Ukraine-Russia war latest: Drone and missile assault launched by Putin’s forces blown out of sky by Kyiv

Russian navy missile cruiser Varyag has carrying out drills in the Mediterranean Sea, the state-owned TASS news agency reported on Thursday

Zelensky says China trying to undermine Ukraine peace summit

The Ukrainian air force said it shot down all 23 drones and five out of six missiles launched by Vladimir Putin’s forces in the early hours of Thursday.

Khmelnytskyi regional governor Serhii Tiurin said the air defence shot down nine aerial targets over his region. Local authorities have not received any reports of casualties or property damage, he added.

Governor Vitaliy Kim said the military destroyed six drones and three cruise missiles over the southern region of Mykolaiv.

It comes as the Russian navy missile cruiser Varyag has carried out drills in the Mediterranean Sea, the state-owned TASS news agency reported on Thursday, citing the navy command.

The drills focused on repelling a mass sea drone attack, the navy command said. It also involved simulated engagements with an enemy vessel and a submarine.

Earlier this month a Russian naval frigate conducted drills in the Atlantic Ocean searching for submarines while on its way to Cuba.

Key points

• Ukraine downs 23 drones overnight
• ICC issues arrest warrants for two senior Russian officials
• Russian official warns of ‘tragic and fatal’ consequences
• Russian pressure heats up on frontline as Western aid trickles in
• Zelensky replaces top military commander after public rebuke

[27 June 2024 12:20 · Joe Middleton]

Volodymyr Zelensky arrives in Brussels to sign security agreements

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Brussels today where he plans to sign three security agreements, including one with the European Union.

“For the first time, this agreement will enshrine the commitment of all 27 member states to provide Ukraine with extensive support, regardless of any internal institutional changes,” he said on X.

[27 June 2024 11:47 · Joe Middleton]

Russia claims it has carried out missile strikes on Ukrainian airfields hosting Western aircraft

Russia claims it has carried out missile strikes on Ukrainian airfields which it believes have been designated to host Western military aircraft, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

Russia used sea-based long-range precision weapons, the Kinzhal hypersonic missile and drones in the attack, it said.

All designated targets were hit, the ministry added, without naming the list of targets.

[27 June 2024 10:43 · Joe Middleton]

Kremlin considering downgrading of diplomatic relations with the West

The Kremlin said that Russia is considering a possible downgrading of diplomatic relations with the West due to the deeper involvement of the United States and its allies in the Ukraine war, though no decision has yet been made.

“The issue of lowering the level of diplomatic relations is a standard practice for states that face unfriendly or hostile manifestations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the possibility of such a move.

“Due to the growing involvement of the West in the conflict over Ukraine, the Russian Federation cannot but consider various options for responding to such hostile Western intervention in the Ukrainian crisis.”

Mr Peskov said that no decision had yet been made on the matter and that Russia was considering different ways to respond to the West.

[27 June 2024 09:47 · Joe Middleton]

Two dead and one missing after train derails in northern Russia

A passenger train derailment in northern Russia has killed at least two people and left one other missing, a state-run railway company said.

The 14-carriage train derailed in Russia’s northern republic of Komi on Wednesday night, Russian Railways said, with nine carriages coming off the tracks.

Up to 50 people were injured, Russia’s news agency Interfax reported, citing emergency officials.

The train, carrying 232 passengers, was headed to the southern city of Novorossiysk from Vorkuta, a coal mining town in the north of Komi, Russian Railways said.

Authorities said that heavy rainfall, which washed out parts of the track, was the likely cause of the derailment.

[27 June 2024 08:58 · Joe Middleton]

Russian navy missile cruiser carries out drills in the Mediterranean Sea

The Russian navy missile cruiser Varyag has carried out drills in the Mediterranean Sea, the state-owned TASS news agency reported on Thursday, citing the navy command.

The drills focused on repelling a mass sea drone attack, the navy command said.

It also involved simulated engagements with an enemy vessel and a submarine.

Earlier this month a Russian naval frigate conducted drills in the Atlantic Ocean searching for submarines while on its way to Cuba.

[27 June 2024 08:41 · Joe Middleton]

Ukraine downs 23 drones overnight

Ukrainian air force said it shot down all 23 drones and five out of six missiles launched by Russia in the early hours of Thursday.

Khmelnytskyi regional governor Serhii Tiurin said the air defence shot down nine aerial targets over his region. Local authorities have not received any reports of casualties or property damage, he added.

Governor Vitaliy Kim said the military destroyed six drones and three cruise missiles over the southern region of Mykolaiv.

Two drones were shot down over the southern region of Kherson and one more was short down over Dnipropetrovsk region, local authorities said.

[27 June 2024 07:00 · Alexander Butler]

China says it firmly opposes EU sanctions against its firms over Russian links

China firmly opposes the European Union’s inclusion of some Chinese firms in a 14th package of sanctions on Russia, its commerce ministry said on Wednesday.

The move has a negative impact on China-EU economic and trade relations, the ministry said, adding it urges the bloc to “unconditionally” stop sanctioning Chinese firms.

[27 June 2024 06:00 · Alexander Butler]

EU countries agree sanctions on Belarus to plug 'biggest loophole' in Russian measure

European Union countries agreed a sanctions package against Belarus on Wednesday, EU diplomats and Belgium said, to try to close off a route to avoiding restrictions on Russia.

The EU adopted this week its 14th package of sanctions to punish Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which included clauses that increased responsibility on EU companies exporting via non-EU countries.

“This package will strengthen our measures in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including combating circumvention of sanctions,” Belgium, which holds the EU presidency until the end of June, said on X.

[27 June 2024 05:00 · Alexander Butler]

Closed-door trial of US journalist Evan Gershkovich begins in Russia as case denounced as sham

[27 June 2024 04:00 · Alexander Butler]

Watch from court as US reporter Evan Gershkovich goes on trial in Russia for spying