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Ukraine has pulled back its soldiers from the outskirts of eastern Chasiv Yar town where they are losing territory to Russian forces.
Oleh Shyriaiev, commander of the 255th assault battalion, which has been fighting in the area for six months, claimed the Russians burned every building not destroyed by shelling after capturing the neighbourhood.
“I regret that we are gradually losing territory,” he said, speaking by phone from Chasiv Yar, but added, “we cannot hold what is ruined”.
He said Russia is using scorched-earth tactics in an attempt to destroy anything that could be used as a military position in an attempt to force the Ukranian troops to retreat from the strategic town.
Chasiv Yar is a short distance west of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia last year after a bitter 10-month battle. The intensity of the Russian strikes on Ukraine’s defensive line in the area has increased over the past month, Kyiv said.
As the war in Ukraine grinds on, Russia’s defence ministry said its forces were carrying out drills involving mobile nuclear missile launchers, the Interfax news agency reported this morning.
Key points
- Ukraine’s army retreats as Russia gets closer to seizing town
- Putin says he thinks Trump is sincere about ending Ukraine war
- Russian strikes kill elderly woman and wound eight people
- Hungary's Orban arrives in Moscow to meet Putin
- Ukraine navy chief says Russia is losing Crimean hub in Black Sea
Russia's peace initiatives are key to settling Ukraine conflict, Putin tells Orban
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had discussed the situation in Ukraine with visiting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday, but reiterated his belief that Russia‘s proposals should be the key to resolving the conflict.
Putin said he was grateful to Orban for an attempt to restore dialogue between Russia and Europe, but Kyiv was still not willing to stop the conflict.
Kremlin says UK remains a hostile state to Moscow after Labour election win
The Kremlin sees no desire from Britain’s Labour Party to repair relations with Russia and continues to view the UK as a hostile state, Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, said on Friday.
Peskov was commenting after the Labour Party won a landslide general election victory after 14 years of Conservative rule.
The party has indicated it will continue to support Ukraine with weapons and money against Russia
Maryam Zakir-Hussain6 July 2024 01:30Russian ships dock in Venezuelan port after Cuba visit feared by the US
In case you missed it...
Two Russian naval ships docked Tuesday in the Venezuelan port of La Guaira after exercises in the Atlantic Ocean that Moscow said were to “show the flag” in remote, important regions, and an initial stopover in Cuba.
The frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the oil tanker Akademik Pashin are part of Russia’s Northern Fleet, which since May 17 has been carrying out tasks that include “guaranteeing the Russian naval presence” in “remote areas of the oceans,” Russian news agency Tass cited Russia’s Ministry of Defense as saying.
The stopover was to last several days and highlight the close ties between Moscow and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Russian ships dock in Venezuelan port after Cuba visit feared by the US
Two Russian naval ships have docked in the Venezuelan port of La Guaira
Maryam Zakir-Hussain6 July 2024 00:30A precious moment in time of war: Flowers for a wife and daughter coming home to Ukraine
On his way to the Kyiv train station to greet his wife and daughter returning from Poland to Ukraine, Oleksander Tryfonov made a stop.
He bought two red roses from one of a half-dozen flower shops lining a dimly lit underpass — something beautiful for the two most precious people in his life.
“I haven’t seen them for two years,” Tryfonov, a burly 45-year-old driver said of his family. “Flowers are important for women.”
A precious moment in time of war: Flowers for a wife and daughter coming home to Ukraine
Flowers have always been linked with Ukraine’s culture but since Russia’s 2022 invasion, their significance has only grown
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 23:30Survey finds popular support for NATO at a challenging time for the Western alliance
In case you missed it...
A survey of people in 13 of the nations belonging to NATO found a median of about 6 in 10 held a favorable view of the Western military alliance, the Pew Research Center said Tuesday.
The poll was released ahead of a July 9-11 NATO summit in Washington, which is being held at a challenging time for the 75-year-old Western military alliance.
The 32 NATO member countries are adjusting their long-term plans and strategies to counteract a more aggressive Russian President Vladimir Putin and respond to Ukraine’s need for sustained support against invading Russian forces.
Survey finds popular support for NATO at a challenging time for the Western alliance
A new survey by Pew Research Center finds public support for NATO in some of the countries belonging to the Western military alliance
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 22:30Olena Zelenska falls victim to deepfake video claiming she bought a Bugatti
Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska is the latest victim of deepfake after an online video falsely claimed that she had purchased a rare Bugatti sports car worth €4.5m (£3.8m).
The video, suspected to be from Russian propaganda sources, claimed Ms Zelenska was given a closed presentation to buy a Bugatti Tourbillon for the use of the Ukrainian delegation during her visit to Paris for D-Day commemorations in June last week.
“This is a fake and another attempt by Russians to discredit the family of the President of Ukraine,” said Ukrainian fact-checking unit Centre for Countering Disinformation (CCD), under the national security and defence council.
Olena Zelenska falls victim to deepfake video claiming she bought a Bugatti
Zelenska’s deepfake pushed by ‘Russian propagandists before Nato summit to discredit Ukraine’s top leadership’, says Kyiv agency
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 21:30Ukraine’s forces pull back from part of key eastern town of Chasiv Yar
Ukraine’s troops had pulled back from part of the strategically important town of Chasiv Yar in the eastern Donetsk region – having faced a months-long Russian assault.
Chasiv Yar is a short distance west of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia last year after a bitter 10-month battle. For months, Russian forces have focused on capturing Chasiv Yar, a town which occupies an elevated location. Its fall would put nearby cities in jeopardy and compromise critical Ukrainian supply routes.
The Ukrainian army retreated from a northeastern neighborhood in the town, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for the Khortytsia ground forces formation, told The Associated Press in a written message Thursday.
Ukraine’s forces pull back from part of key eastern town of Chasiv Yar
Months of relentless Russian artillery strikes have devastated the town
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 20:30A French citizen pleads guilty to charges of collecting military data in Russia, state media say
A French citizen arrested in Russia has pleaded guilty to criminal charges involving illegally collecting information on military issues in the country, state news agency Tass reported Wednesday.
Laurent Vinatier was arrested in the Russian capital in June as tensions flared between Moscow and Paris following French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments about the possibility of deploying French troops in Ukraine.
Russian authorities accused Vinatier of failing to register as a “foreign agent” while collecting information about Russia’s “military and military-technical activities,” which could be used to the detriment of the country’s security.
A French citizen pleads guilty to charges of collecting military data in Russia, state media say
Russia's state news agency says a French citizen arrested in Moscow has pleaded guilty to criminal charges involving illegally collecting information on military issues in the country
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 19:30German government averts crisis with budget agreement for Europe’s largest economy
The German government said Friday it has reached agreement on the budget for 2025 and a stimulus package for Europe’s largest economy, easing a monthslong squabble that threatened to upend Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left coalition.
Scholz, a Social Democrat, and leaders of the Free Democrats and Greens reached agreement on plans including higher spending on defense and affordable housing after marathon talks that dragged into the early hours of Friday. Scholz said ministers would formally approve the plan at a Cabinet meeting later this month.
By balancing security, social cohesion and economic growth, Scholz said the budget was designed to reassure citizens unsettled by the war in Ukraine, the impacts of climate change and irregular migration, and offer an alternative to the “divisive” policies of far-right parties making gains across Europe.
German government averts crisis with budget agreement for Europe’s largest economy
The German government has announced an agreement on its budget for 2025 and a stimulus package for Europe’s largest economy, easing a monthslong squabble that threatened to upend Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left coalition
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 18:30NATO leaders will vow to pour weapons into Ukraine for another year, but membership is off the table
NATO leaders plan to pledge next week to keep pouring arms and ammunition into Ukraine at current levels for at least another year, hoping to reassure the war-ravaged country of their ongoing support and show Russian President Vladimir Putin that they will not walk away.
U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts meet in Washington for a three-day summit beginning Tuesday to mark the military alliance’s 75th anniversary as Russian troops press their advantage along Ukraine‘s eastern front in the third year of the war.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO’s 32 member countries have been spending around 40 billion euros ($43 billion) each year on military equipment for Ukraine since the war began in February 2022, and that this should be “a minimum baseline” going forward.“
I expect allies will decide at the summit to sustain this level within the next year,” Stoltenberg said. He said the amount would be shared among nations based on their economic growth, and that the leaders will review the figure when they meet again in 2025.
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