- Russian-backed Ukrainian separatists say they have “completely” surrounded the key town of Lisichansk in the eastern Luhansk region.
- Russian forces destroyed five command posts of the Ukrainian army in the Donbass and Mykolaiv region with high-precision weapons, and also hit three warehouses in the Zaporozhye region, the Ministry of Defense announced.
- The mayor of the Ukrainian city of Nikolaev is warning residents to stay in shelters as powerful explosions rock the city.
- Moscow has denied attacking civilians in Ukraine.
- The United States is sending Ukraine two NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems, four additional anti-aircraft radars, and up to 150,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery ammunition.
(Al Jazeera)
Here are the latest updates:
31 minutes ago (13:53 GMT)
Councilor dismisses ‘Ukraine fatigue’ concerns
An adviser to the Ukrainian president, Mykhailo Podoliak, dismissed concerns that Western countries are experiencing “Ukraine fatigue.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned against what he called “Ukraine fatigue” setting in around the world after his visit to Kyiv.
“When Ukraine fatigue sets in, it is very important to show that we are with them for the long term and give them the strategic resilience they need.”
Podolyak, who is also the team leader of the Ukrainian delegation, wrote on Twitter:
Forget about “Ukraine fatigue”. The world never got tired of supporting 🇺🇦. The world is tired of Russian gas extortion, man-made crises, inflation, political assassinations, chemical weapons, terror and constant blatant lies. I’m sick of Putin’s personal “complexes”.
— Mykhailo Podolyak (@Podolyak_M) July 2, 2022
49 minutes ago (13:34 GMT)
UK condemns ‘exploitation’ of POWs
The UK has condemned the exploitation of prisoners of war after two more Britons held by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine and accused of “mercenary activities” could face the death penalty.
Andrew Hill, from Plymouth, and Dylan Healy, from Huntingdon, are reportedly accused of “forcible seizure of power” and have received “terrorist” training, according to a state news agency in Russian-controlled Donetsk.
“We condemn the exploitation of prisoners of war and civilians for political purposes and have raised the matter with Russia,” said a statement released by Britain’s Foreign Office. “We are in constant contact with the government of Ukraine regarding their cases and fully support Ukraine in its efforts to release them.”
Two more Britons and a Moroccan were sentenced to death on identical charges by authorities in Russian-controlled Donetsk.
2 hours ago (12:45 GMT)
Ukrainian separatists claim to have surrounded Lisichansk
Russian-backed Ukrainian separatists said they had “completely” surrounded the key town of Lisichansk in the eastern Luhansk region.
“Today the Luhansk People’s Militia and Russian forces occupied the last strategic heights, which allows us to confirm that Lisichansk is completely surrounded,” Andriy Marochko, a spokesman for the separatist forces, told the TASS news agency.
Taking the city would allow the Russians to push deeper into the wider eastern Donbass region, which has become the focus of their offensive since they failed to capture Kyiv after launching their military operation in Ukraine in late February.
Across the Donets River, the Russians captured the neighboring city of Severodonetsk last week.
3 hours ago (11:28 GMT)
The Ukrainian army shared a video showing an explosion at a Russian army warehouse
Ukrainian armed forces shared footage of the explosion at Russian army warehouses in eastern Ukraine.
The video shows what appears to be a powerful explosion with fire and smoke rising into the sky.
The footage does not indicate the exact location, date or further details of the explosion.
It was launched as Russian forces on Saturday attacked the city of Lisychansk and its environs in an all-out bid to capture the last resistance stronghold in Ukraine’s eastern Lugansk province, according to a Ukrainian governor.
3 hours ago (11:05 GMT)
Ukraine’s Zelensky accuses Russia of “terror” as missiles rain down
Rockets rained down on Ukraine, killing many civilians and wounding dozens in populated areas at the start of the weekend, prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to accuse Russia of state “terror”.
Strikes on a southern resort town left 21 dead and dozens wounded after rockets hit apartments and a recreation center in Sergievka, 80 km (50 miles) south of the Black Sea port of Odessa.
Rockets hit residential properties in Slavyansk in the heart of the bustling Donbas region, killing a woman in her garden and injuring her husband, a neighbor told AFP, describing debris strewn across the neighborhood.
The witness said Friday’s strike was believed to be the use of cluster munitions that spread over a large area before exploding, hitting buildings and people who were outdoors.
4 hours ago (10:01 GMT)
Russia claims to have struck Ukrainian military sites in the Donbass and Mykolaiv region
Russian forces destroyed five command posts of the Ukrainian army in Donbass and Mykolaiv Oblast with precision weapons and also hit three storage sites in Zaporozhye Oblast, the Defense Ministry said, citing the Ministry of Defense.
The ministry, quoted by Russian news agencies, also said the Russian air force struck a Ukrainian arms and equipment base at a tractor factory in Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine.
Smoke and dirt rise from the city of Severodonetsk during fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region [File: Aris Messinis/AFP]
5 hours ago (09:02 GMT)
Ukraine claims Russia dropped phosphorus bombs on Snake Island
Ukraine’s military has accused Russia of carrying out attacks using incendiary munitions on Snake Island, just a day after Moscow withdrew its forces from the rocky outcrop in the Black Sea.
Two flights of Russian Su-30 fighter jets dropping phosphorus bombs flew over the island from the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula, Ukrainian army chief Valery Zaluzhny said on Telegram on Friday.
Read more here.
A Sukhoi Su-30 SM fighter jet fires missiles during the 2018 International Army Games at the Dubrovichi Range near Ryazan, Russia in 2018. [File: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters] (Reuters)
6 hours ago (07:53 GMT)
The US will send advanced surface-to-air missile systems to Ukraine
The US has said it will send two NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems, four anti-aircraft radars and about 150,000 155 mm artillery shells to Ukraine to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion.
The Pentagon said on Friday that the additional materials would be provided as part of the latest US aid package for Ukraine, announced by US President Joe Biden at a meeting of NATO leaders and expected to total around $820 million.
The package announced Thursday will also include more munitions for High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems (HIMARS).
Read more here.
Rescuers work at a shopping center hit by a Russian missile strike in Kremenchuk, Poltava region, Ukraine [Anna Voitenko/Reuters]
7 hours ago (07:43 GMT)
A senior Russian general inspects troops involved in the operation in Ukraine
The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, inspected units of Russian troops participating in Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, the Defense Ministry said.
The ministry published photos of Gerasimov at work. It was not clear when the visit took place and whether Gerasimov visited Ukraine itself.
The ministry issued a similar statement about Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu last week.
7 hours ago (07:14 GMT)
Russia’s Gazprom says gas exports to Europe through Ukraine are 42.15 million m3
Russian gas producer Gazprom said its gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine via the Suja entry point were estimated at 42.15 million cubic meters (mcm), compared with 42.1 mcm on Friday.
The application to supply gas through the Sokhranovka entry point was again rejected by Ukraine, Gazprom said.
7 hours ago (07:07 GMT)
Two more Britons in Ukraine accused of being mercenaries from Russia
Russian state media reported that two Britons had been captured by Moscow forces in separatist-held Ukraine and accused of being mercenaries.
Cambridgeshire aid worker Dylan Healy, 22, and military volunteer Andrew Hill are accused of carrying out “mercenary activities”, officials in the self-proclaimed Moscow-backed Donetsk People’s Republic said, according to TASS.
The publication reported that both men refused to cooperate with investigators.
It comes after a video shown on Russian television in April showed a man speaking with an English accent who appeared to be called Andrew Hill from Plymouth.
A pro-Kremlin website said Mr Healy and Mr Hill would face the same mercenary charges as Aidan Aslin and Sean Pinner, two British military volunteers captured in Mariupol who were sentenced to death in Donetsk.
8 hours ago (06:45 GMT)
Russia’s missile messages tell the West to back off
The latest in a litany of horrors in Ukraine came this week when Russian firepower rained down on civilians in a busy commercial center far from the front lines of the fifth-month war.
The timing was probably no accident.
Were the attacks a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin as the West sought to arm Ukraine with more effective weapons?
Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko suggested this as rockets hit the capital on June 26, three days after EU leaders unanimously agreed to make Ukraine a candidate for membership.
It was “perhaps a symbolic attack” as the Group of Seven (G7) leading economic powers and then NATO leaders prepared to meet and put further pressure on Moscow, he said. At least six people were killed in the strike in Kyiv, which destroyed an apartment building.
8 hours ago…
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