The call comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in the seizure of neighboring eastern Luhansk province. It is now widely believed that Russia plans to escalate its assault on Donetsk, prompting authorities to call on more than a quarter of a million residents to evacuate. Volunteers deliver relief supplies to Ukrainian fighters in Sloviansk, Ukraine. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said the evacuation of the 350,000 people who remain in Donetsk province is necessary to save lives and to enable the Ukrainian military to better defend the cities from the Russian advance. The fate of the entire country will be decided by the Donetsk region. Once there are fewer people, we will be able to focus more on our enemy and perform our main tasks.” Another city of Donetsk came under continuous shelling on Tuesday. Mayor Vadim Lyakh said on Facebook that “massive shelling” had hit Sloviansk and urged residents hours earlier to evacuate, advising them to take shelter. Updated 06.03 BST Important events: Show only key events
The first rotation of Ukrainian soldiers arrives in the UK
The first rotation of Ukrainian soldiers has arrived in the UK for training, according to Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. The training is part of an innovative program aimed at training up to 10,000 young Ukrainian recruits alongside a £2.3bn military aid package. The statement issued by Wallace reads: The first rotation of Ukrainian soldiers recently arrived in the UK. The training will take place in military training areas in the North-East, South-West and South-East regions. The training will be carried out by elements of the 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade. These Ukrainian soldiers will attend courses based on basic UK soldier training. This includes weapons training, battlefield first aid, field craft, patrol tactics and training on the law of armed conflict. Each course will last several weeks.” Updated at 06.47 BST
Battle for Sloviansk to be next in fight for Donbass: UK Foreign Office
The battle for Sloviansk is likely to be the next key engagement in the fight for Donbass as Russian forces close to within 10 miles of the city of Donetsk, the UK Ministry of Defense said. Russian forces from the Eastern and Western groups of forces are likely now about 16 kilometers north of Sloviansk, as the Central and Southern groups of forces also pose a threat to the city, according to the latest British intelligence report. There is a realistic possibility that the battle for Sloviansk will be the next key match in the race for Donbas.” Russia likely continues to consolidate its control over Lysychansk and Luhansk, the report added. In the north, he has committed most of the remaining available units from the eastern and western power groups to the Izium axis. In the last week, Russian forces have likely advanced up to another 5 kilometers down the main E40 road from Izium, in the face of extremely determined Ukrainian resistance.” Daily life in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, continues amid the Russian invasion. Here, two young women enjoy a moment together as they sit on a wall at sunset. Two young women sit on a wall at sunset in downtown Kyiv, Ukraine, July 5. Photo: Oleg Petrasyuk/EPA Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on all parties in the world to make efforts to protect international laws as “the world is evolving in a complex way.” Lavrov was speaking at a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart, Bui Tan Son, in Hanoi on Wednesday. “Vietnam is a key partner (of Russia) in ASEAN…and the two countries’ relations are based on their history and common struggle for justice,” Lavrov told the meeting, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Vietnam and Russia have close ties dating back to the Soviet era, and Hanoi has so far not condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine. Lavrov’s visit to Hanoi comes as the two nations mark the tenth anniversary of their “comprehensive strategic partnership”. The Russian foreign minister is set to fly to Indonesia to attend the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting this week. The United States and other allies have called for the suspension of the national sports governing bodies of Russia and Belarus from international sports federations, prompting Russia to label the move as “Russophobic”. The Russian embassy in the United States called the move “Russophobic” and said “sports should stay out of politics.” “Using it as a means of exerting pressure and fixing points directly violates the basic principles of the Olympic movement and goes against the spirit of competitiveness as well as healthy competition,” it said. The Russian response came hours after the US State Department issued a joint statement with allies, which also called on sports organizations to consider suspending broadcasts of matches in Russia and Belarus. We see the joint statement as politicized and aimed at “containment” 🇷🇺. At the same time, it’s obvious that 🇺🇦 is just an excuse. The persecution of the 🇷🇺athletes began long before the current events. This is part of a campaign to “cancel” 🇷🇺.👇 pic.twitter.com/Zkili3ORbU — Russian Embassy in the USA 🇷🇺 (@RusEmbUSA) July 6, 2022 Other signatories were Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and South Korea. China, India and Latin American and African states were among the countries not listed as signatories. The joint statement states that in cases where sports organizations allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete, it should be made clear that they do not represent the states of Russia or Belarus. The use of the official Russian and Belarusian flags, emblems and anthems should be banned, the statement added. Here’s a closer look at the battle for Ukraine’s Donbass. Russia massed its forces to capture the cities of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk between May and July, the last two cities in Luhansk province it did not control, through a relentless and often misguided artillery barrage. Ukraine said on Monday it had withdrawn from Lysychansk, prompting speculation that Russia would now focus on Sloviansk and Kramatorsk in the south, the two main cities in Kiev-held Donetsk province. The provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk make up the industrial region of Donbass of Ukraine. The battle for Donbass The battle for Donbass
Donetsk governor urges 350,000 to leave
The governor of the eastern Donetsk region has urged 350,000 civilians to evacuate in light of an imminent Russian offensive. The call comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in the seizure of neighboring eastern Luhansk province. It is now widely believed that Russia plans to escalate its assault on Donetsk, prompting authorities to call on more than a quarter of a million residents to evacuate. Volunteers deliver relief supplies to Ukrainian fighters in Sloviansk, Ukraine. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said the evacuation of the 350,000 people who remain in Donetsk province is necessary to save lives and to enable the Ukrainian military to better defend the cities from the Russian advance. The fate of the entire country will be decided by the Donetsk region. Once there are fewer people, we will be able to focus more on our enemy and perform our main tasks.” Another city of Donetsk came under continuous shelling on Tuesday. Mayor Vadim Lyakh said on Facebook that “massive shelling” had hit Sloviansk and urged residents hours earlier to evacuate, advising them to take shelter. Updated 06.03 BST
Summary and welcome
Hello, it’s Samantha Lock back with you as we unpack all the latest news from Ukraine this morning. Here are all the last lines from 8am in Kyiv.
Donetsk’s governor has urged 350,000 civilians to leave as Russian troops escalate their offensive in the region. “The fate of the whole country will be decided by the Donetsk region,” Pavlo Kirilenko told reporters. “When there are fewer people, we will be able to focus more on our enemy and perform our primary tasks.”
Ukrainian forces have seized new defensive lines in Donetsk, where they still control major cities, and plan to launch counter-attacks in the south of the country. Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said the weeks-long battle for Lysychansk had drawn Russian troops who could have been fighting on other fronts and given Ukrainian forces time to build fortifications in the Donetsk region to make it “ more difficult for the Russians there”.
Ukraine has asked Turkey to investigate three additional Russian ships it claims were carrying stolen grain. A June 13 letter seen by Reuters revealed that Ukraine’s general prosecutor’s office has asked Turkey’s justice ministry to investigate and provide evidence on three ships it believes were carrying stolen grain from occupied Ukrainian territories such as Kherson.
Russia plans to launch a rail link between the Rostov region and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions it occupies in eastern Ukraine, Russian state media reported. Creating transport links was also a priority for the Russian occupiers between Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and the Kherson regions it holds.
NATO’s 30 member countries have signed accession protocols for Finland and Sweden, sending the two Nordic countries’ membership bids to the alliance’s parliaments for approval. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged the allies to ratify quickly and assured the two countries of the alliance’s support in the meantime. Canada became the first country to officially ratify the membership of Finland and Sweden.
THE…
