A farmer collects fragments of Russian rockets that he found on his field ten kilometres from the front line in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, July 4, 2022.(AP)Russia-Ukraine War News Highlights: Russian lawmakers on Tuesday gave the first stamp of approval to two bills that would authorise the government to oblige businesses to supply the military with goods and their employees to work overtime to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told parliament the moves were driven by the need to support the military at a time when Russia’s economy was under “colossal sanctions pressure” from the West, more than four months into what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russian forces set their sights on their next objectives in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk province, after President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in neighbouring Luhansk province as the five-month long war entered a new phase. The capture of the city of Lysychansk on Sunday completed the Russian conquest of Luhansk, one of two regions in Donbas, the industrialised eastern region of Ukraine that has become the site of the biggest battle in Europe in generations.
Both sides have suffered heavy casualties in the fight for Luhansk, particularly during the siege of the twin cities of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk. Both cities have been left in ruins by the relentless Russian bombardment. Ukrainian forces on Tuesday took up new defensive lines in Donetsk, where they still control major cities, while Putin told his troops to “absolutely rest and recover their military preparedness,” while units in other areas keep fighting.
Russian lawmakers on Tuesday gave the first stamp of approval to two bills that would authorise the government to oblige businesses to supply the military with goods and their employees to work overtime to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told parliament the moves were driven by the need to support the military at a time when Russia's economy was under "colossal sanctions pressure" from the West, more than four months into what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine. "The load on the defence industry has increased significantly. In order to guarantee the supply of weapons and ammunition, it is necessary to optimize the work of the military-industrial complex and enterprises that are part of cooperation chains," he said.
The United Nations' food agency said it had received $17 million to address grain storage problems in Ukraine and increase exports as global food prices remain near record levels amid war in the country.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with leaders in Mongolia on Tuesday during a trip to Asia to seek support amid his country’s diplomatic isolation by the West and punishing sanctions leveled over its invasion of Ukraine.
Lavrov met with Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh and paid a courtesy call on President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, Mongolian state media reported. Mongolia is a landlocked nation sandwiched between Russia and China, and has sought to maintain friendly relations with both neighbors while also cultivating close ties with the U.S., whose relations with Moscow and Beijing have become increasingly fraught. Mongolian and Russian state media gave no details of any specific discussions about the Ukraine conflict, while emphasizing strong bilateral relations.
Russian lawmakers on Tuesday gave the first stamp of approval to two bills that would authorise the government to oblige businesses to supply the military with goods and their employees to work overtime to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The initiatives come more than four months into what Russia calls its "special military operation," which has prompted Western countries to impose a wave of sanctions against Moscow.
One of the bills -- approved in a first reading by the State Duma, the lower house of parliament -- said the state could impose "special economic measures" during military operations, requiring firms to supply goods and services to the military at the demand of the Russian government. An explanatory note attached to the bill said the military needed new materials and weapons repairs to pursue its Ukraine campaign.
Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday proclaimed victory in the battle of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine after months of fighting.
While Russia says it now has full control over Luhansk after Ukrainian withdrawal from the bombed-out city of Lysychansk, Ukraine has described the retreat as tactical, saying it would launch a counter-offensive.
Meanwhile, Russia has said that it will give Luhansk to the Russian-backed ‘Luhansk People’s Republic’, whose independence it recognised before the beginning of the conflict. (Read more)
The 30 NATO allies are set to sign off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland on Tuesday, sending the membership bids of the two nations to the alliance capitals for legislative approvals.
The move will further increase Russia's strategic isolation in the wake of its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February and military struggles there since. The 30 ambassadors and permanent representatives are to formally approve the decisions of last week’s NATO summit when the alliance made the historic decision to invite Russia’s neighbor Finland and Scandinavian partner Sweden to join the military club. (AP)
According to the Bild and Süddeutsche Zeitung newspapers in Germany, citing unnamed sources in Ukraine's presidential office, Ambassador Andriy Melnyk is set to leave the embassy in Berlin to take up another role within the Foreign Ministry in Kyiv.
Bild reported that the change could take place during the summer months, but also cited a government official as saying that this should not be understood as his being recalled, rather as a recognition of his work.
Melnyk has been a prominent voice in the German media debate since the outbreak of the conflict late in February. His impassioned appeals for more assistance, particularly in the form of weapons exports from Germany, repeatedly grabbed the headlines. (DW)
Ukraine, one of the world's leading grain exporters, is expected to harvest about 60 million tonnes of grain in the autumn. In the below photo, a farmer is seen collecting harvest on a field ten kilometres from the front line where a fierce battle is going. The farmer is working around a crater left by the Russian rocket in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, July 4, 2022.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will fly to Hanoi on Tuesday for a two-day visit to Vietnam before heading to a G20 meeting later this week in Indonesia, the Vietnamese government said.
The visit at the invitation of Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son comes as the two nations mark the 10th anniversary of their "comprehensive strategic partnership", the government said in a statement.
Russia is Vietnam's biggest arms supplier and its companies are involved in several major energy projects in the country. (Reuters)
Russian forces set their sights on their next objectives in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk province, after President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in neighbouring Luhansk province as the five-month-long war entered a new phase. The capture of the city of Lysychansk on Sunday completed the Russian conquest of Luhansk, one of two regions in Donbas, the industrialised eastern region of Ukraine that has become the site of the biggest battle in Europe in generations.
Both sides have suffered heavy casualties in the fight for Luhansk, particularly during the siege of the twin cities of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk. Both cities have been left in ruins by the relentless Russian bombardment.
Ukrainian forces on Tuesday took up new defensive lines in Donetsk, where they still control major cities, while Putin told his troops to "absolutely rest and recover their military preparedness," while units in other areas keep fighting. (Reuters)
Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal Monday said that reconstructing Ukraine is expected to cost $750 billion, adding that seized Russian assets should be used pay for the recovery of his war-shattered country.
Rebuilding Ukraine is the "common task of the whole democratic world", Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday, insisting the recovery of his war-torn country would serve world peace.
Torched forests and cities burned to the ground. Colleagues with severed limbs. Bombardments so relentless the only option is to lie in a trench, wait and pray.Ukrainian soldiers returning from the front lines in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region — where Russia is waging a fierce offensive — describe life during what has turned into a grueling war of attrition as apocalyptic
In interviews with The Associated Press, some complained of chaotic organization, desertions and mental health problems caused by relentless shelling. Others spoke of high morale, their colleagues’ heroism, and a commitment to keep fighting, even as the better-equipped Russians control more of the combat zone.
??Read more accounts of Ukrainian soldiers here
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to press ahead with Moscow's offensive in Ukraine after troops took control of the entire Lugansk region, news agency AFP reported.
The Ukrainian General Staff said Russian forces were now focusing their efforts on pushing toward the line of Siversk, Fedorivka and Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, about half of which is controlled by Russia. The Russian army has also intensified its shelling of the key Ukrainian strongholds of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, deeper in Donetsk.
After declaring victory in eastern Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin on Monday asked the military units that took part in active hostilities and achieved success, victory in Luhansk to "take rest, increase their combat capabilities.''
President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared victory in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, one day after Ukrainian forces withdrew from their last remaining bulwark of resistance in the province. Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to Putin in a televised meeting Monday that Russian forces had taken control of Luhansk, which together with the neighboring Donetsk province makes up Ukraine's industrial heartland of Donbas.
Russia will shift the main focus of its war in Ukraine to trying to seize all of the Donetsk region after capturing neighbouring Luhansk, the Luhansk region's governor said on Monday.
Governor Serhiy Gaidai told Reuters in an interview that he expected the city of Sloviansk and the town of Bakhmut in particular to come under attack as Russia tries to take full control of what is known as the Donbas in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine could have continued defence of Lysychansk but its forces would have been surrounded and pounded by Russuan heavy artillery, the governor said. Meanwhile, some isolated fighting continued in two villages of Luhansk region where Russia is yet to establish control.
The European Investment Bank, the lending arm of the European Union, is proposing a funding structure previously used during the Covid-19 pandemic to help rebuild Ukraine with up to 100 billion euros ($104.3 billion) of investment, according to a document seen by Reuters.
The EU-Ukraine Gateway Trust Fund (E-U GTF) would seek to have an initial 20 billion euros in contributions from EU countries and the EU budget in the form of grants, loans and guarantees.
The guarantees in particular would have a multiplier effect, leading to infrastructure projects totalling some 100 billion euros, the document said, about half of Ukraine's more immediate needs.
The EIB's proposal is set to be unveiled on Monday, the first day of the international Ukraine Recovery Conference in Switzerland that aims to provide resources to Ukraine and aid a post-war recovery.
Ukraine's forces have withdrawn from the bombed-out city of Lysychansk, prompting Russia to claim full control of the eastern Luhansk region, a key Kremlin war goal, but President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed to regain the lost territory.
Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu informed President Vladimir Putin of the "liberation" of the Luhansk region by Moscow and its allies, the ministry said.
Six people were killed in Sloviansk on Sunday after the eastern Ukrainian city was hit by powerful shelling from Russian multiple rocket launchers, local officials said. The attack was the worst shelling to hit the city recently and caused nearly 15 fires in the front line city in the industrial Donbas region that Russia is trying to capture, Mayor Vadym Lyakh wrote on Telegram.
Shelling from multiple rocket launchers killed "many" people on Sunday in Ukraine's eastern city of Sloviansk, which has come under attack from advancing Russian troops, its mayor said, news agency AFP reported.
Germany is discussing security guarantees for Ukraine with its allies, in preparation for a time after the war in Ukraine, German Chancellor Scholz told broadcaster ARD on Sunday. "We are discussing with close friends the question of the security guarantees we can give. This is an ongoing process. It is clear that it will not be the same as if someone were a member of NATO," Scholz said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited three war-ravaged towns in Ukraine's Kyiv region, the local governor said on Sunday. Governor Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on Telegram that Albanese visited the towns of Bucha, Irpin, and Hostomel, where Ukraine says Russia committed atrocities against civilians. Russia denies the allegations.
Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin on Sunday that Moscow and its allies now controlled all of Ukraine's Luhansk region after capturing the last major city, Lysychansk.
There was no immediate response from Ukraine on the Russian claim, which, if confirmed, would mark a significant milestone for Moscow on day 130 of the war. After being repelled in its initial attempt to capture the capital Kyiv, Russia has focused on driving Ukrainian forces out of the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Kyiv since Russia's first military intervention in Ukraine in 2014.
The Russian defence ministry said Shoigu had informed Putin of the "liberation" of the Luhansk region thanks to the capture of Lysychansk, once a major coal mining hub.
Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Sunday that Moscow's forces have taken the strategic Ukrainian city of Lysychansk and now control the entire region of Lugansk, which has been the target of fierce battles in recent weeks.
Russia on Sunday claimed to have captured Ukraine's Lysychansk, the entire Lugansk region, Russian state news agency Tass quotes the defence ministry as saying.
Fighting intensified on Sunday as Russian troops increased their offensive in parts of the hard-fought Ukrainian city of Lysychansk on Sunday, after Belarus announced its military had intercepted missiles fired by Kyiv's forces.
Explosions were heard in Russian city of Kursk on Sunday. Roman Starovoit, the governor of Russia's Kursk Oblast, has said that Russia's air defence shot down two Ukrainian drones near Kursk, as reported by Kyiv Independent.
Russian gas producer Gazprom said its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point was seen at 42.1 million cubic metres (mcm) on Sunday compared with 42.15 mcm on Saturday.
An application to supply gas via the Sokhranovka entry point had again been rejected by Ukraine, Gazprom said. (Reuters)
A group of young off-duty Ukrainian soldiers gathered at a military distribution center to enjoy a rare respite from the fighting that has again engulfed their fractured home in eastern Ukraine.
As they shared jokes and a pizza, artillery explosions could be heard a few kilometers away _ a reminder of the looming battle that threatens to unfold here in the city of Slovyansk, which was occupied by Russian proxy fighters in 2014.
``Everyone knows that there will be a huge battle in Slovyansk,'' said one of the soldiers, who could not be named for security reasons.
Now, eight years after their city was last occupied, the war has returned. Slovyansk could become the next major target in Russia's campaign to take the Donbas region, Ukraine's predominantly Russian-speaking industrial heartland, if Moscow captures Lysychansk - the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk province, 70 kilometers (43 miles) to the east. (AP)
Ukrainian forces hit a Russian base with over 30 strikes in the Russian-occupied southern city of Melitopol on Sunday, the city's exiled Ukrainian mayor said. A Russian official confirmed strikes had hit the city.
"At 3 o'clock (1200 GMT) and 5 o'clock (0200 GMT), there were over 30 strikes exclusively on a military base," Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov, who is currently on Ukraine-controlled territory, said in a video address on Telegram, adding that the base had been "taken out of action."
Fedorov also said that resistance activity had caused a Russian armoured train carrying ammunition to derail on Saturday near Melitopol.
Russia's RIA news agency reported that Ukraine had hit the Aviamistechko area of Melitopol where the city's airport is located, but did not specify what had been hit.
RIA cited local Russian-appointed official Vladimir Rogov as saying that around 16-18 Ukrainian MLRS rockets had hit Melitopol in two strikes at 0300 and 0445 Moscow time (1200 GMT and 0145 GMT). (Reuters)
Like many of the ethnic Russians who live along Estonia’s eastern border with Russia, Stanislava Larchenko could not believe that President Vladimir Putin had gone on a killing spree in Ukraine.
Larchenko, 51, got angry with her son when he said in February after Putin invaded Ukraine that Russian soldiers were killing civilians. She insisted the carnage was the work of Ukrainians dressed in Russian uniforms, a trope of the state television beamed in from Russia that she watched.
“For me, Russia was always a liberator, a country that got attacked but never attacked others,” Larchenko said in the Estonian border city of Narva, NATO’s easternmost outpost and the European Union’s most ethnically Russian city. (Read More)
Ukraine forces hit the Russian military base in Melitopol with over 30 strikes on Sunday, said Mayor. (Reuters)
Since the start of Russia's war on Ukraine in late February 2022, Russian internet users have experienced what has been dubbed the descent of a “digital iron curtain.” Russian authorities blocked access to all major opposition news sites, as well as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Under the new draconian laws purporting to combat fake news about the Russian-Ukrainian war, internet users have faced administrative and criminal charges for allegedly spreading online disinformation about Russia's actions in Ukraine. Most Western technology companies, from Airbnb to Apple, have stopped or limited their Russian operations as part of the broader corporate exodus from the country.
Many Russians downloaded virtual private network software to try to access blocked sites and services in the first weeks of the war. By late April, 23% of Russian internet users reported using VPNs with varying regularity. The state media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has been blocking VPNs to prevent people from bypassing government censorship and stepped up its efforts in June 2022.
Although the speed and scale of the wartime internet crackdown are unprecedented, its legal, technical and rhetorical foundations were put in place during the preceding decade under the banner of digital sovereignty.
Digital sovereignty for nations is the exercise of state power within national borders over digital processes like the flow of online data and content, surveillance and privacy, and the production of digital technologies. Under authoritarian regimes like today's Russia, digital sovereignty often serves as a veil for stymieing domestic dissent. (The Conversation)
Three people have died in blasts in Russia’s Belgorod city, near the Ukrainian border, reported on Sunday that led to a fire in a residential building. Governor of Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov posted a message on Telegram, “Reasons for the incident are being investigated…Presumably, the air defence system worked.”