Russia-Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy, Putin assess counteroffensive

Russia-aligned hackers could seek to disrupt Canada’s powerful oil and natural gas sector, especially since Ottawa is a strong backer of Ukraine, the Canadian Communications Security Establishment (CSE) spy agency said.

The signals intelligence agency said Russia had repeatedly deployed destructive cyberattacks against its adversaries as geopolitical crises escalate.

“We assess there is an even chance of a disruptive incident in the oil and gas sector in Canada caused by Russia-aligned actors, due to their higher tolerance for risk, the increase in their numbers and activity, as well as the number of vulnerable targets in the sector overall,” it said in a threat assessment.

CSE said Russian-aligned actors were trying to compromise the networks of Canadian critical infrastructure providers, organisations in the oil and gas sector.

“We assess that the intent of this activity is very likely to disrupt critical services for psychological impact, ultimately to weaken Canadian support for Ukraine,” it said.

The UK’s foreign secretary has expressed his pleasure over the steps Ukraine has taken on digitalisation and transparency.

“The UK has been a long-standing friend and partner in Ukraine’s reform and anti-corruption journey,” James Cleverly said at a panel as part of the Ukraine Recovery Conference, a two-day event that kicked off in London.

Stating that he is glad about the partnership between the UK and Ukraine in this regard, the British secretary said that everyone sees the progress that has been made by the Ukrainian government on reforms.

Recalling that the UK and US have jointly invested $43m in Ukraine’s digital transformation since 2016, Cleverly pointed out that Ukraine now has the highest ranking in the EU’s latest European Open Data index “despite being in 17th place just two years ago”.

Russia’s constitutional court has rejected an attempt by rights groups to seek the repeal of a law that bans people from speaking out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In a lengthy ruling, the court rejected the bid to overturn Article 20.3.3 of the code of administrative offences, which bans “public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the armed forces”.

The Constitutional Court said decisions taken by state bodies to “defend the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens and support international peace and security” could not be arbitrarily questioned on the basis of subjective opinions.

To do so, it said, would mean to deny “the legal character of the Russian Federation, the supremacy of its constitution and the duty to comply with its prescriptions, which by virtue of the constitution of the Russian Federation is inadmissible”.

The chief of mercenary group Wagner has accused Moscow’s top brass of deceiving Russians about the course of Ukraine’s offensive and pointed to Kyiv’s progress on the battlefield.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose forces had for months led an assault for towns in eastern Ukraine including Bakhmut, accused the defence ministry of not telling the truth and losing territory to Ukrainian troops.

“They are misleading the Russian people,” he said in an audio message released by his spokespeople.

A number of villages including Pyatykhatky has been lost, Prigozhin said, pointing to a lack of arms and ammunition.

“Huge chunks have been handed over to the enemy,” he said, adding that Ukrainian troops have already sought to cross the Dnipro River, a natural border on the front line.

“All of this is being totally hidden from everyone,” the 62-year-old said.

The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine plans to resume pumping water from what remains of the reservoir behind a nearby dam that burst two weeks ago, the UN nuclear watchdog says.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said last week that it was unclear whether it would be possible to pump water from the reservoir to cool reactors and spent fuel at Europe’s biggest nuclear plant given how much the reservoir’s water level has fallen.

The plant can fall back on other water sources, including a cooling pond that the IAEA says has months of water supplies in it, but whatever can be pumped from the reservoir should buy more time before stocks have to be replenished.

“Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is planning to resume pumping water that still remains accessible despite a major loss of water in the Kakhovka reservoir caused by the destruction of the downstream dam earlier this month,” the IAEA said.

Ukraine expects to be invited to join NATO with an open date at the alliance’s summit in Vilnius next month, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, Andre Yermak, says.

Yermak said the failure of the alliance to deliver a “strong” decision at the July 11-12 summit would demoralise Ukrainians and Kyiv had demonstrated it was ready to join with its fighting on the battlefield.

“This can create a signal,” he said at a webinar held by the Atlantic Council think tank.

Kyiv is “not optimistic” about the renewal of an agreement allowing grain from war-torn Ukraine to reach the global market, Oleksandr Kubrakov, a senior Ukranian government official, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in London.

“We are not optimistic at this time,” Kubrakov said.

“Since the beginning of May, the corridor efficiency has decreased,” he continued, adding that Ukraine recently exported more agricultural products via other routes than through the corridors under the agreement.

The deal that grants safe passage for Ukrainian grain to be exported via the Black Sea was signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022.

It was renewed again in May but for only two months, until July 17.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has accused opponents of waging a campaign to discredit him and force him out of office following a rift with Zelenskyy.

The former boxing champion’s political future is uncertain after a public outcry over the deaths of three people locked out of an air raid shelter during a Russian attack on Kyiv this month.

An audit ordered by Zelenskyy found only 15 percent of Kyiv’s 4,655 bomb shelters were suitable and only 44 percent were freely accessible.

“Today there is a heavy campaign to discredit the capital authorities and personally me. In wartime, they bring chaos to the management of the capital,” Klitschko said in a video message posted on the Telegram messaging app, where he decried “endless searches” that he said were making it hard to run the capital efficiently.

Klitschko, now in his ninth year as mayor, was seen as one of Zelenskyy’s highest-profile opponents before Russia began its war in Ukraine last year. They had a public spat in November when Zelenskyy accused Klitschko of doing a poor job setting up emergency shelters to help people without power and heat.

Ukraine must end “30 years of nepotism and corruption” to join the EU, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says on the sidelines of a Ukraine reconstruction conference in London.

The country has already made progress in reforms, especially in the areas of free media and the rule of law, but further progress is needed, Baerbock said.

However, reforms were being taken at an “incredible speed” and Germany strongly supports this, she added.

The EU has agreed to an 11th package of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. It is aimed at stopping other countries and companies from circumventing existing measures.

The package will restrict the sale of sensitive dual-use goods and technology to third countries that might sell to Russia.

To curb the practice of ships loading Russian crude oil or petroleum products at sea, the package bans access to EU ports for vessels that  engage in ship-to-ship transfers if there is cause to suspect the cargo was of Russian origin.

The package adds a further 71 people and 33 entities to those banned from the EU and subject to EU asset freezes for involvement in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. It also extends the suspension of EU broadcasting licences of five Russian state-controlled media outlets.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Turkish counterpart for talks that are set to focus on next month’s NATO summit, where Sweden is hoping to join the defence alliance.

“We’ll be talking about the upcoming NATO summit, including the accession process for Sweden,” Blinken told reporters, sitting opposite Hakan Fidan as they met on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London.

Defence cooperation and the issues of energy and economic collaboration would also be on the agenda, Blinken added.

Last week President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it should not expect a greenlight from Ankara at the summit unless it prevents anti-Turkey protests in Stockholm.

But members of the bloc have expressed hope that Sweden will become a member in time for the mid-July summit in Lithuania.

Zelenskyy thanks allies for pledging their support during the first day of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London.

On Twitter, Zelenskyy said, “First important news from the #URC2023 conference in London. [British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak] announced a new $3 bn financial support package for Ukraine. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen proposed a new 50 billion euro EU Facility to support the reconstruction of Ukraine. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new $1.3 bn aid package for energy and infrastructure needs of Ukraine.”

“Ukraine’s recovery will become more predictable thanks to the unity and solidarity of the world. We thank all our partners for their support!”

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it still has enough time to decide whether Russian and Belarusian athletes will participate in next year’s Paris Olympics.

Earlier this year, the IOC recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes be allowed to return to international competitions as neutrals after previously sanctioning them for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

“You want a time frame and we said we will take a decision when the time is right,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said.

“That is the right thing to do and see how things are developing.”

“I think it [a decision] needs to be flexible because it is a moving situation. We will take a decision regarding Paris when the time is fit, and there remains plenty of time for that decision to be taken,” he added.

Russia labelled the local chapter of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as an “undesirable organisation”.

In a statement, Russia’s prosecutor-general accused the group’s Russian arm of presenting “security threats in the economic sphere”.

It added the WWF had waged “tendentious” campaigns against the energy, oil and natural gas industries, which aimed at “shackling” Russia’s economic development.

This is the latest move against Russia’s environmental movement after Greenpeace was banned as “undesirable” in May.

The United Kingdom has pledged to offer Ukrainian cadets virtual reality (VR) training as part of a new package of support.

The package, announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference, will help sea cadets practise for real-life scenarios.

Ukrainians will also be sponsored to participate in three-year cadetships to UK container ships and other large vessels.

“Our support for Ukraine and its people is unwavering, and we’re not going to let Russia’s abhorrent actions sink Ukraine’s great reputation in areas like seafaring,” Transport Secretary Mark Harper said.

“By sharing the UK’s world-renowned expertise in aviation and seafaring, we are steadfast in our commitment to ensuring Ukraine’s transport system recovers from Putin’s illegal invasion.”

The Department for Transport will also support placements for Ukraine’s air traffic controllers to train in the UK.

Ukraine’s prime minister thanked the US secretary of state for providing Kyiv with $1.3bn in additional aid, which was announced during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London.

On Twitter, Denys Shmyhal wrote, “We spoke with Secretary Blinken about the need for humanitarian demining, private sector development and military risk insurance. I thanked the United States for its steady support with arms and increasing Ukraine’s economic capacity, especially its intention to provide $1.3 bn in additional assistance.”

Russia’s emergency situations minister says 41 people have been killed and 121 hospitalised as a result of the Nova Kakhovka dam breach.

Speaking during a televised government meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin, Alexander Kurenkov said more than 8,000 people were evacuated from the flood zone.

The European Union has adopted its 11th package of sanctions against Russia, according to the Swedish Presidency of the EU.

“The package includes measures aimed at countering sanctions circumvention and individual listings,” the Swedish Presidency said in a tweet.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Moscow has seen a “lull” in the Ukrainian counteroffensive and that “Kyiv has suffered heavy losses” in attacks in the south.

Speaking on Russian state television, Putin also said that although Ukraine still has potential with the offensive, authorities in Kyiv know that the country “had no chance” in the counteroffensive.

Here are four maps charting the latest war developments.