Ukraine-Russia news – live: Putin’s threat of using tactical nuclear weapons is ‘real’, warns Biden

The threat of Vladimir Putin using tactical nuclear weapons is “real”, US president Joe Biden said as the war in Ukraine inches closer to 500 days.

“When I was out here about two years ago saying I worried about the Colorado river drying up, everybody looked at me like I was crazy,” Mr Biden said in California.

“They looked at me like when I said I worry about Putin using tactical nuclear weapons. It’s real.”

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, Russia’s staunch ally in the continuing invasion of Ukraine, confirmed delivery of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons in his country last week, claiming that some of the nukes were three times more powerful than the atomic bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

This is Russia’s first such deployment of warheads, of shorter-range and less powerful nuclear weapons that can be used in a war, outside its borders since the fall of the Soviet Union.

As the war enters its 481th day, Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian defenders were making progress and there are no lost positions, “only liberated ones”.

Key Points

• Threat of Putin using tactical nuclear weapons is ‘real’, warns Biden

• Ukraine says eight villages liberated

• Zelensky says ‘no positions lost, only liberated'

• Putin’s casualties at highest level since battle for Bakhmut, UK says

• Wagner’s 32,000 prison fighters return to Russia from Ukraine

• Britain says Russia has likely started redeploying its Dnipro troops

• Multiple investigations point to Russia blowing up Kakhovka dam

Threat of Putin using tactical nuclear weapons is ‘real’, warns Biden

03:44 , Arpan Rai

The threat of Russian president Vladimir Putin using tactical nuclear weapons is “real”, his US counterpart Joe Biden said, days after denouncing Russia’s deployment of such weapons in Belarus.

“When I was out here about two years ago saying I worried about the Colorado river drying up, everybody looked at me like I was crazy,” Biden told a group of donors in California on Monday.

“They looked at me like when I said I worry about Putin using tactical nuclear weapons. It’s real,” Biden said.

Mr Biden had termed Mr Putin’s announcement that Russia had deployed its first tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus “absolutely irresponsible” last week.

This comes as Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said his country has started taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons, some of which he said were three times more powerful than the atomic bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

War in Ukraine on the agenda for Germany-China talks

09:39 , Martha Mchardy

The war in Ukraine, trade, and climate change are on the agenda as German chancellor Olaf Scholz holds talks with Chinese premier Li Qiang, who is on his first foreign trip since taking office.

Tuesday’s meeting in Berlin is the seventh time Germany and China have held high-level government consultations and comes a day after Chinese president Xi Jinping met US secretary of state Antony Blinken, indicating an effort by Beijing to reach out to the West and improve frosty relations.

Germany is keen to maintain good ties with China, its biggest trading partner, despite wariness over Beijing’s growing assertiveness and refusal to criticize the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Germany’s recently published national security strategy describes China as “a partner, competitor and systemic rival”.

Mr Scholz has said he wants to avoid over-reliance on Chinese trade and diversify Germany’s supply of key goods - an approach he called “de-risking” - while rejecting the idea of “decoupling” from China.

The position was echoed last month by the Group of Seven leading industrial powers, most of which are heavily dependent on trade with China.

Four Russian attack helicopters downed in past week, Ukraine claims

09:31 , Martha Mchardy

Two Russian fighter jets and two military helicopters have been shot down by Ukrainian air defences since last Friday, a Ukrainian military official has claimed.

Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian air force, said a Russian Ka-52 helicopter was hit by an anti-aircraft missile above Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region at 11pm last night.

Another helicopter was shot down on Friday, while two fighter jets were downed over the weekend, according to reports.

The claims could not be independently verified.

Over 800 houses remain flooded in Kherson following Kakhovka dam collapse, says Ukrainian interior ministry

09:22 , Martha Mchardy

Over 800 houses remain flooded along the right bank of the Dnipro river in Kherson following the collapse of the Kakhovka dam, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry has said.

Four settlements and 818 houses remain flooded, according to the ministry.

In a tweet, the Interior Ministry said: “The water continues to recede. Currently, the level is 0.31 m. 4 settlements (818 houses) on the right bank of the Dnipro remain flooded. On the temporarily occupied - 17 settlements. We continue to work.”

At least 16 people are dead and 31 are missing in flooding from the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam, Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Saturday.

It added that 3,614 people have been evacuated from the flooded areas “including 474 children and 80 people with reduced mobility.”

Ukrainian shelling in Belgorod leaves at least 8 injured

09:08 , Martha Mchardy

At least eight people were injured in Ukrainian shelling on the border town of Valuiki in the Belgorod region in Russia yesterday.

A total of 40 artillery shells and 14 Grad shells were fired at the town of Valuiki, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Governor of the Russian Belgorod region confirmed on Telegram, adding that the shelling damaged five apartment buildings, four private households and three cars.

Russian-backed officials say Ukraine struck town of Nova Kakhovka with drones - TASS

08:42 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian forces on Tuesday struck the Russian-controlled town of Nova Kakhovka in the southern Kherson region with drones and three civilians were wounded, the TASS news agency reported, citing the local Russian-appointed authorities.

The attack took place in the morning, TASS said, and was carried out by loitering munitions, also known as kamikaze drones.

The reports could not be independently verified.

Russia attacks Ukrainian cities in overnight air strikes

08:13 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia launched a widespread overnight air attack on Ukraine on Tuesday, targeting military and infrastructure facilities in Kyiv and other cities, officials said on Tuesday.

Ukraine said it had shot down 32 out of 35 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched from Russia‘s Bryansk region and the Azov Sea.

There was no mention of any casualties in the latest air strikes launched by Moscow since Kyiv began a counteroffensive in which it says it has recaptured 113 square km (44 square miles) of land from Russian forces.

The air force said on the Telegram messaging app that air defences had been in action in most regions of Ukraine.

“However, the main direction of attack by Iranian drones was the Kyiv region. More than two dozen Shaheds were destroyed here,” its said on the Telegram messaging app.

Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration, said the air alert in the capital lasted over three hours. He gave no details of any damage.

“They hit a critically important facility. There were three hits,” said regional governor Maksym Kozytskiy.

The air force said Russia had also hit the southeastern industrial city of Zaporizhzhia with Iskander and S-300 missiles.

Ukraine‘s military said that, according to preliminary information, Russia had fired seven missiles at Zaporizhzhia.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

Jailed Putin critic Navalny launches anti-Kremlin campaign – as new trial could keep him in prison for decades

07:57 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

He is the man who has been leading opposition to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for a decade – and is currently the country’s most prominent prisoner.

Alexei Navalny, 47, who is serving sentences totalling more than nine years was in court on Monday for the start of his latest trial, on charges of extremism. Charges that could keep him behind bars for decades.

Beyond the courtroom, he also announced a new mass campaign to turn Russian public opinion against Mr Putin and his invasion of Ukraine – urging Russians to “join forces in the fight against Putin’s lies and Kremlin hypocrisy”.

Navalny launches anti-Putin campaign – as new trial could keep him jailed for decades

Wagner chief’s tone ‘unambiguously confrontational’, says UK MoD

07:12 , Arpan Rai

The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said that Wagner mercenary group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has taken an “unambiguously confrontational” towards the Russian defence ministry.

Yesterday, Prigozhin said that he was expecting a reply from the Russian defence ministry regarding a ‘contract’ of his own drafting which he had delivered to the ministry three days before.

“This follows the MoD’s own ultimatum to Wagner and other ‘volunteer formations’ to sign contracts with the MoD by 01 July 2023,” the British defence ministry said.

It added that although the content of Prigozhin’s document has not been made public, “the act of him delivering it raises the stakes, and is highly likely another deliberate effort to undermine the authority of the official military authorities”.

“Prigozhin’s tone towards the MoD has become unambiguously confrontational. The MoD almost certainly sees this as deeply unfortunate at a time when it is grappling with Ukraine’s counter-offensive,” it added.

Criticism of India’s stance on Russia not widespread in US, says Modi

06:40 , Arpan Rai

India’s stance on Russia in the Ukraine conflict has not faced widespread criticism in the United States, the country’s prime minister Narendra Modi said.

On being asked about critical comments in the US for not taking a more forceful stance against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mr Modi said: “I don’t think this type of perception is widespread in the US.

“I think India’s position is well known and well understood in the entire world. The world has full confidence that India’s top-most priority is peace,” he said.

New Delhi has refused to condemn its old ally Russia for the war in Ukraine and has increased its trade with Moscow to record levels, driven largely by imports of Russian oil.

Russia fortifying battlefield with dense mining, says Ukrainian commander

06:31 , Arpan Rai

The Russian forces attempting to stop Ukraine’s advance on the battlefield are planting mines as Moscow looks to fortify territory on the eastern and southern frontlines, the war-hit nation’s commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said.

“The enemy is trying to prevent the advance of our units. For this, [they] deployed a system of fortifications with dense mining of the terrain and a large number of reserves,” he said on Telegram last night.

The Ukrainian commander added that “despite the furious resistance of the occupiers, our soldiers are doing everything possible to liberate Ukrainian territory and the operation continues as planned”.

Zaluzhnyi said he had conducted a meeting with the Ukrainian chief of the general staff of the armed forces, Lieutenant General Serhiy Shaptala, who met troops performing “the most difficult tasks in the areas where the fiercest battles are taking place”.

Russia’s latest war tactic: Blowing up explosive-laden tanks

05:29 , Arpan Rai

Russia has claimed that its forces destroyed a Ukrainian stronghold using a remotely-controlled tank filled with a huge amount of explosives, in a purported new war tactic.

The Russian defence ministry said it packed “about 3.5 tons of TNT and 5 FAB-100 bombs” into the tank.

Military bloggers have also flagged this latest Russian war trick where its forces have delivered a “suicide tank” laden with explosives that is likely remote-controlled, alongside visuals of an ancient T-54/55 VBIED tank being blown to smithereens.

FAB-100 bombs on average can carry a 100kg (220-pound) payload.

The video shows the Soviet-era tank touching a mine and exploding before reaching its target near the war’s frontline.

The Independent has not verified the authenticity of the video.

Russia fires missiles and drones in overnight air attack from east to west

04:32 , Arpan Rai

Russia fired a widespread overnight air attack on Ukraine targeting the capital and cities in a wide arc spanning east to west as most of the country spent the night with air raid sirens blasting for several hours.

The strike hit “critical infrastructure” in the city of Lviv, sparking fire, said officials from the military administration of the city of about 700,000 people that lies just 70km (43 miles) from the border with Nato member Poland.

No immediate casualties have been reported.

The Russian air raid targeted telecommunication infrastructure and agriculture and farming properties, said Yuri Malashko, head of the military administration of the Zaporizhzhia region in southeast Ukraine.

Kyiv’s military administration said that its air defence systems were engaged in repelling Russia’s drone attack on the capital and the region.

The overall scale of the attack and the full extent of the damage was not immediately clear.

02:00 , Katy Clifton

Ukraine has said it has driven Russian forces out of an eighth village in its two-week-old counteroffensive, a settlement on a heavily fortified part of the front line near the most direct route to the country’s Azov Sea coast.

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian forces had retaken Piatykhatky and advanced by up to seven km (4.3 miles) into Russian lines in two weeks, capturing 113 square km (44 square miles) of land.

“In the course of two weeks of offensive operations in the Berdiansk and Melitopol directions, eight settlements were liberated,” Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app, referring to two cities on the Russian-occupied coastline.

In a later statement she said Russia had concentrated its units in the east, including air assault troops, but that Ukrainian forces were preventing their advance.

Tuesday 20 June 2023 00:01 , Katy Clifton

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukrainian forces had lost no positions in their counter-offensive against Russian troops, while enemy forces had sustained only losses.

“In some sectors, our forces are moving forward, in others they are defending positions or resisting assaults and intensified attacks from the occupiers,” the Ukrainian president said in his nightly video address.

“We have no lost positions, only liberated ones. And they have only losses. Overall, the situation is one of pressure, from us, which paves the way for our flag.”

In pictures: Drone footage shows car ‘filled with explosives’ on Kakhova dam

Monday 19 June 2023 22:00 , Martha Mchardy

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?

Monday 19 June 2023 21:30 , Martha Mchardy

Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has been raging for one year now as the conflict continues to record devastating casualties and force the mass displacement of millions of blameless Ukrainians.

Vladimir Putin began the war by claiming Russia’s neighbour needed to be “demilitarised and de-Nazified”, a baseless pretext on which to launch a landgrab against an independent state that happens to have a Jewish president in Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukraine has fought back courageously against Mr Putin’s warped bid to restore territory lost to Moscow with the collapse of the Soviet Union and has continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid.

Thomas Kingsley and Joe Sommerlad report:

Here’s why Putin really invaded Ukraine

‘We will turn people against the war,’ says Navalny, as he faces another trial

Monday 19 June 2023 21:00 , Martha Mchardy

“We will turn people against the war,’ said jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, as he faces another trial.

Navalny, 47, is already serving sentences totalling 11 and a half years, and is now facing an array of charges linked to alleged “extremist” activity. Acquittals of opposition figures are practically unheard of in Russia.

As reporters waited for news from the hearing, Navalny’s camp announced a new campaign to turn Russian public opinion against Putin and the war in Ukraine.

Navalny, who posts on social media through his lawyers and allies, and in the 2010s brought people onto the streets in their tens of thousands, urged Russians to “join forces in the fight against Putin’s lies and Kremlin hypocrisy”.

He asked marketing and IT specialists, sociologists, political scientists, donors and volunteers to sign up.

“We will conduct an election campaign against war. And against Putin. Just that. A long, stubborn, exhausting but fundamentally important campaign where we will turn people against the war,” he said.

Russia’s next presidential election is due in 2024, and Putin has yet to confirm whether he will stand.

Navalny’s movement is banned from all political activity, but he said it could still achieve a powerful impact through targeted messaging, given that “every grandmother now has WhatsApp and Telegram”.

“Our activities, of course, will be declared illegal and subversive. All the forces of the state apparatus will be thrown into the fight against it,” Navalny said.

“Well, great, and we will throw all our forces into the fight against the apparatus of war, corruption and stupidity.”

He said Putin was a talentless military leader who had “madly and stupidly” led Russia into a dead end with his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Prime Minister pays tribute to ‘bravery’ of Ukrainian soldiers in call with Zelensky

Monday 19 June 2023 20:30 , Martha Mchardy

Following the call between prime minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian presdient Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, a Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister paid tribute to the bravery of the Ukrainian soldiers on the front line of the counter-offensive and said it was clear they were making good progress.

“He told President Zelensky that the UK was firmly behind Ukraine as it continued to push back invading Russian forces.

“Small steps forward would bring success, the Prime Minister added.”

The Ukrainian president said the pair discussed his country’s need for long-range weapons and pushed for tougher sanctions on Russia.

Mr Sunak, who visited Washington earlier this month for talks with US President Joe Biden, said the UK and US are “lockstep in their unwavering support for Ukraine“.

Both Mr Sunak and President Zelensky are expected to address the Ukraine Recovery Conference hosted by the UK this week.

Downing Street said the two leaders agreed it is “a unique opportunity to underline the strong public and private sector support for Ukraine, and demonstrate the country’s transformation and ongoing reform”.

Ukraine said to have recaptured village in Zaporizhzhia – as fierce fighting continues across frontline

Monday 19 June 2023 20:00 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine is said to have recaptured its first village in several days – as fierce fighting continues across the frontline.

A Russian-installed official said Ukraine had recaptured Piatykhatky, a village in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, and were entrenching themselves there while coming under fire from Russian artillery.

“The enemy’s ‘wave-like’ offensives yielded results, despite enormous losses,” the official, Vladimir Rogov, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Mark Trevelyan reports:

Ukraine said to have recaptured village in Zaporizhzhia

Watch: Ukrainian soldiers rescue Russian troops left to drown after Kakhovka dam destruction

Monday 19 June 2023 19:30 , Martha Mchardy

Voices: People say Ukraine will never recover. They’re wrong

Monday 19 June 2023 19:00 , Martha Mchardy

From Bakhmut to Mariupol entire cityscapes have been devastated. But history also tells us that a durable peace is much likelier where planning for recovery begins early, writes Patrick Watt, chief executive of Christian Aid.

People say Ukraine will never recover. This is how we prove them wrong | Patrick Watt

Russia had means, motive and opportunity to destroy Ukraine dam, drone photos and information show

Monday 19 June 2023 18:30 , Martha Mchardy

Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to bring down a Ukrainian dam that collapsed earlier this month while under Russian control, according to exclusive drone photos and information obtained by The Associated Press.

Images taken from above the Kakhovka Dam and shared with the AP appear to show an explosive-laden car atop the structure, and two officials said Russian troops were stationed in a crucial area inside the dam where the Ukrainians say the explosion that destroyed it was centered. The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The dam’s destruction led to deadly flooding, endangered crops in the world’s breadbasket, threatened drinking water supplies for thousands and unleashed an environmental catastrophe. Ukrainian commanders say it also scuppered some of their plans to take Russian positions in a counteroffensive that is now in its early stages.

Mstyslav Chernov and Lori Hinnant report:

Russia had means, motive and opportunity to destroy Ukraine dam, drone photos and information show

UN complains Russia won't let aid workers into areas hit by dam collapse in southern Ukraine

Monday 19 June 2023 18:00 , Martha Mchardy

The United Nations has rebuked Moscow for allegedly denying its aid workers access to Russian-occupied areas affected by the recent Kakhova dam collapse in southern Ukraine, which stranded residents, threatened power supplies and caused an environmental calamity as the war approaches 16 months.

The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said in a statement late Sunday that the organization has engaged with Moscow and Kyiv, each of which occupies parts of the southern Kherson region where the dam and reservoir are located, to address the “devastating destruction” caused by the breach.

The Russian government “has so far declined our request to access the areas under its temporary military control,” Brown said.

Susie Blann reports:

UN complains Russia won't let aid workers into areas hit by dam collapse in southern Ukraine

Sunak and Zelensky discuss progress in counter-offensive against Russia

Monday 19 June 2023 17:30 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine’s counter-offensive against the Russian invasion is clearly making “good progress”, Rishi Sunak has told Volodymyr Zelensky.

The two leaders spoke on Monday morning as Kyiv’s troops – backed with Western military equipment from the UK, US and allies – are seeking to retake territory occupied by Vladimir Putin’s forces.

The Prime Minister said the UK is firmly behind Ukraine and “small steps forward will bring success”.

David Hughes reports:

Sunak and Zelensky discuss progress in counter-offensive against Russia

‘I want concrete membership prospects’ for Ukraine from Nato, says Zelensky

Monday 19 June 2023 16:57 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he wants “concrete membership prospects” for Ukraine from Nato, ahead of the alliance summit in Lithuania in July.

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said the alliance will “demonstrate a strong signal of support,” during a call with president Zelensky today.

In his call with Mr Sunak, the Ukrainian president said they discussed “further co-operation to expand Ukraine‘s capabilities on the battlefield, in particular through long-range weapons”.

Earlier today, Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said alliance leaders will not issue an invitation for Ukraine to join Nato at the summit in Vilnius in mid-July.

Zelensky thanks World Bank for support after Kakhovka dam collapse

Monday 19 June 2023 16:30 , Martha Mchardy

In a tweet, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a phone call with World Bank president Ajay Banga.

Ukraine’s president said he thanked the World Bank for its “unwavering support” during the conversation, noting its response to the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam.

He added: “I invited the World Bank to reopen its representative office in Ukraine and emphasised that we are interested in cooperation during the post-war transformation of Ukraine, in particular, in overcoming corruption and reducing the share of cash in the Ukrainian economy.”

Today in pictures

Monday 19 June 2023 16:15 , Martha Mchardy

Russia will be ‘held to account,’ says foreign secretary as as new sanctions legislation announced

Monday 19 June 2023 15:45 , Martha Mchardy

Foreign secretary James Cleverly said Russia will be “held to account” as new sanctions legislation is announced by the UK.

In a tweet he said: “The UK can now maintain sanctions on Putin’s regime until Moscow pays compensation for their destruction of Ukraine.

Russia will be held to account. Ukraine will rebuild.”

Watch: Ukrainian soldiers rescue Russian troops left to drown after Kakhovka dam destruction

Monday 19 June 2023 15:45 , Martha Mchardy

Today in pictures

Monday 19 June 2023 15:15 , Martha Mchardy

Jailed Putin critic Navalny back in court for another trial – one that could keep him in prison for decades

Monday 19 June 2023 14:45 , Martha Mchardy

He is the man who who has been leading opposition to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin for a decade – organising mass protests and seeking to expose corruption by officials.

Alexei Navalny, 47, is now the country’s most prominent prisoner. He is currently serving sentences totalling more than nine years, having been arrested in January 2021 upon his return to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.

On Monday, he was in court facing the start of his latest trial on charges of extremism. Charges that could keep him behind bars for decades.

Frank Jordans reports:

Putin critic Navalny faces another trial that could keep him in jail for decades

Defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin ‘ready to help train Ukrainian pilots'

Monday 19 June 2023 14:33 , Martha Mchardy

US defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin said it stands ready to help Ukrainian pilots fly and maintain its F-16 fighter jets if Nato states agree to send them to help the country against Russian aggression, the Financial Times reported.

The company’s chief operating officer Frank St John said: “We are standing by, ready to not only backfill need as it arises with new F-16 builds but also any modifications to F-16s as well as training, equipment and systems.”

Russian diplomat says if grain deal ends, U.N. memorandum on exports will remain in place -RIA

Monday 19 June 2023 14:16 , Martha Mchardy

Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko said that if the deal allowing safe exports of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea ends, Russia’s memorandum with the United Nations on facilitating its own exports will still be in force, Russian state news agency RIA reported on Monday.

Germany’s Scholz: possibility Ukraine war could last a while

Monday 19 June 2023 14:09 , Martha Mchardy

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday that Germany is prepared for the possibility that the war in Ukraine could still last for a while.

“We are preparing for that and adjusting our policies based on that,” he said at a news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, adding that Germany would continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary.

NATO summit will not formally invite Ukraine to join alliance -Stoltenberg

Monday 19 June 2023 14:07 , Martha Mchardy

NATO leaders will not issue an invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance at a summit in Vilnius in mid-July, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday.

“At the Vilnius summit and in the preparations for the summit, we are not discussing to issue a formal invitation,” he told reporters after meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, adding leaders would talk about how to move Ukraine closer to NATO.

At the same time, Stoltenberg warned against accepting a frozen conflict in Ukraine in return for an end to the war.

“We all want this war to end, but a just peace cannot mean freezing the conflict and accepting a deal dictated by Russia,” he said.

Russia bans human rights group it labels an ‘undesirable organisation’ -RIA

Monday 19 June 2023 13:41 , Martha Mchardy

Russia on Monday labelled the human rights group Agora as an “undesirable organisation”, effectively banning the organisation in the country, Russia’s state news agency RIA reported.

Agora specialised in providing legal help to people it believed were being unfairly persecuted by state officials and bodies.

Russian spy chief says loss of NATO-trained soldiers will reduce Kyiv’s combat potential -RIA

Monday 19 June 2023 13:38 , Martha Mchardy

The director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergei Naryshkin, said that the deaths of a large number of NATO-trained Ukrainian soldiers and the destruction of their hardware would undermine Ukrainian army combat capabilities, the Russian state news agency RIA reported on Monday.

Moscow has repeatedly said that Kyiv has suffered major losses, including of Western-supplied equipment, during its ongoing counteroffensive.

Britain plans to maintain Russian sanctions until Ukraine is compensated

Monday 19 June 2023 13:16 , Martha Mchardy

Britain on Monday introduced legislation that will allow it to keep sanctions against Russia in place until Moscow pays compensation to Ukraine, the British foreign ministry said.

“As Ukraine continues to defend itself against Russia’s invasion, the terrible impacts of Putin’s war are clear. Ukraine’s reconstruction needs are – and will be – immense,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.

“Through our new measures today, we’re strengthening the UK’s sanctions approach, affirming that the UK is prepared to use sanctions to ensure Russia pays to repair the country it has so recklessly attacked,” he added.

Russian spy chief flags 'suspicious' Ukrainian nuclear activity

Monday 19 June 2023 11:48 , Martha Mchardy

One of Russia’s top spymasters said on Monday he hoped that the U.N. nuclear watchdog and the European Union would look into Ukrainian nuclear activity that he said might signal Kyiv was working on a “dirty bomb”.

Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, did not provide documentary evidence to back his assertions.

The Ukrainian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kyiv has in the past said it takes its responsibilities for nuclear power very seriously while accusing Russia of recklessness when it comes to its occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine.

Naryshkin said in a statement that his service had information that a batch of “irradiated fuel” had secretly been sent from the Rivne nuclear plant in western Ukraine for disposal at a spent fuel storage facility in Chornobyl.

He said the action, which Reuters could not independently verify, was “suspicious” and could only be explained by Kyiv intending to create a “dirty bomb”, combining radioactive material with conventional explosives.

Russia has previously accused Ukraine, without providing evidence, of planning to use such a “dirty bomb”, amid fears on both sides that fighting around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which Russian forces seized a few days after invading Ukraine early last year, could lead to a disaster.

Dead fish cover bottom of dried up Kakhovka reservoir after collapse of dam

Monday 19 June 2023 11:43 , Martha Mchardy

We will ‘rebuild everything’ in Ukraine, says Zelensky

Monday 19 June 2023 11:04 , Martha Mchardy

“We will rebuild everything” in Ukraine, said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Mr Zelensky said in a Tweet on Tuesday: “Not a single ruin will be left in Ukraine. We will rebuild everything, restore everything, and we know exactly what steps need to be taken in what timeframe and with what resources to defeat Russian aggression with our reconstruction as well.

“When the ruins disappear, it is not just the aggressor who loses, but the very idea of aggression. And it will happen.”

Clear Ukrainian counteroffensive ‘making good progress,’ says Rishi Sunak

Monday 19 June 2023 10:59 , Martha Mchardy

Rishi Sunak told Volodymyr Zelensky it was clear the Ukrainian counteroffensive was “making good progress” when the two leaders spoke this morning.

Both men will speak at a conference in London this week on Ukraine’s recovery.

A Downing Street spokesman said the prime minister “paid tribute to the bravery of the Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline”.

“He told president Zelensky that the UK was firmly behind Ukraine as it continued to push back invading Russian forces,” the spokesman said.

“Small steps forward would bring success, the prime minister added.”

Watch: Ukrainian soldiers rescue Russian troops left to drown after Kakhovka dam destruction

Monday 19 June 2023 10:56 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian special forces rescued a number of Russian soldiers from flooding after the Kakhovka dam was destroyed.

Footage shows boats picking up the four men, who were trapped “up to their necks” when water inundated their trench.

“The Russian soldiers were already weakened and close to death,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence wrote, sharing the footage on social media.

Other Russians occupying the area began to shoot at the boat from nearby positions during the rescue, according to Ukraine’s MoD.

The rescued soldiers were then taken back to the Ukrainian base and added to the prisoner of war “exchange fund”.

Click here to watch:

Ukrainian soldiers rescue Russian troops left to drown after Kakhovka dam destruction

Ukraine says eight villages retaken from Russian forces in two weeks

Monday 19 June 2023 10:51 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine confirmed on Monday it had driven Russian forces from an eighth village in its two-week-old counteroffensive in a heavily fortified part of the front line on the most direct route to the country’s Azov Sea coast.

A Russian-installed official said on Sunday that Ukraine had taken control of the village, Piatykhatky, in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. He later said Moscow had pushed them out and on Monday morning he said Ukraine was attacking again.

Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian forces had not only retaken Piatykhatky but had advanced by up to seven km (4.3 miles) into Russian lines in two weeks, capturing 113 square km (44 square miles) of land.

“In the course of two weeks of offensive operations in the Berdiansk and Melitopol directions, eight settlements were liberated,” Maliar said on Telegram, referring to two cities on the Russian-occupied coastline.

The reported capture of the villages reflects incremental gains for Ukraine that highlight the challenge of breaking through lines Moscow has spent months strengthening. Piatykhatky is significant, however, as lies around 90 km from the coast.

Kremlin says it will stay in touch with African peace mission

Monday 19 June 2023 10:50 , Martha Mchardy

The Kremlin said on Monday it would continue to talk to a group of African countries seeking to mediate in the conflict with Ukraine, notably at a Russia-Africa summit next month.

President Vladimir Putin on Saturday gave the seven-country African delegation that had come to see him in St Petersburg a list of reasons why he believed many of their proposals were misguided, pouring cold water on a plan already largely dismissed by Kyiv.

Kremlin says it declined U.N. help in flood zone over 'security concerns'

Monday 19 June 2023 10:49 , Martha Mchardy

The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia’s decision to decline U.N. help in areas of Russian-held Ukraine flooded by the Kakhovka dam breach was motivated by security concerns and “other nuances”.

The United Nations said on Sunday that Moscow had declined its offers of help as the death toll rose and filthy water forced the closure of beaches in southern Ukraine.

The collapse of the Moscow-controlled dam on June 6 unleashed floodwaters across southern Ukraine and Russian-controlled parts of the Kherson region, destroying homes and farmland, and cutting off supplies to residents.

Monday 19 June 2023 10:25 , Martha Mchardy

Jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny appeared before a Russian court on Monday to face new charges of extremism that could extend his prison term by decades.

The hearing took place at the IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo, about 235 km (145 miles) east of Moscow, where Navalny is already serving sentences totalling 11 and a half years.

His supporters accuse Russian authorities of trying to break him in prison to silence his criticism of President Vladimir Putin, something the Kremlin denies.

An entry in the court record last month showed the new charges relate to six different articles of the Russian criminal code, including inciting and financing extremist activity and creating an extremist organisation.

Russia has outlawed Navalny’s campaign organisation as part of a crackdown on dissent that started well before the conflict in Ukraine and has intensified in the nearly 16 months since it started. Last week one of his regional campaign leaders was jailed for seven and a half years.

In a tweet posted on his account by his supporters last month, Navalny responded with typical irony to the new charges.

“Well, Alexei, you’re in some real trouble now ... The Prosecutor General’s Office has officially provided me with 3,828 pages describing all the crimes I’ve committed while already imprisoned.”

It was not immediately clear which specific actions or incidents the new charges referred to.

One relates to “rehabilitation of Nazism” - a possible reference to Navalny’s declarations of support for Ukraine, whose government Russia accuses of embodying Nazi ideology. Ukraine and its Western allies dismiss that charge as baseless.

In April, investigators formally linked Navalny supporters to the murder of Vladlen Tatarsky, a popular military blogger and supporter of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine who was killed by a bomb in St Petersburg.

Russia’s National Anti-terrorism Committee (NAC) said Ukrainian intelligence had organised the bombing with help from Navalny’s supporters.

This appeared to be a reference to the fact that a suspect arrested over the killing once registered to take part in an anti-Kremlin voting scheme promoted by Navalny’s movement.

Navalny allies denied any connection to the killing. Ukraine attributed it to “domestic terrorism”.

Ukraine downs four cruise missiles and four drones overnight

Monday 19 June 2023 10:14 , Martha Mchardy

Four Kalibr missiles and four Iranian-made Shahed drones were shot down overnight by Ukraine, the country’s Air Force said.

Russia launched an attack on south and south-east Ukraine overnight with cruise missiles and self-exploding drones, according to Ukraine.

According to regional officials, the southern province of Odesa and the south-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region were targeted by the attack. No casualties or damage were immediately reported.

UN says Russia won’t let aid workers into areas hit by dam collapse in southern Ukraine

Monday 19 June 2023 09:37 , Martha Mchardy

The United Nations has rebuked Moscow for allegedly denying its aid workers access to Russian-occupied areas affected by the recent Kakhova dam collapse in southern Ukraine, which stranded residents, threatened power supplies and caused an environmental calamity as the war approaches 16 months.

The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said in a statement late Sunday that the organization has engaged with Moscow and Kyiv, each of which occupies parts of the southern Kherson region where the dam and reservoir are located, to address the “devastating destruction” caused by the breach.

The Russian government “has so far declined our request to access the areas under its temporary military control,” Brown said.

“We urge the Russian authorities to act in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law,” her statement added.

Russian military warns of risk of mosquito-borne diseases after Ukraine flooding

Monday 19 June 2023 09:33 , Martha Mchardy

The Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday that flooding in the Kherson region after the breach of Ukraine’s huge Kakhovka Dam could lead to mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile Fever breaking out in the area.

Russian forces partially control part of the southern Kherson region, which Ukraine has vowed to retake by force.

The Russia-controlled Kakhovka dam collapsed earlier this month, causing flooding that has killed at least 52 people.

Ukraine has blamed Russia for the collapse of the dam, with the Ukrainian military claiming it was Russia’s attempt to prevent Ukrainian troops from crossing the Dnipro to attack the occupying forces.

Meanwhile, Russia has blamed Kyiv for sabotaging the dam by cutting off water supplies to Crimea and to distract attention from its alleged faltering counteroffensive.

Russia’s Lavrov: West trying to undermine Russia’s stability ahead of 2024 election

Monday 19 June 2023 09:31 , Martha Mchardy

Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday accused the West of trying to undermine the stability of the Russian domestic political scene ahead of a planned presidential election next year.