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UK says Russia is focusing on Shiversk attack
Russia is likely massing equipment on the front line in the direction of Shiversk, about 8 kilometers (4.9 miles) west of the current Russian front line, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said. Russian forces will likely stop replenishing before undertaking new offensive operations in the Donetsk region, the Defense Ministry said in its latest intelligence report. The ministry added that there is a realistic possibility that Russia’s “immediate tactical target” is Siversk, as its forces try to advance towards the most likely operational objective of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk urban area. Ukrainian forces continue to gradually advance in the southwestern sector of Kherson, the report said. China and Russia have maintained normal exchanges and promoted cooperation, showing the “strong resilience” and “strategic determination” of their relationship, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday. China will also support all efforts that contribute to the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis, Wang told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement. Earlier in the week, China lashed out at the US and NATO, saying Washington “follows international rules only as it sees fit”. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing that “the so-called rules-based international order is actually a family rule made by a handful of countries to serve the interest of the US.” U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will hold separate talks with Wang “to discuss guardrails” in U.S.-China relations so that competition “does not turn into a miscalculation or confrontation,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Krittenbrink. “This will be another opportunity … to convey our expectations of what we would expect China to do and not do in the context of Ukraine,” he said. Wang spoke with Lavrov on Thursday ahead of the G20 meeting, as the pair were pictured at a bilateral meeting on the Indonesian resort island. A Russian Foreign Ministry statement said Lavrov briefed Wang “on the implementation of the main missions of the special military operation” in Ukraine and reiterated Moscow’s rhetoric that its goal is to “seek out” the country. “Both parties underlined the unacceptable nature of the unilateral sanctions adopted by bypassing the UN,” the statement said. Beijing has maintained friendly ties with Russia as Western nations have sought to isolate Vladimir Putin’s government.
Putin dares the West to defeat Russia on the battlefield
Vladimir Putin has issued one of his most ominous warnings, claiming Moscow has only just begun its campaign in Ukraine and daring the West to try to defeat it on the battlefield. Speaking at a meeting of parliamentary leaders on Thursday, the Russian president said the prospects for any negotiation would fade the longer the conflict drags on. “Everyone should know that, in general, we haven’t started anything in earnest yet,” he said. “At the same time, we do not reject peace talks. But those who reject them should know that the longer it goes on, the harder it will be for them to negotiate with us.” Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with parliamentary leaders in Moscow. Photo: SPUTNIK/Reuters Putin also accused Ukraine’s Western allies of fueling hostilities, charging that “the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian” and that they were welcome to try, but it would only bring tragedy for Ukraine. “Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say, let them try,” he said. “We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is working towards it.” Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with parliamentary leaders in Moscow. Photo: SPUTNIK/Reuters
Indonesia urges end to war at G20 meeting with Russia
Indonesia has called for an end to the war in Ukraine as it chairs a meeting of G20 foreign ministers today in Bali. At the opening of the meeting, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said: It is our responsibility to end the war sooner rather than later and settle our differences at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield.” He said the world was just recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic when it “already faced another crisis – the war in Ukraine”. The ripple effects are being felt globally – in food, energy and the financial space. As always, developing and low-income countries are most affected.” The Group of 20 foreign ministers met with the top US and Russian envoys involved, in their first meeting since the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The gathering will mark the first time Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has met with counterparts from countries strongly critical of the war. 🇷🇺🇮🇳 On the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Indian Foreign Minister @DrSJaishankar. 📸 Photo by Maria Zakharova pic.twitter.com/o7yugqRIs6 — MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) July 8, 2022 US officials say Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken will refuse to speak separately with Lavrov after Blinken warned Russia of huge consequences if it invades Ukraine during their last meeting in Geneva in January. “It clearly cannot be business as usual when it comes to Russia’s participation and engagement in undertakings such as the G20,” a senior US official said before the meeting. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi stayed away from a G20 reception in Indonesia amid international opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a government spokesman said. Russia’s top diplomat sat between the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Mexico at the start of the meeting. Updated at 06.36 BST
Ukraine “will not break,” says Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that raising the Ukrainian flag on Snake Island in the Black Sea is a sign that his country will not be broken. In a national address Thursday night, Zelensky said the two-month operation to retake Snake Island was a warning to all Russian forces. Let every Russian captain, on a ship or plane, see the Ukrainian flag on Snake Island and know that our country will not be broken.” Snake Island: Ukrainian soldiers raise national flag after regaining control – video
Summary and welcome
Hello, it’s Samantha Lock back with you as we unpack all the latest news from Ukraine this morning. Vladimir Putin has issued one of his most ominous warnings, claiming Moscow has only just begun its campaign in Ukraine and daring the West to try to defeat it on the battlefield. Here are all the last lines from 8am in Kyiv.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow had only just begun its campaign in Ukraine and dared the West to try to defeat it on the battlefield. Putin said the prospects for any negotiation would diminish the longer the conflict drags on, during a speech to parliamentary leaders. “Everyone should know that, in general, we haven’t started anything in earnest yet,” he said. “The longer it goes on, the harder it will be for them to negotiate with us.”
Three people were killed and five others were wounded when Russian forces fired rockets into Kharkiv, officials said. The regional governor, Oleh Synyehubov, said an area in the northeastern Ukrainian city was shelled on Thursday.
The mayor of Sloviansk said his town near Kramatorsk had come under Russian fire. Some residents were injured, Vadym Lyakh said, without elaborating. Ukraine’s military said pressure was intensifying with heavy shelling of Sloviansk and nearby residential areas.
Foreign analysts say Russia may temporarily ease its offensive in eastern Ukraine in an “operational pause” as its forces try to mass for a new offensive. Russian forces made no territorial gains in Ukraine on Wednesday “for the first time in 133 days of war,” according to the Institute for the Study of War.
The UN has warned of an “imminent famine catastrophe” due to Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain. Patrick Beasley, director of the UN’s World Food Programme, said a famine disaster was set to erupt in the next two years and called for an urgent lifting of the embargo on 25 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain trapped by a Russian blockade.
Investigators in Ukraine say they have busted a criminal gang that forced women into sex work abroad after they were lured in with fake ads for legal employment. Authorities in Kyiv arrested the suspected ringleader after months of surveillance that resulted in a woman being stopped as she was about to cross the border.
Russian prosecutors have sought prison terms for a prominent opposition activist and a Moscow city council member who opposes the invasion of Ukraine. Alexei Gorinov faces up to 15 years in prison for spreading “knowingly false information” about the Russian military. Gorinov criticized Moscow’s military actions in Ukraine at a city council meeting in March.
Russia’s foreign minister went to the Indonesian island of Bali for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers. The gathering, which is likely to be overshadowed by Moscow’s war in Ukraine and deep divisions within the bloc over how to respond to the crisis, will mark the first time Sergei Lavrov has met counterparts from countries strongly critical of the war.
Boris Johnson spoke to Volodymyr Zelensky “to repeat the…
