Russia-Ukraine War Live News: Moscow Suspends US Inspections of Nuclear Arsenal; Ukraine reports heavy shelling in Donbass | Ukraine
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These are the latest developments
- Ukraine arrested two people working for Russian intelligence who planned to kill Ukraine’s defense minister and the head of the country’s military intelligence agency, the internal security service of Ukraine said on Monday. Ukraine’s Security Service foiled a plot by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency to use a sabotage group to carry out three murders, including that of a prominent Ukrainian militant, the agency said.
- US to provide additional $4.5bn (£3.7bn) to Ukrainian governmentbringing its total budgetary support since the invasion of Russia in February to $8.5bn (£7bn), the US Agency for International Development announced. The funding, coordinated with the US Treasury Department through the World Bank, will go to the Ukrainian government in tranches, starting with a disbursement of $3bn (£2.5bn) in August, said USAid, the Agency for International Development.
- Russia suspended a deal that allowed US and Russian inspectors to visit each other’s nuclear weapons sites under the 2010 New Start treaty, in another blow to arms control. Mutual inspections had been suspended as a health precaution since the start of the Covid pandemic, but a Foreign Ministry statement released on Monday added another reason why Russia does not want to restart them. He argued that US sanctions imposed due to the invasion of Ukraine had prevented Russian inspectors from traveling to the United States.
- Russia is highly likely to deploy anti-personnel mines to protect and deter freedom of movement along its defensive lines in Donetsk and Kramatorsk in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The ministry called the PFM-1 and PFM-1S mines – also known as “butterfly mines” – “deeply controversial and indiscriminate weapons” likely to inflict many casualties among the military and the local civilian population. - Two other ships, carrying corn and soys, departure from Ukrainian ports, bringing the total to 10 vessels carrying Ukrainian grain exports since the UN agreement to unblock Ukrainian grain exports was reached, Reuters reported. Future vessels exporting Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea will now be protected by a 10-nautical-mile buffer zone, under long-awaited procedures agreed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations.
- First grain ship to leave Ukrainian ports after UN-brokered deal seeks another port to offload its cargo after the initial Lebanese buyer refused delivery due to its five-month delay, Reuters reported.
- The head of the Ukrainian nuclear energy company Energoatom called for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to become an army-free zone, warning of the risk of a Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster after bombing of the site caused a reactor to shut down on Saturday. Russia and Ukraine continue to trade accusations over responsibility for the bombings, with the UN demanding that international inspectors be allowed access. According to reports from the head of the administration installed by Russia in the occupied region of Zaporizhzhia, the nuclear power plant is currently operating normally.
- The Russian-installed leader in the occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region on Monday signed a decree calling for a referendum on joining Russia, in the latest sign that Moscow is moving forward with its plans to annex seized Ukrainian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has ruled out any peace negotiations with Russia if the country holds referendums in the occupied areas.
- The Kremlin said Monday there was no basis for a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents at this time. Negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv have been stalled for months, with each side blaming the other for the lack of progress, Reuters reports.
Key events
The United States estimates that Russia suffered between 70,000 and 80,000 casualtieskilled or wounded since its invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.
Colin Kahl, the senior Pentagon politician said, “The Russians are taking a huge number of casualties on the other side of the equation. I think it’s safe to suggest that the Russians probably take 70 or 80,000 casualties in less than six months.
Kahl admitted that the Ukrainian side had also suffered significant manpower losses on the battlefield, but gave no figures. “Both sides are claiming casualties. The war is the most intense conventional conflict in Europe since World War II,” he said.
Ukraine reported intense Russian shelling on front lines on Tuesday as the two sides traded blame for the weekend strike at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear complex that sparked international concern over a possible atomic disaster.
Heavy fighting was reported in frontline towns near the eastern city of Donetsk, where Ukrainian officials said Russian troops were launching waves of attacks.
“The situation in the region is tense – the shelling is constant along the entire front line … The enemy also uses air strikes a lot,” said the regional governor of Donetsk. Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian television. “The enemy has no success. The Donetsk region holds.
To the southeast, the key Antonovsky Bridge on the Dnieper in the Kherson region was again targeted by Ukrainian forces attempting to disrupt Russian supply lines.
Yuri Sobolevsky, deputy head of the Kherson regional council ousted by Russian occupation forces, said on Telegram that the bridge was badly damaged after “night actions”.
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These are the latest developments
- Ukraine arrested two people working for Russian intelligence who planned to kill Ukraine’s defense minister and the head of the country’s military intelligence agency, the internal security service of Ukraine said on Monday. Ukraine’s Security Service foiled a plot by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency to use a sabotage group to carry out three murders, including that of a prominent Ukrainian militant, the agency said.
- US to provide additional $4.5bn (£3.7bn) to Ukrainian governmentbringing its total budgetary support since the invasion of Russia in February to $8.5bn (£7bn), the US Agency for International Development announced. The funding, coordinated with the US Treasury Department through the World Bank, will go to the Ukrainian government in tranches, starting with a disbursement of $3bn (£2.5bn) in August, said USAid, the Agency for International Development.
- Russia suspended a deal that allowed US and Russian inspectors to visit each other’s nuclear weapons sites under the 2010 New Start treaty, in another blow to arms control. Mutual inspections had been suspended as a health precaution since the start of the Covid pandemic, but a Foreign Ministry statement released on Monday added another reason why Russia does not want to restart them. He argued that US sanctions imposed due to the invasion of Ukraine had prevented Russian inspectors from traveling to the United States.
- Russia is highly likely to deploy anti-personnel mines to protect and deter freedom of movement along its defensive lines in Donetsk and Kramatorsk in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The ministry called the PFM-1 and PFM-1S mines – also known as “butterfly mines” – “deeply controversial and indiscriminate weapons” likely to inflict many casualties among the military and the local civilian population. - Two other ships, carrying corn and soys, departure from Ukrainian ports, bringing the total to 10 vessels carrying Ukrainian grain exports since the UN agreement to unblock Ukrainian grain exports was reached, Reuters reported. Future vessels exporting Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea will now be protected by a 10-nautical-mile buffer zone, under long-awaited procedures agreed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations.
- First grain ship to leave Ukrainian ports after UN-brokered deal seeks another port to offload its cargo after the initial Lebanese buyer refused delivery due to its five-month delay, Reuters reported.
- The head of the Ukrainian nuclear energy company Energoatom called for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to become an army-free zone, warning of the risk of a Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster after bombing of the site caused a reactor to shut down on Saturday. Russia and Ukraine continue to trade accusations over responsibility for the bombings, with the UN demanding that international inspectors be allowed access. According to reports from the head of the administration installed by Russia in the occupied region of Zaporizhzhia, the nuclear power plant is currently operating normally.
- The Russian-installed leader in the occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region on Monday signed a decree calling for a referendum on joining Russia, in the latest sign that Moscow is moving forward with its plans to annex seized Ukrainian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has ruled out any peace negotiations with Russia if the country holds referendums in the occupied areas.
- The Kremlin said Monday there was no basis for a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents at this time. Negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv have been stalled for months, with each side blaming the other for the lack of progress, Reuters reports.
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