only allow us to increase our foreign exchange earnings, but also directly influence the stabilization of the energy situation in neighboring countries, which reduce Russian energy consumption,” Mr Zelensky said.
Watch: Ukrainian students hold graduation dance in front of school ruins in Kharkiv
04:00 , Emily Atkinson
Ukrainian teen with Down syndrome meets his idol John Cena, who inspired him as he fled from Russia invasion
03:00 , Emily Atkinson
A Ukrainian teenager with Down syndrome has met his hero John Cena, the pro-wrestler turned actor who motivated him as he escaped the besieged city of Mariupol.
In an article published by the Wall Street Journal, Misha Rohozhyn met the Peacemaker star in Huizen, Netherlands, where Misha is seeking refuge with his family. According to his mother Liana, the two created a “motivational fantasy” with the promise that John Cena would be waiting at the end of their dangerous journey out of Ukraine.
Back in Mariupol, posters of Cena had covered Misha’s walls in the family apartment, which is now destroyed by bombing. Upon arriving in the Netherlands last month, the 19-year-old felt angry and disappointed that the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star was nowhere to be found. That is, until Cena travelled to the Netherlands himself last weekend.
Meredith Clark reports:
Teen with Down syndrome who fled Ukraine meets his idol John Cena
Kyiv continues to push for return of Azovstal fighters
02:00 , Emily Atkinson
Work is contintuing to bring home all of the captured Azovstal defenders, according to Kyiv’s defence intelligence directorate.
“The process of returning the bodies of the fallen defenders of Mariupol is under way. To date, 210 of our troops have been returned – most of them are heroic defenders of Azovstal,” it said on Twitter.
There has been little information about the fate of the estimated 2,000 Azovstal defenders. Kyiv is seeking the handover of all in a prisoner swap, but some Russian lawmakers want some of the soldiers put on trial.
Watch: Ukraine says missiles hit Kyiv train repair shop in first attack on the city since April
01:00 , Emily Atkinson
World Bank pledge fresh wave of funding for Ukraine
Wednesday 8 June 2022 00:00 , Emily Atkinson
Almost $1.5bn of additional financing for Ukraine has been approved by the World Bank to help pay wages for government and social workers.
Today’s pledge of $1.49 billion expands the bank’s total support for Kyiv to over $4 billion.
The World Bank said in a statement that the latest round of funding for Ukraine is supported by financing guarantees from the UK, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Latvia.
The project is also being supported by parallel financing from Italy and contributions from a new Multi-Donor Trust Fund.
Tuesday 7 June 2022 23:00 , Emily Atkinson
Images capture injured Ukrainian servicemen as they wait for medical treatment in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
Biden ramping up green tech to make US ‘clean energy superpower’ in face of Putin’s war
Tuesday 7 June 2022 22:00 , Joe Middleton
Joe Biden‘s administration has said it will use national security powers to boost the roll out of clean energy technology, including solar panels and heat pumps, which it says will help its allies “in the face of Putin‘s war in Ukraine”.
In a statement, the White House said the “historic action”, would lower energy costs, create jobs, and lessen exposure to energy supply chain vulnerabilities.
The move “will spur domestic manufacturing, construction projects, and good-paying jobs – all while cutting energy costs for families, strengthening our grid, and tackling climate change and environmental injustice,” the statement said.
Harry Cockburn reports.
Biden aiming to make US ‘clean energy superpower’ in face of Putin’s war
Ukrainian students hold graduation dance in front of school ruins in Kharkiv
Tuesday 7 June 2022 21:30 , Joe Middleton
No justification for Russia’s ‘brutal disregard of international law’, says Merkel
Tuesday 7 June 2022 20:58 , Joe Middleton
German former Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that there is no justification for Russia’s “brutal disregard of international law”.
She added that when in office she tried hard to prevent the situation in Ukraine from developing to the current state.
“It’s a great sadness that it didn’t work out, but I don’t blame myself for not trying,” said Merkel, speaking of the 2014 Minsk agreement with Russia. She spoke in a interview with German journalist and author Alexander Osang that was televised by broadcaster ARD.
The former chancellor also said she had been against a plan to let Ukraine into Nato because she wanted to prevent escalation with Russia and Ukraine was not ready to join.
Chernobyl radiation detectors back online
Tuesday 7 June 2022 20:32 , Joe Middleton
Radiation detectors in the Exclusion Zone around Ukraine‘s defunct Chornobyl nuclear power plant are back online for the first time since Russia seized the area in late February and radiation levels are normal, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday.
“Most of the 39 detectors sending data from the Exclusion Zone … are now visible on the IRMIS (International Radiation Monitoring Information System) map,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement.
“The measurements received so far indicated radiation levels in line with those measured before the conflict.”
Russian troops occupied the site for five weeks at the start of the conflict but later retreated and the area is now in control of Ukrainian forces.
Vladimir Putin’s forces left a trail of distruction at the site of one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters, read more below:
Inside Chernobyl nuclear plant devastated by Russians as $135m of equipment destroyed
ICYMI: US orders seizure of two of Roman Abramovich’s private planes
Tuesday 7 June 2022 20:07 , Joe Middleton
A US judge has granted permission for the Biden administration to seize two private jets owned by the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich over sanctions breaches.
Valued at a combined total of more than $400m (£320m), the Gulfstream G650ER and Boeing 787 aircraft violated US export laws introduced after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began in late February.
Under the legislation, US-manufactured planes require licences to fly to Russia from other countries. Neither jet received one before flying there in March, according to the US Department of Justice.
Rory Sullivan reports.
US orders seizure of two of Roman Abramovich’s private planes
Ukraine says missiles hit Kyiv train repair shop in first attack since April
Tuesday 7 June 2022 19:42 , Joe Middleton
Ukraine authorities said on Sunday (5 June) that Russian missiles hit a train repair shop in Kyiv, the first strike on the city since April.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that the facility was used to used to repair and store tanks handed over from Europe, but Ukrainian officials invited reporters to visit the building to dispel those reports.
One of President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s advisers, Serhiy Leshchenko, disputed the Russian claims, and said that the building was used to produce railway vehicles.
Ukraine says missiles hit Kyiv train repair shop in first attack since April
Ukraine struggling to hold off Russian attacks in Sievierodonestk, says region’s governor
Tuesday 7 June 2022 19:08 , Joe Middleton
Ukrainian forces are finding it hard to stave off Russian attacks in the centre of Sievierodonestk, but Moscow’s forces do not control the city, the governor of Luhansk region said on Tuesday.
In an online post, Serhiy Gaidai also said Russian troops were constantly shelling Sievierodonetsk’s twin city Lysychansk, which lies across the Siverskiy Donets river.
My colleague Rory Sullivan has the latest on Sievierodonestk and Lysychansk, both the scenes of heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk ‘dead cities’ due to Russian bombing
Russia’s Navalny loses appeal on terrorist, extremist label
Tuesday 7 June 2022 18:45 , Joe Middleton
Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Tuesday lost an appeal contesting the decision by penitentiary officials to label him as “inclined to commit crimes of a terrorist or extremist nature.”
Navalny, who has been behind bars since January 2021, was first designated by the penitentiary authorities as a flight risk, which implied additional checks and inspections in prison. But in October last year officials replaced that label with the “terrorist or extremist” one.
“I was worried they would demand that I kissed portraits of (President Vladimir) Putin and learned quotes by (his top associate Dmitry) Medvedev, but it wasn’t necessary. It is just that my bunk bed now has a label that describes me a terrorist,” Navalny, in his usual sardonic matter, commented on the move at the time in a social media post.
Russia’s Navalny loses appeal on terrorist, extremist label
US Treasury monitoring efforts to circumvent Russia sanctions through use of gold
Tuesday 7 June 2022 18:23 , Joe Middleton
The US Treasury Department has made clear that gold-related transactions involving Russia may be sanctioned.
It is also closely monitoring any efforts to circumvent US sanctions through the use of gold, Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday.
“This is an important matter,” Yellen told a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Treasury’s budget. “We’re closely monitoring any efforts we can see to circumvent our Russia-related sanctions through the use of gold.”
Such transactions may be sanctionable under an executive order issued by president Joe Biden to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia parliament votes to tighten ‘foreign agents’ laws as Putin warns Russians of traitors
Tuesday 7 June 2022 18:03 , Joe Middleton
The lower house of Russia’s parliament on Tuesday gave initial approval to a bill further tightening the country’s laws against “foreign agents”, at a time when President Vladimir Putin has warned the Russian people to watch out for traitors.
The bill, passed by 346 votes to 17 at its first of three readings, says any person who receives financial or any other kind of support from abroad can be designated a foreign agent.
In a speech to the State Duma, the bill’s co-author Andrei Lugovoy, accused various unnamed Russian public figures of having received “special training” in the UK, which he accused of seeking to destroy Russia from within.
“What tasks are they set? What papers do they sign? We need to look into this in detail,” said Lugovoy.
The bill also introduces a new category of “persons affiliated with a foreign agent”. Lugovoy previously said this could include relatives of foreign agents or others who helped them carry out their activities.
Foreign agents are required by law to label any publications, including on social media, with a lengthy disclaimer, regularly report on their income and spending, and undergo financial audits.
Under the bill, Russia’s media watchdog Roskomnadzor will have the right to block foreign agent’s websites at the request of the Ministry of Justice without a court decision.
RussiaâÂÂs first law on foreign agents was adopted in 2012. It has since been expanded to include non-profit organisations, media outlets and individual Russian citizens including journalists and activists.
At present, the list includes 166 individuals and legal entities. The designation has been used to target media outlets including German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, independent news site Mediazona and the Dozhd TV channel.
Reuters
Ukrainian teen with Down syndrome meets his idol John Cena, who inspired him as he fled from Russia invasion
Tuesday 7 June 2022 17:50 , Joe Middleton
A Ukrainian teenager with Down syndrome has met his hero John Cena, the pro-wrestler turned actor who motivated him as he escaped the besieged city of Mariupol.
In an article published by the Wall Street Journal, Misha Rohozhyn met the Peacemaker star in Huizen, Netherlands, where Misha is seeking refuge with his family. According to his mother Liana, the two created a “motivational fantasy” with the promise that John Cena would be waiting at the end of their dangerous journey out of Ukraine.
Back in Mariupol, posters of Cena had covered Misha’s walls in the family apartment, which is now destroyed by bombing. Upon arriving in the Netherlands last month, the 19-year-old felt angry and disappointed that the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star was nowhere to be found. That is, until Cena travelled to the Netherlands himself last weekend.
Meredith Clark reports.
Teen with Down syndrome who fled Ukraine meets his idol John Cena
Russian ambassador walks out of UN meeting after Kremlin blamed for global food crisis
Tuesday 7 June 2022 17:28 , Joe Middleton
Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk are ‘dead cities’ due to Russian bombing, says Zelensky
Tuesday 7 June 2022 16:59 , Joe Middleton
Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk have been turned into “dead cities” by Russian bombing, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The two Ukrainian cities in the Donbas region have been destroyed in recent weeks as Moscow’s soldiers attempt to take full control of eastern Ukraine.
The fiercest fighting in Luhansk and Donetsk provinces is taking place in and around the city of Sievierodonetsk, where the Ukrainian president said more than 10,000 civilians are trapped due to the street fighting.
Rory Sullivan has the details.
Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk ‘dead cities’ due to Russian bombing
Germany to boost military mission in Lithuania in response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion
Tuesday 7 June 2022 16:37 , Joe Middleton
Germany is ready to ramp up its military mission in Lithuania in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during a visit to Vilnius on Tuesday.
“We are ready to strengthen our engagement and to develop it towards a robust combat brigade,” Scholz told reporters after meeting with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and the prime ministers of Latvia and Estonia.
“We will defend every centimetre of NATO’s territory,” he added.
German government sources said Berlin would earmark one combat-ready brigade with some 3,000 troops that could be deployed quickly to defend Lithuania if necessary.
The number of German troops in Lithuania would be ramped up to 1,500, from 1,000 at the moment, the sources said.
This could be followed by expanding the multinational German-led Nato combat unit in Lithuania to the size of a brigade in the longer term, Scholz and Nauseda said in a joint statement.
For Nauseda, this means the brigade will be based in Lithuania in no more than one-and-a-half years, he told reporters after visiting German troops stationed at the Pabrade military base.
The German-led multinational battalion of originally about 1,000 troops was sent to Lithuania after Russia annexed Crimea, to stall a Russian attack until reinforcements arrive.
The Baltics now expect more troops from Canada and Britain, which are in charge of similar NATO units in Latvia and Estonia, Nauseda told reporters.
Ukrainian students hold graduation dance in front of school ruins in Kharkiv
Tuesday 7 June 2022 16:18 , Joe Middleton
U.S. Treasury says all buying of Russian debt and equity banned under sanctions
Tuesday 7 June 2022 16:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The U.S. Treasury Department has published advice to U.S. money managers that buying any Russian debt or stocks belonging to Russian firms is banned under Washington’s sanctions on Moscow, further tightening curbs on the country following its invasion of Ukraine.
“Consistent with our goal to deny Russia the financial resources it needs to continue its brutal war against Ukraine, Treasury has made clear that U.S. persons are prohibited from making new investments in the success of Russia, including through purchases on the secondary market,” a Treasury spokesperson said.
The Treasury in guidance published on Monday said executive orders imposing sanctions on Russia “prohibit U.S. persons from purchasing both new and existing debt and equity securities issued by an entity in the Russian Federation.”
Fresh shelling of Ukraine’s Kharkiv kills one -mayor
Tuesday 7 June 2022 15:50 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A Russian strike on Ukraine‘s second city Kharkiv killed one person and wounded three more on Tuesday, local mayor Ihor Terekhov said on television.
Russia “does not leave Kharkiv alone and constantly keeps people in fear”, Terekhov said.
Kharkiv, in Ukraine‘s east, experienced intense shelling in the first two months of the war as battles raged near its outskirts, but the situation in the city has calmed somewhat over the past weeks as Russian forces retreated in the region.
Kyiv theater reopens, plays sell out: ‘You continue living’
Tuesday 7 June 2022 15:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A theater in Ukraine‘s capital has reopened over the weekend for the first time since Russian forces invaded the country, and tickets quickly sold out.
Theater on Podil was the latest cultural institution in Kyiv to resume operations.
Movie theaters and the National Opera opened their doors at the end of May.“We were wondering how it would be, whether spectators would come during the war, whether they think at all about theater,” said one of the actors, Yuriy Felipenko, on Sunday.
“And we were happy that the first three plays were sold out.”Filipenko said the theater was putting on plays with just a few actors.
His colleague Kostya Tomlyak had hesitated to perform in wartime.
But the influx of people returning to Kyiv since hostilities there have lessened persuaded him that it’s necessary “to learn how to live during the war, to live with theater, cinema, cafes. You continue living, although you don’t forget that there is the war.”
Russian forces withdrew from their offensive on the Ukrainian capital in early April, refocusing on the eastern region of the Donbas.“
The main question is how actors can be helpful,” Tomlyak said.
Russian parliament votes to scrap parallel import penalties
Tuesday 7 June 2022 15:28 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia‘s lower house of parliament has approved a bill in the first reading that removes legal liability for parallel imports of a range of goods and intellectual property after sanctions were imposed by the West over the war in Ukraine.
The bill is designed to protect Russian companies from liability if they import specific goods approved by the trade ministry as well as a range of intellectual property.
Russia legalised parallel import at the end of March this year. The move permits suppliers of foreign products to resell them in Russia without the permission of the trademark owner, said Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
In early May, the Ministry of Industry and Trade approved a list of goods whose import does not require the consent of foreign copyright holders. The list includes goods from 56 different sectors, including cars, electronics, clothing and footwear, cosmetics, equipment, chemical products, and raw materials.
Foreign imports into Russia have been jeopardised after Russia deployed troops to Ukraine on February 24, in what it calls a “military special operation” with the aim of “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine.
The West responded with large-scale sanctions against Russia, and many foreign companies announced they were halting operations in the country.
Russian authorities admit sending conscripts to Ukraine
Tuesday 7 June 2022 15:16 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The military prosecutor of the Western District of Russia has said that about 600 conscripts were involved in the war in Ukraine, as reported by the Russian Interfax.
Speaking at the Federation Council, Artur Yegiyev added that as a result of the conscripts “about 12 officers” were punished.
The prosecutor’s office added that disciplinary measures were taken for all the violations, and a decision was made to dismiss “officials who committed these violations.”
Earlier this year, Russian president Vladimir Putin said he would not be sending conscripts to Ukraine.
Russia’s Aeroflot to raise up to $3 billion via new share issue
Tuesday 7 June 2022 15:09 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russian state flagship Aeroflot airline, struggling from western sanctions which blocked it from most of the flights abroad, plans to raise up to 185.2 billion roubles ($3 billion) from new share issue, it said on Tuesday.
Aeroflot, controlled by the Russian state which promised to inject capital to cope with the sanctions, said that its annual shareholders meeting approved issuance of 5.42 billion of new shares which could be bought at a price of 34.29 roubles each under an open subscription.
For Aeroflot, which only started to recover from the two-year-long coronavirus pandemic, sanctions also meant inability to receive airplane parts and conduct maintenance, with the government promising to inject 107 billion roubles ($1.83 billion) in support.
The injection was to come from the National Wealth Fund (NWF), Russia‘s rainy-day fund initially tasked with supporting large-scale infrastructure projects on a refundable basis and to cover for the budget deficit.
In its statement on Tuesday, Aeroflot did not provide details how much of the new share issue the state may buy. Neither Aeroflot, nor the finance ministry replied to a Reuters request for a comment.
During the pandemic, the government bought Aeroflot shares worth 80 billion roubles using the NWF.
Russia suspends agreement with Japan on fishing near disputed islands
Tuesday 7 June 2022 14:55 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia‘s foreign ministry said it was suspending an agreement with Japan that allowed Japanese fishermen to fish near the disputed Southern Kuril islands, saying Tokyo had failed to make payments required under the deal.
“In the current situation, we are forced to suspend the implementation of the 1998 Agreement until the Japanese side fulfills all its financial obligations,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
A territorial dispute over the islands, known in Russia as the Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories, dates back to the end of World War Two when Soviet troops seized them from Japan. The row has prevented the two countries from signing a formal peace treaty.
UK calls for investigation into alleged Ukraine grain theft by Russia
Tuesday 7 June 2022 14:42 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Allegations that Russia is stealing grain from a wide variety of areas in Ukraine are very serious and must be investigated immediately, British farming minister Victoria Prentis said on Tuesday.
World food prices have soared to record levels since Russia invaded Ukraine, triggering protests across developing countries.
Black Sea ports in Ukraine, the world’s fourth-largest grains exporter, have been blocked since the invasion, with some 20 million tonnes of grain stuck in the country at present.
Prentis, speaking at an International Grains Council (IGC) conference in London, said she had heard allegations of grain theft by Russia first-hand from sources in the Kherson region in south Ukraine.
Russia has previously denied allegations of stealing wheat from Ukraine
The United Nations is trying to broker a deal to enable Ukraine‘s grain to be shipped from Black Sea ports such as Odesa while Russia has said it wants Western sanctions lifted as part of a deal.
Ukraine and the West accuse Moscow of weaponising food supplies. Russia blames the situation on what it says are Ukrainian mines in Black Sea waters and on international sanctions against its own economy.
Ukraine last week said that Russia was shipping stolen grain to Turkey out of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. It also accused Russia of sending its ally Syria 100,000 tonnes of stolen Ukrainian wheat.
Putin orders new budget rules to boost Russia’s growth
Tuesday 7 June 2022 14:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the government to draw up new budget rules by the end of July to boost growth and help protect the economy from a serious downturn.
“Work has already started on the federal budget for the next three years. A fundamental issue here is the construction of budget rules that not only ensure the stability of public finances, but also contribute to increasing the growth rate of the Russian economy,” Putin said in a televised meeting.
Russia has suspended a budget rule under which it was channeling extra oil and gas revenues into the National Wealth Fund (NWF) during the coronavirus pandemic two years ago.
The finance ministry planned to reinstate the rule, under which it also was also buying foreign currency for the NWF, this year but decided against it after the imposition of Western sanctions that have prevented Moscow from accessing around half its gold and forex reserves.
The sanctions were aimed at stopping what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine. Instead of boosting the NWF, additional oil and gas revenues can now be spent on any purpose government may choose.
Putin did not provide details of new rules but said corporate and mortgage lending needed a boost, suggesting guidelines could be further relaxed to allow for more state funding to revive economic activity.
The existing rule puts a limit on how and where Russia‘s $198-billion NWF can be spent, as the government increasingly needs cash to meet Putin’s promises of higher pensions and social payments and support for large businesses.
In May alone, the NWF spent $4 billion to buy preferred shares of Russian Railways, the country’s biggest employer. Other state entities, including the flagship airline Aeroflot , are awaiting cash support to cope with sanctions.
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