Here are the latest updates: 39 minutes ago (16:20 GMT)
Leaders, groups in Switzerland to draw up “Marshall Plan” for Ukraine
Leaders from dozens of countries and international organizations will gather Monday and Tuesday in the Swiss city of Lugano to discuss rebuilding Ukraine, hoping to draw up a “Marshall Plan” to rebuild the country despite Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The plan should “absolutely” include an environmental component, said Virginijus Sinkevicius, the European Union’s environment commissioner. He spoke of massive destruction of forests, land covered in mines and trenches, chemical pollution spread by munitions, and polluted waterways and soil. “THE [environmental] The price is increasing every day, because we see the barbaric actions of the Russian side [are] it doesn’t stop,” he said in an interview with the AFP news agency. He added that there was now a “unique opportunity” to create a “cleaner” Ukraine, but warned: “We can rebuild roads, we can rebuild infrastructure, but it takes hundreds of years for forests to grow. So it will take time.” 1 hour ago (15:41 GMT)
Russia assures India of grain and fuel imports
Russia remains a “reliable producer and supplier of grain, fertilizer and energy,” Putin assured Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a phone call, Putin said “systemic mistakes made by a number of countries” had disrupted food trade and caused price increases, Russian news agency Tass reported. India, which has not joined international sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, depends on Moscow for imports of grain, fuel and military hardware. 3 hours ago (14:26 GMT)
Ukraine’s military says Lysychansk ‘not surrounded’
Ukraine’s military on Saturday dismissed claims that Moscow-backed separatists and Russian forces had encircled the key eastern city of Lysychansk, but said heavy fighting continued on its outskirts. “Battles are raging around Lysychansk. [But] fortunately the city is not surrounded and is under the control of the Ukrainian army,” Ruslan Muzytchuk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian National Guard, told Ukrainian television after a separatist spokesman made the claims earlier in the day. Taking the city would allow the Russians to push deeper into the wider eastern Donbas 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 from Lysychansk, the Russians captured the neighboring town of Severodonetsk last week. Andrei Marochko, a spokesman for the separatist forces, told TASS earlier: “Today the Lugansk People’s Militia and Russian forces captured the last strategic heights, which allows us to confirm that Lysihansk is completely surrounded.” 3 hours ago (13:53 GMT)
Adviser dismisses fears of ‘Ukraine fatigue’
Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has dismissed fears that Western countries are experiencing “Ukraine fatigue”. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned of what he called “Ukraine fatigue” around the world after visiting Kyiv. “As Ukraine fatigue sets in, it’s very important to show that we’re with them for the long haul and give them the strategic resilience they need.” Podolyak, who is also head of Ukraine’s delegation team, tweeted: Forget about “Ukraine fatigue”. People are not tired of supporting 🇺🇦. The world is sick and tired of Russian gas extortion, man-made crises, inflation, political assassinations, chemical weapons, terror and constant vulgar lies. Tired of Putin’s personal “complexes”. — Mykhailo Podolyak (@Podolyak_M) July 2, 2022 3 hours ago (13:34 GMT)
UK condemns ‘exploitation’ of prisoners of war
The UK has condemned the exploitation of prisoners of war after two more Britons held by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine accused of “mercenary activities” could face the death penalty. Andrew Hill, from Plymouth, and Dylan Healy, from Huntingdon, were charged with a “violent seizure of power” and “terrorist” training, according to the state news agency in Russian-controlled Donetsk. “We condemn the exploitation of prisoners of war and civilians for political purposes and we have put it to Russia,” said a statement released by the British Foreign Office. “We are in constant contact with the government of Ukraine about their cases and fully support Ukraine in its efforts to release them. Two more Britons and a Moroccan were sentenced to death on the same charges by authorities in Russian-controlled Donetsk. 4 hours ago (12:45 GMT)
Ukrainian separatists claim to have surrounded Lysychansk
Russian-backed Ukrainian separatists say they have “completely” surrounded the key town of Lysychansk in the eastern Luhansk region. “Today the Lugansk People’s Militia and Russian forces captured the last strategic heights, which allows us to confirm that Lysychansk is completely surrounded,” Andrei Marochko, a spokesman for the separatist forces, told TASS. Taking the city would allow the Russians to push deeper into the wider eastern Donbas 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. 6 hours ago (11:28 GMT)
Ukraine’s military shares video showing the explosion at a Russian military warehouse
Ukraine’s armed forces have shared footage of an explosion at Russian army depots in eastern Ukraine. The video showed a powerful explosion with fire and smoke rising into the sky. The video does not specify the exact location, date or further details of the explosion. He was released as Russian forces pounded the town of Lysychansk and its outskirts on Saturday in an all-out effort to capture the last resistance stronghold in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk province, according to a Ukrainian governor. 6 hours ago (11:05 GMT)
Zelensky accuses Russia of ‘terror’ as missiles rain down
Rockets rained down on Ukraine killing scores of civilians and injuring dozens in residential areas as the weekend began, prompting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accuse Russia of “state terror”. Raids in a southern resort town left 21 dead and dozens injured when rockets hit apartments and a leisure center in Sergiyvka, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of the Black Sea port of Odessa. Rockets hit homes in Sloviansk in the heart of the war-torn Donbass region, killing a woman in her garden and injuring her husband, a neighbor told AFP, describing the debris that flooded the neighborhood. The witness said Friday’s strike was believed to have used cluster munitions that spread over a wide area before exploding, hitting buildings and people outdoors. 7 hours ago (10:01 GMT)
Russia says it hit Ukrainian military sites in the Donbass and Mykolayiv region
Russian forces destroyed five Ukrainian army command posts in the Donbas and Mykolaiv region with high-precision weapons and also hit three storage facilities in the Zaporizhia region, according to the Defense Ministry. The ministry, citing Russian news agencies, also said the Russian air force hit a Ukrainian weapons and equipment base at a tractor factory in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine. Smoke and dirt rise from the city of Severodonetsk during fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region [File: Aris Messinis/AFP] 8 hours ago (09:02 GMT)
Ukraine says Russia dropped phosphorus bombs on Snake Island
Ukraine’s military has accused Russia of carrying out attacks using incendiary phosphorus munitions on Snake Island, just a day after Moscow withdrew its forces from the rocky outcrop in the Black Sea. Two types of Russian Su-30 fighter jets that dropped phosphorus bombs flew over the island from the Russian-controlled Crimean peninsula, Ukrainian army chief Valery Zaluzny said on Telegram on Friday. Read more here. A Sukhoi Su-30 SM fighter jet fires missiles during the 2018 International Army Games in the Dubrovichi region outside Ryazan, Russia in 2018 [File: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters] (Reuters) 9 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 rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition to Ukraine to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion. The Pentagon said on Friday that the additional hardware would come as part of the latest US aid package for Ukraine, announced by US President Joe Biden at a gathering of NATO leaders and expected to total about $820 million. The package announced Thursday will also include more munitions for High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems (HIMARS). Read more here. Rescue workers work at a shopping mall hit by a Russian missile strike in Kremenchuk, Poltava region, Ukraine [Anna Voitenko/Reuters] 9…
