Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin claims Moscow could use weapons with depleted uranium
Russian president Vladimir Putin said that if necessary Russia would use weapons with depleted uranium in response to reports that the United States would supply such weapons to Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Tuesday that the US was set to approve depleted uranium tank rounds for Kyiv.
Depleted uranium is a dense by-product left over when uranium is enriched for use in nuclear reactors or nuclear weapons. The rounds retain some radioactive properties, but cannot generate a nuclear reaction as a nuclear weapon would.
In March 2023, the UK said it would supply armour piercing munitions containing depleted uranium to Ukraine to help destroy Russian tanks. Putin falsely claimed that these weapons had a “nuclear component.”
Meanwhile, Russia launched a “massive” attack overnight on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing at least ten people and wounding 28 others.
“As of 1300 (1000 GMT) 10 people have been killed,” city mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said in a Telegram post, adding that another person was under the rubble and a further 28 were injured.
Key Points
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Russia losing 900 soldiers a day during counteroffensive, Ukrainian officials claim
03:40 , Arpan Rai
Russia is losing a “staggering” 900 soldiers a day, Ukrainian officials have claimed, urging the West to greenlight delivery of fighter jets for its counteroffensive at a Nato meeting this week.
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, indicated the long-awaited counteroffensive was making headway, reporting that Ukrainian forces had taken back seven villages opening 90sqkm of land in the last week alone.
However, she said the advance was hard as Russian forces had superior air support and were showering their troops with intense artillery fire.
Bel Trew reports:
Russia losing 900 soldiers a day during counteroffensive, Ukrainian officials claim
Russia deploying elite air units to support troops facing Ukraine's counteroffensive
07:26 , Arpan Rai
The elite Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) are likely helping Putin’s regular ground troops, especially in southern Ukraine, to resist increased Ukrainian offensive operations, the British Ministry of Defence has claimed.
It noted an uptick in Russian tactical combat air sorties, especially over southern Ukraine, in the past two weeks.
“This has almost certainly been in response to reports of increased Ukrainian offensive operations, as the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) attempt to support ground troops with airstrikes,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update.
It added that despite the uptick, “VKS’s daily sortie rate remains much lower than the peak of up to 300 daily missions early in the war”.
“Since the start of the invasion, the south of Ukraine has often been more permissible for Russian air operations compared to other sectors of the front,” the ministry said.
On the battlefield over the last year, the VKS has increased its use of air-to-surface weapons, such as glide bombs, which allow attack aircraft to remain well away from their targets, it said.
Belarus taking delivery of Russian tactical nukes 'three times bigger than Hiroshima and Nagasaki’, announces president
07:02 , Arpan Rai
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has 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.
“We have missiles and bombs that we have received from Russia,” Lukashenko said in an interview with the Rossiya-1 Russian state TV channel which was posted on the Belarusian Belta state news agency’s Telegram channel.
“The bombs are three times more powerful than those (dropped on) Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” he said.
This is the first such deployment of warheads by Moscow – shorter-range less powerful nuclear weapons that could potentially be used on the battlefield – outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.
The move is being watched closely by the United States and its allies as well as by China, which has repeatedly cautioned against the use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war.
Russia blames Ukrainian forces for shell Nova Kakhovka
06:32 , Arpan Rai
At least one person was injured in shelling of a residential area in the city of Nova Kakhovka, the city’s Russia-installed administration said today.
The administration also said that shelling of the nearby village of Plodovoye disrupted power supply there.
Officials in Kyiv have not issued a response on the allegations.
The region saw widespread destruction last week after the Kakhovka dam was destroyed, flooding swathes of land and forcing thousands to flee in one of the biggest industrial disasters in Europe for decades.
Three killed in Russian cruise missile attack on Odesa – official
06:08 , Arpan Rai
At least three people were killed and 13 were injured after Russian missiles struck civilian buildings in Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa overnight, the war-hit nation’s military said early this morning.
Russia fired four cruise missiles on the city, the South command of Ukraine‘s Armed Forces said. Initially, the military said two missiles were destroyed before hitting their targets.
“As a result of air combat and blast waves, a business centre, an educational institution, a residential complex, food establishments and shops in the city centre were damaged,” the South command said on the Telegram app.
The three people killed were working at a retail chain’s warehouse when a missile hit, setting it ablaze, the military added. Seven people were wounded there.
“Sifting through the debris continues,” the military said. “There may be people under.”
A video and photographs of the attacked site by Odesa military administration spokesperson Serhiy Bratchuk showed a multi-storey building bombed out by the missile, with parts of walls and windows blown to shards.
Firefighters were also seen at the spot battling against flames in what appeared be a warehouse.
In pictures: Ukrainian troops fire from Bakhmut frontline
05:48 , Arpan Rai
How Putin has mixed threats of new offensive in Ukraine with peace talk offer
05:23 , Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin has sprinkled threats of a new Russian offensive to capture Ukrainian land with statements about the Kremlin’s readiness for peace talks this week as the war marked a new stage of targeted counteroffensive from Kyiv.
Speaking during a far-ranging meeting with Russian military correspondents and war bloggers, he made some of the most extensive comments about the conflict and his goals since sending the troops into Ukraine more than 15 months ago.
In one assertion, the Russian president claimed that Ukraine has suffered “catastrophic” losses in its counteroffensive but then, he also spoke of the circumstance under which the war would conclude.
The Russian leader said ending the hostilities in Ukraine depends on the United States. He argued that the fighting would end immediately if the US and Nato stop providing Ukraine with weapons.
Here is a quick look at some of Mr Putin’s key statements:
Putin mixes threats of new offensive in Ukraine with offers of peace talks
110 million people forcibly displaced as Sudan, Ukraine wars add to world refugee crisis, UN says
05:14 , Arpan Rai
Around 110 million people have had to flee their homes because of conflict, persecution, or human rights violations, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has said.
The war in Sudan, which has displaced nearly 2 million people since April, is but the latest in a long list of crises that has led to the record-breaking figure.
Last year alone, an additional 19 million people were forcibly displaced including more than 11 million who fled Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in what became the fastest and largest displacement of people since the Second World War.
“It’s quite an indictment on the state of our world,” Filippo Grandi, who leads the UN refugee agency, told reporters in Geneva ahead of the publication of UNHCR‘s Global Trends Report for 2022 today.
Read the full story here:
110 million people forcibly displaced as Sudan, Ukraine wars add to world refugee crisis, UN says
New US military aid to Ukraine pushes Washington deeper into war, warns Russia
04:28 , Arpan Rai
The new US military aid package for Ukraine pushes the US deeper into the “abyss” of the conflict, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov warned today.
“The United States is getting deeper and deeper into the abyss of the Ukrainian crisis,” Mr Antonov was quoted as saying in a post on the embassy’s Telegram channel.
“Apparently, the strategists from the United States somehow do not understand that no amount of weapons, whatever involvement of mercenaries, will be able to turn the tide in the course of (Russia’s) special military operation.”
The package worth $325m (£257m), which includes munitions for air defence systems, ammunition and vehicles, comes as Ukraine is shaping its long-expected counteroffensive.
In the past week, Ukrainian forces lost some tanks and armoured vehicles provided by Western allies while making small territorial gains.
Latest pictures from Ukraine
03:00 , Martha Mchardy
UK firms operating in Russia ‘complicit in war crimes’ against Ukraine, says MP
02:00 , Martha Mchardy
UK businesses continuing to operate in Russia are “complicit in the war crimes” committed against the Ukrainian people, MPs have heard.
Labour former minister Sir Chris Bryant told the Commons about the Russian government introducing a new law last year, requiring all businesses, including foreign ones, operating in the Russian Federation to “assist in the war in Ukraine”.
Sir Chris urged the Government to make it “absolutely clear” that all British businesses should “completely and utterly desist from business in Russia immediately”.
Foreign Office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said there has been a “positive attitude” from British businesses and a “willingness to take financial pain immediately in order to step away” from Russian markets and activity.
The Rhondda MP said: “The Russian government introduced a new law last year which requires all businesses, including foreign businesses that have any footprint in the Russian Federation, to assist in the war in Ukraine.
“That means any British businesses who are still doing business now in Russia are complicit in the war crimes that Russia is perpetrating against the Ukrainian people.
“Would the minister now make it absolutely clear that all British businesses should completely and utterly desist from business in Russia immediately?”
Martina Bet reports:
UK firms operating in Russia ‘complicit in war crimes’ against Ukraine, says MP
NATO leader says Ukrainians are making progress and advancing against Russian forces
01:00 , Martha Mchardy
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told President Joe Biden at an Oval Office meeting on Tuesday that Ukrainians are “making progress” with their counteroffensive, which could bolster their position when there’s an opportunity to reach a diplomatic end to the war with Russia.
“The support that we are providing together for Ukraine is now making a difference on the battlefield as we speak,” Stoltenberg said. “Because the offensive has launched, and the Ukrainians are making progress, making advances.”
He added, “It’s still early days, but what we do know is that the more land that Ukrainians are able to liberate, the stronger hand they will have at the negotiating table.”
Biden said NATO has grown more unified during the Ukraine war and “we’re going to be building on that momentum” when the alliance holds its annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11 and 12.
Read the full story:
NATO leader says Ukrainians are making progress and advancing against Russian forces
How significant is the reported recapture of the first Ukrainian villages from Russia?
Wednesday 14 June 2023 00:00 , Martha Mchardy
Ukraine has celebrated the first territorial gains of its long-trailed counteroffensive against the invading Russian forces.
Unverified photographs and video appearing on Sunday and on Monday morning showed Ukrainian soldiers holding their country’s blue and yellow flag aloft in triumph in the eastern villages of Storozheve, Blahodatne, Neskuchne and Makarivka in Donetsk, suggesting they had been recaptured from occupying enemy troops.
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar posted one of the photos from Storozheve and thanked the 35th Separate Brigade of Marines for liberating it.
Joe Sommerlad reports:
How significant is the reported recapture of the first Ukrainian villages?
UN nuclear chief says large Ukraine atomic power plant held by Russia faces 'dangerous situation'
Tuesday 13 June 2023 23:00 , Martha Mchardy
The largest nuclear power plant in Europe faces “a relatively dangerous situation” after a dam burst in Ukraine and Kyiv launches a counteroffensive to retake ground occupied by Russia, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Tuesday.
Rafael Moreno Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, spoke to journalists in Kyiv just before leaving on a trip to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. That plant has been repeatedly in the crossfire since Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022 and seized the facility shortly after.
Grossi said he had met Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the situation affecting the plant, which grew more serious after the Kakhovka Dam burst last week. The dam, further down the Dnieper River, helped keep water in a reservoir that cools the plant’s reactors. Ukraine has said Russia blew up the dam, something denied by Moscow, though analysts say the flood likely disrupted Kyiv’s counteroffensive plans.
Read the full story:
UN nuclear chief says large Ukraine atomic power plant held by Russia faces 'dangerous situation'
France says it uncovered mass Russian-linked misinformation campaign
Tuesday 13 June 2023 22:00 , Martha Mchardy
France said on Tuesday a Russia-linked misinformation campaign had faked its foreign ministry website, targeted other government websites and usurped several French media as part of broader efforts to smear Ukraine and its Western allies.
Western nations have repeatedly accused Russian operatives of using social media and the internet to spread false or misleading information to undermine them, promote Russia or attempt to sway public opinion in their countries against backing Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.
France has in particular called out Russian activities in Africa, saying that Moscow-linked actors have tried to discredit Paris in West Africa, saturating regular media and social media.
That has prompted France to launch multi-faceted action to reverse an anti-French narrative that has damaged its influence and interests, including with a unit partly dedicated to spotting and dealing with malicious content.
“This campaign is notably based on creating fake internet pages to hack into the identity of national media and government websites, as well as by creating fake accounts on social media networks,” foreign minister Catherine Colonna said in a statement - in what was the first time Paris has publicly called out Russian-linked activities on French soil.
A domain name close to the foreign ministry’s name, a practice known as typosquatting, was used and detected on May 29. While the majority of the content was the same, one article was posted suggesting the French government was preparing to impose a tax to raise funds for military aid to Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, French officials said.
Watch: Residential building in Zelensky's hometown engulfed by flames after deadly strike
Tuesday 13 June 2023 21:00 , Martha Mchardy
Russia losing 900 soldiers a day during counteroffensive, Ukrainian officials claim
Tuesday 13 June 2023 20:00 , Martha Mchardy
Russia is losing a “staggering” 900 soldiers a day, Ukrainian officials have claimed, urging the West to greenlight delivery of fighter jets for its counteroffensive at a Nato meeting this week.
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, indicated the long-awaited counteroffensive was making headway, reporting that Ukrainian forces had taken back seven villages opening 90sqkm of land in the last week alone.
However, she said the advance was hard as Russian forces had superior air support and were showering their troops with intense artillery fire.
Yuriy Sak, a key advisor to the defence ministry, told The Independent that while Kyiv was inflicting “heavy” losses on Moscow’s forces, they urgently needed the delivery of fighter jets to keep up the momentum. Mr Sak said that they hoped the decision would be pushed through at a meeting of Nato defence ministers due to take place Thursday in Brussels.
Bel Trew reports:
Russia losing 900 soldiers a day during counteroffensive, Ukrainian officials claim
Russia will fully guarantee safety at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant - TASS
Tuesday 13 June 2023 19:00 , Martha Mchardy
Russia will guarantee full “nuclear safety” at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeast Ukraine in view of the Kakhovka dam breach, the TASS news agency said, citing an adviser to the head of Russian nuclear plant operator Rosenergoatom.
Nato chief: Ukraine making progress in counteroffensive
Tuesday 13 June 2023 18:29 , Martha Mchardy
Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that Ukraine is making progress in its counteroffensive against Russian invaders.
Stoltenberg made the comment as he met in the Oval Office with president Joe Biden, who said the U.S. commitment to Nato was rock solid.
Algeria's president starting state visit to Russia at invitation of Putin
Tuesday 13 June 2023 18:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Tuesday is starting a three-day state visit to Russia meant to strengthen relations of “friendship and cooperation” at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, authorities said Tuesday.
The Algerian presidency said in a statement that Tebboune will attend an economic forum to be held this week in the city of St. Petersburg.
Putin’s invitation had been conveyed by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov during his visit to Algiers in May last year with the aim of developing bilateral military, economic and humanitarian ties, and in other areas.
Read more:
Algeria's president starting state visit to Russia at invitation of Putin
Joint Expeditionary Force announces new air defence package for Ukraine
Tuesday 13 June 2023 17:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Defence ministers from the Joint Expeditionary Force, a British-led alliance of several European countries, announced a new $116 million package of air defence capabilities for Ukraine at a meeting on Tuesday.
“The equipment, worth 92 million pounds, will be procured in the coming months through the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) to bolster Ukraine‘s ability to protect its critical national infrastructure, civilian population, and front-line personnel,” a statement published by the British government said.
“The package will provide radars to help protect from indiscriminate Russian strikes as well as guns and a significant amount of ammunition.”
Putin: we will use depleted uranium in response, if necessary
Tuesday 13 June 2023 17:20 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian president Vladimir Putin said that if necessary Russia would use weapons with depleted uranium in response to reports that the United States would supply such weapons to Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Tuesday that the US was set to approve depleted uranium tank rounds for Ukraine.
Depleted uranium is a dense by-product left over when uranium is enriched for use in nuclear reactors or nuclear weapons. The rounds retain some radioactive properties, but cannot generate a nuclear reaction as a nuclear weapon would.
In March 2023, the UK said it would supply armour piercing munitions containing depleted uranium to Ukraine to help destroy Russian tanks. Putin falsely claimed that these weapons had a “nuclear component.”
Rare icons evacuated from Ukraine go on show in Paris’ Louvre Museum
Tuesday 13 June 2023 17:15 , Eleanor Noyce
The Louvre Museum in Paris will exhibit five rare icons evacuated from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv to protect them from the war.
The icons, on display from Wednesday, are from a group of 16 extremely fragile works from Kyiv’s Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko Museum that were secretly evacuated in May to be safeguarded by the Paris museum.
They travelled to France via Poland and Germany in a special convoy.
Icons are stylized painted portraits, usually of saints, that are considered sacred in Eastern Orthodox churches.
Four of the icons - encaustic paintings on wood from Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt’s Sinai desert - date from the 6th and early 7th centuries.
The fifth is a micro-mosaic icon representing Saint Nicholas from late 13th or early 14th century Constantinople, with a gold frame.
The 11 other works are being kept in the reserves of the Louvre.
“It’s a very symbolic and effective gesture of support for Ukrainian culture,” Oleksander Tkachenko, Ukrainian culture minister, told reporters at the Louvre.
“[The Russians] are stealing our artefacts, they ruined our cultural heritage sites and this shows how big and huge Ukrainian culture is, which is part of world heritage,” he added.
He also said he was concerned by damage caused to works of art by the recent destruction of the Kakhovka dam.
He said hundreds of thousands of works of art have been sheltered since the beginning of the war.
At the start of the Russian invasion, the collections of the Khanenko Museum were hidden and the historic building is currently empty.
Russia losing 900 soldiers a day during counteroffensive, Ukrainian officials claim
Tuesday 13 June 2023 17:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia is losing a “staggering” 900 soldiers a day, Ukrainian officials have claimed, urging the West to greenlight delivery of fighter jets for its counteroffensive at a Nato meeting this week.
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, indicated the long-awaited counteroffensive was making headway, reporting that Ukrainian forces had taken back seven villages opening 90 square kilometres of land in the last week alone.
However, she said the advance was hard as Russian forces had superior air support and were showering their troops with intense artillery fire.
Our Chief International Correspondent Bel Trew reports:
Russia losing 900 soldiers a day during counteroffensive, Ukrainian officials claim
Putin backs defence ministry demand for mercenaries to sign contracts
Tuesday 13 June 2023 16:50 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday he backed a Defence Ministry order for Russian private military companies to sign contracts with it before 1 July, something the high-profile Wagner Group has refused to do.
Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has said his group will not sign a contract with the ministry.
Earlier on Tuesday, he said he was not sure if his men would continue to fight in Ukraine amid the bitter standoff with the Defence Ministry with which he has long been at loggerheads with.
Putin: we will use depleted uranium in response, if necessary
Tuesday 13 June 2023 16:44 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that if necessary Russia would use weapons with depleted uranium in response to reports that the United States would supply such weapons to Ukraine.
Putin also declined to say whether Moscow would launch a new offensive in Ukraine in response to Kyiv’s own counteroffensive, saying that Russia’s plans would depend on its military potential.
NATO chief says Ukrainians making advances in the counteroffensive
Tuesday 13 June 2023 16:36 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukrainians are making advances and gaining ground in their counteroffensive, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday, although he added it was still early days in Kyiv’s renewed push against Russia’s invasion.
In brief remarks ahead of his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Stoltenberg said the NATO alliance was preparing for the leaders summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, where it was expected to step up further support for Ukraine.
UK firms operating in Russia ‘complicit in war crimes’ against Ukraine, says MP
Tuesday 13 June 2023 16:30 , Eleanor Noyce
UK businesses continuing to operate in Russia are “complicit in the war crimes” committed against the Ukrainian people, MPs have heard.
Labour former minister Sir Chris Bryant told the Commons about the Russian government introducing a new law last year, requiring all businesses, including foreign ones, operating in the Russian Federation to “assist in the war in Ukraine”.
Sir Chris urged the Government to make it “absolutely clear” that all British businesses should “completely and utterly desist from business in Russia immediately”.
Martina Bet has the full story:
UK firms operating in Russia ‘complicit in war crimes’ against Ukraine, says MP
Putin: Russian weapon quality improving but drones, high-precision ammo lacking
Tuesday 13 June 2023 16:20 , Eleanor Noyce
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the quality of Russian weaponry was improving, but that the country lacked high-precision ammunition and drones.
Putin said Russia had increased its production of key weapons by 2.7 times over the past year, and he also accused the West of pumping weapons into Ukraine.
Joint Expeditionary Force to strengthen sharing of tactical intelligence
Tuesday 13 June 2023 16:16 , Eleanor Noyce
A British-led defence alliance of several European countries will strengthen its sharing of tactical intelligence, the group, known as the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), said on Tuesday.
The JEF, comprising Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, also said it would accelerate cooperation to detect possible threats to critical undersea and offshore infrastructure.
“We know since the attack on Nordstream that our critical infrastructure is vulnerable and needs to be protected”, Dutch defence minister Kajsa Ollogren said following a meeting of JEF.
Reuters exclusive - Flag flies over newly liberated village, confirming Ukraine advancing
Tuesday 13 June 2023 16:10 , Eleanor Noyce
Reuters journalists gained access to the newly liberated Ukrainian village of Neskuchne on Tuesday, confirming that Ukraine‘s forces have been advancing in the early phase of a counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion.
A Reuters team reached the ruined village in southeastern Ukraine days after Kyiv said its forces had pushed out Russian troops. Russia has not officially acknowledged the loss of Neskuchne and several other villages.
The yellow and blue Ukrainian flag was fluttering in the breeze over the ruins of a grocery store where it was placed.
Not a single building is unscathed in the village, which is little more than a long line of small houses along a tree-lined road.
No villagers could be seen in Neskuchne, which had a population of several hundred before Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
The hamlet was silent except for birdsong and the crump of artillery fire in the distance.
“Three days ago Russian forces were still here. We chased them out of Neskuchne. Glory to Ukraine,” said Artem, a member of a Ukrainian territorial defence unit who gave no surname. “These are Ukrainian lands.”
The Reuters crew saw the corpses of three Russian soldiers in the village. One lay in the road where his comrades had left him after he was wounded or killed.
“Three days ago we liberated Neskuchne. We saw from a drone how this guy was killed. His comrades were carrying him and then they left him here,” Artem said.
After seven months of a major Russian offensive that yielded scant gains, Ukraine began its counterassault last week.
So far the offensive is still in its early days, with tens of thousands of fresh Ukrainian troops and hundreds of Western armoured vehicles yet to be committed to the fight.
Dutch intelligence tipped CIA on alleged Ukraine plan to attack Nord Stream - NOS
Tuesday 13 June 2023 16:00 , Eleanor Noyce
A Dutch intelligence agency tipped off the CIA about an alleged Ukrainian plan in June 2022 to blow up the Nord Stream pipeline, Dutch national broadcaster NOS reported on Tuesday.
The NOS report, which was compiled with help from leading German media outlets, did not identify its sources.
It said that the Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD had warned the CIA of the existence of such a plan, leading to a warning from Washington to Kyiv not to attack the pipeline.
Unexplained explosions ruptured both Nord Stream 1 and the newly built Nord Stream 2 pipelines, carrying gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, in September.
The blasts occurred in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark. Both countries said the explosions were deliberate, but have yet to determine who was responsible. Those countries and Germany are investigating.
Washington and NATO called the incident “an act of sabotage”. Moscow accused investigators of dragging their feet and trying to conceal who was behind the attack. Ukraine denies responsibility.
The MIVD could not immediately be reached for comment.
Putin says no need for martial law in Russia after surge of cross-border attacks
Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:50 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that he saw no need to introduce martial law in Russia, amid a recent uptick in Ukrainian drone and artillery strikes and raids by ground forces on Russian territory.
In a televised meeting with military bloggers after weeks of bombardment of the border region of Belgorod and a wave of drone strikes on Moscow itself, Putin acknowledged that Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory were a problem and that Russia needed to defend its own borders better.
Putin says Russia needs no new mobilisation for now
Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:46 , Eleanor Noyce
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia does not currently need any additional call-up of reservists, having announced an initial mobilisation in September.
Putin also told military bloggers and war correspondents at a televised meeting that future mobilisations would depend on what goals Russia set for itself in Ukraine, suggesting that a renewed bid to take Kyiv could require extra manpower.
IAEA 'very concerned' over nuclear plant's safety as Ukraine counterattacks - Grossi
Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:40 , Eleanor Noyce
U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi said during a trip to Kyiv on Tuesday that he was “very concerned” Ukraine‘s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant could get caught up in Kyiv’s counteroffensive against Russian forces.
At a briefing in Kyiv, Mr Grossi said he would head to the nuclear plant to assess the situation and that he planned to spend a few hours there.
IAEA's Grossi visits Kyiv ahead of trip to nuclear plant
Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:30 , Eleanor Noyce
U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi visited Kyiv on Tuesday on a trip to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and visit Ukraine‘s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after a huge river dam nearby was destroyed last week.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Sunday it needed access to a site near the plant to check water levels after the reservoir lost a large portion of its water because of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam downstream.
Both sides have accused each other of sabotaging the dam, leading to catastrophic flooding. Western countries say they are still gathering evidence but believe Ukraine would have had no reason to inflict such a disaster on itself.
Russian forces captured the hydro-electric dam and the nuclear plant in southern Ukraine shortly after its February 2022 invasion.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant uses a cooling pond to keep its six reactors from potentially disastrous overheating. Ukraine‘s nuclear energy company said on Tuesday that the level of the pond was stable and that the water was high enough.
As of Tuesday morning, the water level stood at 16.67 metres (54.69 feet), which Energoatom said was “quite enough to meet the needs of the station”.
The Kakhovka reservoir was normally used to refill the pond, but cannot do so now because of its falling water level, Ukrainian nuclear authorities say.
Instead, the pond, which is separated from the reservoir, can be replenished using deep underground wells, they say.
The water in the pond is also expended very slowly, they add, because the reactors are not producing power and water does not evaporate quickly during the cooling process.
Putin estimates Ukraine has lost 25-30% of foreign-supplied military vehicles in counteroffensive
Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:20 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday he believed Ukraine had lost 25 to 30% of military vehicles supplied to Kyiv by western countries since the start of its counteroffensive and that Ukraine‘s human losses were 10 times higher than Russia’s.
Putin made the comments during a televised meeting with military bloggers.
He said Russia had lost 50 of its tanks in the fighting, some of which could be repaired, and that Ukraine had lost over 160.
He also said that Ukraine was responsible for the breach last week of the Kakhovka dam, which he said had been caused by Kyiv shelling the structure with U.S.-made HIMARS missile systems.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify his assertions.
Putin says Ukraine's losses are vast in so far failed counteroffensive
Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:15 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Ukraine‘s large-scale counter-offensive had not been successful in any area and that Ukrainian human losses were 10 times bigger than Russia’s.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive began on June 4, Putin told a televised meeting of Russian war correspondents and military bloggers.
Ukraine had lost over 160 of its tanks and 25%-30% of the vehicles supplied from abroad, Putin said, while Russia had lost 54 tanks.
Putin said Ukraine had deliberately hit the Kakhovka dam with HIMARS rockets, which the United States had supplied, a step he said hindered Ukraine‘s counteroffensive.
The goals of what the Kremlin calls its “special military operation” might evolve with the situation, but their fundamental character would not change, Putin said.
France says it thwarted attack on websites from Russian state-linked actors
Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:09 , Eleanor Noyce
France’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that France had prevented a hybrid digital attack on her ministry’s website likely carried out by Russian state-linked actors, along with attacks on other government websites and French media sites.
Foreign minister Catherine Colonna also said France believed there was a broader campaign of spreading disinformation in France by Russian protagonists.
“This campaign is notably based upon creating fake internet pages to hack into the identity of national media and government websites, as well as by creating fake accounts on social media networks,” Colonna said in a statement.
Moscow has consistently denied that it carries out hacking operations.
Colonna said Russian embassies and Russian cultural institutes were also involved in this campaign, and reaffirmed France’s support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
Many countries around the world that have expressed their support for Ukraine have disclosed similar hits on websites.
Earlier this week, Swiss authorities said several government websites had been targeted in a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that was claimed by pro-Russian hackers.
In May, U.S. authorities said that the FBI had sabotaged a suite of malicious software used by elite Russian spies.
Russia's Wagner mercenary chief says he is unsure if his men will continue fighting in Ukraine
Tuesday 13 June 2023 14:49 , Eleanor Noyce
Having taken the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut after a months-long battle, Russia’s Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Tuesday that he was “not sure” if Wagner would stay in Ukraine.
Wagner mercenaries have previously been active in parts of Africa and the Middle East, with a few contracts remaining there.
Last month, Prigozhin launched a scathing attack on Vladimir Putin‘s invasion strategy, claiming that Russia could face a revolution similar to 1917 and lose the war in Ukraine unless changes are made by Kremlin leadership.
Taiwan handbook teaches civilians how to spot ‘enemy’ Chinese soldiers
Tuesday 13 June 2023 14:10 , Eleanor Noyce
A defence handbook was released by Taiwan’s military to distinguish between Chinese and Taiwanese soldiers based on their uniforms, camouflage, and insignia through colourful cartoons.
The updated defence handbook released on Tuesday with the latest changes detailed how civilians can find bomb shelters, water and food supplies using apps on their mobile phone.
A colourful graphic with a 14-point guide was added for civilians on how to prepare for war scenarios after Taiwan’s defence ministry received feedback that the book needed to reflect the conflict situation better in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the ministry said.
Read more:
Taiwan handbook teaches civilians how to spot ‘enemy’ Chinese soldiers
In pictures: Ukrainian servicemen fire a rocket towards Russian positions near Bakhmut
Tuesday 13 June 2023 13:40 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukrainian servicemen of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade "Edelweiss" have been pictured firing a rocket from a BM-21 'Grad' multiple rocket launcher towards Russian positions, near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.
ICYMI: Eat Pray Love author delays publication of new book over backlash to Russia setting
Tuesday 13 June 2023 13:10 , Eleanor Noyce
Elizabeth Gilbert has announced that she is cancelling the planned publication of her new book, amid complaints over its use of a Siberian setting.
Titled The Snow Forest, the novel had been announced by Bloomsbury last week, with a publication date scheduled for February 2024.
Gilbert, the 53-year-old writer best known for her 2006 memoir Eat, Pray, Love, shared a video on social media addressing concerns over The Snow Forest’s subject matter in light of Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
Louis Chilton reports:
Eat Pray Love author delays publication of new book over backlash to Russia setting
UK businesses continuing to operate in Russia are ‘complicit in war crimes’, MPs hear
Tuesday 13 June 2023 12:45 , Eleanor Noyce
UK businesses continuing to operate in Russia are “complicit in the war crimes” committed against the Ukrainian people, MPs have heard.
Labour former minister Sir Chris Bryant said: “The Russian government introduced a new law last year which requires all businesses, including foreign businesses that have any footprint in the Russian Federation, to assist in the war in Ukraine.
“That means any British businesses who are still doing business now in Russia are complicit in the war crimes that Russia is perpetrating against the Ukrainian people. Would the minister now make it absolutely clear that all British businesses should completely and utterly desist from business in Russia immediately?”
Foreign Office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said there has been a “positive attitude” from British businesses and a “willingness to take financial pain immediately in order to step away” from Russian markets and activity.
She said the government will continue to work with businesses.
Putin confirms cancellation of agreement with Ukraine on Sea of Azov, Kerch Strait - RIA
Tuesday 13 June 2023 12:36 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed on Tuesday that Moscow was annulling a cooperation agreement with Ukraine on the use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported.
Ukraine reports gains, says Russians 'doing everything' to hold positions
Tuesday 13 June 2023 12:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine reported more gains in the early stages of its counteroffensive on Tuesday, but said Russian forces were “doing everything” they can to defend the territory they have occupied.
Deputy Defence Minister said Ukrainian troops had advanced 250 metres (275 yards) near the small eastern city of Bakhmut, 200 metres on the Toretsk front in east Ukraine, and 500 metres to 1 km in the direction of the port city of Berdyansk.
Maliar said Ukrainian forces had gained control of an area of up to 3 square km (1.16 square miles) but did not say over what period.
She said late on Monday that Ukrainian forces had advanced 6.5 km and taken control of an area of 90 square km. That was still only a fraction of the 40,000 square miles that remains under Russia’s occupation.
“The enemy is doing everything to hold on to the positions it has seized,” Maliar wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Tuesday morning.
She said Russian forces had air support and were showering Ukrainian troops with intense artillery fire, and that Ukrainian troops were encountering “continuous minefields which are combined with anti-tank ditches.”
“All this is combined with constant counterattacks by enemy units on armoured vehicles and the massive use of ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles) and kamikaze drones,” she said.
Reuters could not verify the battlefield situation. Russia had not officially acknowledged the Ukrainian gains and has said it has repulsed Ukrainian attacks, inflicting heavy casualties since the counteroffensive began.
Russian defence ministry says forces repelled Ukrainian attacks in south Donetsk
Tuesday 13 June 2023 12:26 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia’s defence ministry said on Tuesday its forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks near the villages of Makarivka, Rivnopil and Prechystivka in the southern part of Donetsk region, state-owned news agency RIA reported.
In its daily briefing, the defence ministry also said Ukraine was continuing to mount attacks in the south Donetsk and Bakhmut areas.
Ukraine has said its forces have recaptured a number of villages from Russian forces in the southeast since starting its long-anticipated counteroffensive last week.
Lukashenko says ‘everything is ready’ as Belarus to get Russian tactical nuclear weapons ‘in several days’
Tuesday 13 June 2023 12:15 , Eleanor Noyce
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that Russian tactical nuclear weapons would be physically deployed on the territory of Belarus “in several days”, earlier than previously announced, the Belta state news agency reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia would start deploying such weapons in Belarus after special storage facilities were made ready on 7-8 July, Moscow’s first move of such warheads outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Lukashenko was cited as saying that Belarus was now ready to host the weapons.
“Everything is ready. I think we will have what we asked for in a few days, And even a little bit more,” Lukashenko was cited as saying.
Putin announced in March he had agreed to deploy such weapons in Belarus, pointing to U.S deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in a host of European countries over many decades.
Putin’s nuclear move is being watched closely by both the United States and its NATO allies in Europe and by China, which has repeatedly cautioned against the use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict.
The United States has criticised Putin’s nuclear deployment but has said it has no intention of altering its position on strategic nuclear weapons and also that it has not seen any signs Russia was preparing to use a nuclear weapon.
It is still unclear where the Russian nuclear warheads - which will remain under Russian control - will be kept in Belarus.
Leader of Belarus says he wouldn't hesitate to use Russian nuclear weapons to repel aggression
British assistance to Ukraine has ‘helped to speed up the pathway’ to Nato membership, Cleverly says
Tuesday 13 June 2023 12:10 , Eleanor Noyce
British training, equipment and advice assistance to Ukraine has “helped to speed up the pathway” to the point where Ukraine becomes a full member of Nato, foreign secretary James Cleverly has told MPs.
Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy called on Britain to “play a leading role in securing Ukraine‘s path to join Nato”.
He said: “As the Nato secretary general said last month, Ukraine‘s rightful place is in Nato, and over time our support will help make this possible.
“Does the foreign secretary agree with me that once - with our support - Ukraine has prevailed in its war against Russia’s invasion, there can be no Minsk 3.0 and that Britain should play a leading role in securing Ukraine‘s path to join Nato.”
Mr Cleverly replied: “I’ve very glad that (he) agrees with the government’s position on this that Ukraine‘s rightful place is within Nato.
“We have worked towards that aim and our support, the training that we provided, the equipment that we provided, the advice that we provide will all have helped to speed up the pathway from now to the point where Ukraine becomes a full member of Nato.”
