Ukraine updates: Kyiv realigns army after Wagner mutiny
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy orders military to strengthen northern sector near Belarus, where Russian mercenaries are in exile.
This blog is now closed. Thank you for joining us. These were the updates for the Russia-Ukraine war on Friday, June 30:
This blog is now closed. Thank you for joining us. These were the updates for the Russia-Ukraine war on Friday, June 30:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy orders the military to strengthen the northern sector near Belarus, where Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is exiled after leading a mutiny.
- Pope Francis sees no apparent end in sight to the war in Ukraine after his peace envoy finishes three days of talks in Moscow.
- Russia’s foreign ministry invites the Colombian ambassador after Bogota says three Colombians wounded in a Russian strike on Kramatorsk.
- Ukrainian prosecutors charge a Russian politician and two suspected Ukrainians with war crimes over the alleged deportation of orphans from Kherson.
Poland fears Wagner group in Belarus could destabilise Europe
The Wagner group, which has relocated to Belarus, could use people from Africa and other places where the paramilitary group operates to destabilise Central and Eastern Europe, the Financial Times reports, citing Jacek Siewiera, head of Poland’s national bureau of security.
Russian court extends pretrial detention of prominent theatre director
A Russian court has extended the pretrial detention of a theatre director and a playwright on charges of justifying “terrorism” – the latest move in a crackdown on dissent in Russia that spiked after the start of the war in Ukraine.
The court on Friday ordered Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theatre director, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk held until September 10; they have been behind bars since early May.
Authorities claim their play “Finist, the Brave Falcon” justifies “terrorism”, which is a criminal offence punishable by up to seven years in prison in Russia.
With some exceptions, Russia bans Polish trucks transporting cargo: TASS
The Russian government has introduced a ban on Polish trucks transporting cargo on its territory, with some exceptions, Russia’s TASS state news agency has quoted the transport ministry as saying.
The agency cited the ministry on Friday as saying its decree excluded critical goods like medicine and medical devices, and added that transport to the Baltic Kaliningrad enclave was unaffected.
US considering providing cluster munitions to Ukraine: Military chief
The top American military officer says the US is considering providing cluster munitions to Ukraine.
Those are weapons that open in the air, releasing submunitions, or “bomblets,” that are dispersed over a large area and are intended to wreak destruction on multiple targets at once.
Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Friday the US has been thinking about providing the munitions “for a long time”.
Any decision to provide such arms would raise opposition from other allies and from humanitarian groups.
Ban on Russian flights over Norway applies to drones: Supreme Court
A ban on Russian flights over Norway, introduced in reaction to the war in Ukraine, also applies to drones, the Norwegian Supreme Court has said.
The decision handed down on Friday could lead to a retrial of Andrei Yakunin, son of a former close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was acquitted last year of flying drones over Svalbard during a boat trip in the Arctic archipelago.
Norway is not a member of the EU but aligns itself with many of its decisions.
Europe’s biggest gas supplier following the war in Ukraine, Norway has tightened security around sensitive sites, including energy installations, following the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
Russian missile attack kills two women in Donetsk: Ukrainian Police
A Russian missile attack on a village school near the frontline in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region killed two women, and injured six, Ukrainian police has said.
The 56-year-old primary school teacher and a chief accountant, 44, died in the attack on the village of Serhiivka, Ukrainian police said on Friday. Twelve employees were the building’s only occupants, the prosecutor’s office said. Ukrainian schools were not in session for students on Friday.
“Russian troops, in a direct hit, destroyed a school where civilians were located,” Ukraine’s national police said in a statement.
The Donetsk region prosecutor’s office said four men aged 54 to 69 and two women aged 24 and 34 were injured and taken to hospital, and that it had launched an investigation into the attack.
Russia: Grain exports to ‘poorest’ states to continue even if Black Sea deal not extended
Russia has said it saw no reason to extend the Black Sea grain deal with Ukraine beyond July 17, but assured poor countries that grain exports would continue.
“If the Black Sea Initiative ceases to operate, we will provide grain deliveries of a comparable or larger size to the poorest countries at our own expense, free of charge,” Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.
Between 2018–2020, Africa imported $3.7bn in wheat (32 percent of total African wheat imports) from Russia and $1.4bn from Ukraine (12 percent of total African wheat imports), according to the United Nations.
Ukraine counteroffensive slow but steady: US Army general
The Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces is “going slower than people had predicted,” but is making steady progress, US Army General Mark Milley has said.
“It’s going slower than people had predicted. Doesn’t surprise me,” Miley told an audience at the National Press Club on Friday. “It is advancing steadily, deliberately, working its way through very difficult minefields, et cetera.”
No ships in Black Sea grain export deal registered since June 26: UN
The United Nations has said it is concerned that no new ships have been registered since June 26 under a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of grain from Ukraine.
“We call on the parties to commit to the continuation and effective implementation of the agreement without further delay,” UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters on Friday.
Ukraine eyes Spain’s EU presidency to boost standing in Latin America
Ukraine hopes to use Spain’s rotating EU presidency to try to “gain influence” in Latin America, where several countries have opposed Kyiv’s efforts to retake territory occupied by Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Spanish media.
Speaking on Friday on the eve of a visit by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Zelenskyy said several unspecified countries had blocked an invitation extended to him by Sanchez to take part in an EU-Latin American summit in Brussels on July 17-18.
“We have a peace formula, and Pedro has supported us a lot. He has a constant dialogue with Latin America and they listen to him, it’s a fact. But I’ll say frankly that some Latin American countries are blocking the decision and this invitation,” he said in remarks from Kyiv aired by state broadcaster TVE.
“I want them not only to join the peace formula, but to stand against war,” he added.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva irritated Western countries earlier this year when he suggested the West had been “encouraging” war by arming Ukraine.
Russian gov’t to raise military’s salaries: Decree
The Russian government will increase salaries for military servicemen by 10.5 percent from October 1, a decree published on the official web portal has shown.
The move comes days after an abortive armed mutiny by the mercenary Wagner Group, which briefly took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and marched towards Moscow.
The surprise move was made by the group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who said it was a protest against incompetence and corruption in Russia’s top brass.
Ukraine’s ‘northern’ defences need strengthening as precautionary measure: General
After pushing Russian forces out of northern regions last year, Ukraine has taken steps to tighten the defence of its border with Belarus, a close ally of Russia.
“Right now, there is no direct threat of offensive actions from Belarus and Russia in the zone that is the responsibility of the Northern Group of Forces,” ‘North’ Commander General Serhiy Naev said.
But he said moves to strengthen Ukraine’s defence capabilities were needed in the event of a growing threat, and added: “Our intelligence does not stop work[ing] to obtain information.”
On Wagner mutiny, Modi reiterates call for dialogue, diplomacy
Putin discussed with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi the situation around Ukraine and how Moscow had resolved an armed mercenary mutiny, the Kremlin and New Delhi have said.
“While discussing the situation in Ukraine, PM [Modi] reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy,” the Indian government said in a statement on Friday.
The boss of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, shocked the world by leading Saturday’s armed revolt, only to abruptly call it off as his fighters approached Moscow.
Belarusian journalist sentenced to prison in gov’t crackdown on independent media
A Belarusian journalist has been sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of “aiding extremist activities” as the country continues a crackdown on the opposition and independent journalists, which it has stepped up since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine.
The trial of Pavel Padabed was held behind closed doors. His conviction and sentencing on Friday were reported by the Belarusian Association of Journalists. Padabed worked with Belsat, a Polish-funded satellite channel that broadcasts into Belarus and is considered by the Belarusian government to be “extremist media”.
President Alexander Lukashenko has taken an increasingly repressive line towards the opposition and independent journalists since mass protests engulfed the country in 2020 after he was re-elected in an election that was widely regarded as fraudulent.
Ukraine sees current account deficit of $1.43bn from January to May
Central bank data show that Ukraine had a current account deficit of $1.43bn in the first five months of the year.
In the same period last year, Ukraine recorded a current account surplus of $3.07bn.
Ukraine’s export-driven economy has been hit hard by Russia’s invasion, which began in February 2022, with exports dropping due to disrupted logistics.
Media outlets connected to Wagner boss blocked: Russian newspaper
Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor has blocked media outlets linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner mercenary group, Russian newspaper Kommersant reports.
While authorities have not outlawed the Wagner Group, its fighters have been given the option of being integrated into Russia’s regular armed forces, joining their leader in exile in Belarus or returning home.
Ukraine says offensive plans marred by lack of arms
Commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s military says its counteroffensive plans are hindered by the lack of adequate firepower, from modern fighter jets to artillery ammunition, in an interview with the Washington Post.
Valery Zaluzhny said it “pisses me off” that some in the West complain about the slow progress of the counteroffensive and that Ukraine is still awaiting F-16 fighters promised by its allies.
“I do not need 120 planes. I’m not going to threaten the whole world. A very limited number would be enough,” he told the newspaper.
“But they are needed. Because there is no other way. Because the enemy is using a different generation of aviation.”
“[The counteroffensive] is not a show the whole world is watching and betting on or anything. Every day, every meter is given by blood,” he said.
Belgian PM says frozen Russian assets could provide Kyiv $3.27bn a year
Belgium’s prime minister says Russia’s frozen assets could provide 3 billion euros ($3.27bn) a year to rebuild Ukraine.
“We’re working on a method based on windfall profits. … If we find a stable legal platform, we could use it for Ukraine,” Prime Minister Alexander de Croo told journalists at the European Council summit.
“A windfall profit system will be developed, and the current estimation is that the total returns could be 3 billion euros a year.”
The EU said it has frozen more than 200 billion euros ($218bn) of Russian central bank assets in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine with another 30 billion euros ($33bn) of Russian oligarchs’ private assets also blocked.
While most European leaders agree on using the frozen assets to pay for the reconstruction, the legality of how to extract this money is complex and still needs to be researched.
Wagner’s future in Africa is up to them: Russia’s Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the future of Wagner forces in various African countries is a matter for those governments that write up the contracts.
Lavrov said Wagner had worked in Central African Republic and other countries on the basis of contracts drawn up directly with the governments concerned.
He added that Russia’s defence ministry has “several hundred” military advisers working there.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 492
Click here for a roundup of the key events from day 492 of the war.
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Putin discusses Ukraine and Wagner mutiny with India’s Modi
Putin discussed the conflict in Ukraine and the Wagner mutiny in a telephone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Kremlin said.
The statement from the Kremlin added that Modi had expressed support for the Russian leadership’s decisive actions in handling the rebellion last Saturday.
Zelenskyy orders commanders to boost northern defences
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered his top military commanders to boost defences in the northern military sector as the Wagner Group leader arrives in Belarus.
“The decision … is for Commander-in-Chief [Valeriy] Zaluzhnyi and North commander [Serhiy] Naev to implement a set of measures to strengthen this direction,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
During the meeting, government and military leaders also heard a report from the country’s intelligence and security forces about the situation in Belarus, Ukraine’s northern neighbour.
On Tuesday, Yevgeny Prigozhin flew to Belarus from Russia under a deal negotiated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that ended the Wagner Group’s mutiny on Saturday.
War in Ukraine ‘seems to have no end’, says Pope Francis
Pope Francis says there is no apparent end in sight to the war in Ukraine as his peace envoy completes three days of talks in Moscow.
“The tragic reality of this war that seems to have no end demands of everyone a common creative effort to imagine and forge paths of peace,” the pope told a religious delegation from the patriarchate of Constantinople.
The Vatican added that the papal envoy, Italian cardinal Matteo Zuppi, had finished his consultations in Moscow, where he had met one of Putin’s advisers, Yuri Ushakov, and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.
“[The visit was] aimed at identifying humanitarian initiatives, which could open roads to peace,” the statement said.
It added that further steps would be taken but gave no details.
Russian official accuses Kyiv of planning ‘terrorist’ attack at nuclear plant
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, says Ukraine is preparing to commit a “terrorist” attack at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).
On Telegram, Zakharova wrote: “Additional devices have been installed in Kyiv to measure radiation, city officials said. Recently, in a number of regions of Ukraine, exercises began in case of an accident at the ZNPP.”
“Kyiv authorities are preparing to commit another terrorist attack!”
Ukraine to get $1.5bn loan from World Bank
The World Bank has approved a $1.5bn loan to Ukraine to support reconstruction and recovery, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
On Telegram, Shmyhal said, along with guarantees from the Japanese government, the funds would be channelled to support social security and economic development.
“In particular, the loan will help support subsidies for internally displaced people and pension payments,” Shmyhal said.
On Thursday, the International Monetary Fund’s board completed its Ukrainian loan review, allowing Kyiv to immediately withdraw $890m for budget support.
The finance ministry said so far it received $3bn in budget support from Ukraine’s partners in June, with 40 percent of it provided as grants.