Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces advance in key eastern town as Kyiv’s troops plead for ammunition

Ukraine’s military spokesman says it was impractical to hold on to part of Chasiv Yar after Russian troops entered

Zelensky says China trying to undermine Ukraine peace summit

Russian forces have broken through Ukrainian positions defending the strategically important eastern city of Chasiv Yar.

After months of bombardments, the Kremlin’s army pushed back forces from part of the city, Ukraine’s military spokesman announced.

Nazar Voloshyn said: “It became impractical to hold the canal neighbourhood after the enemy entered it, because it threatened the lives and health of our servicemen and the positions of our defenders were destroyed.

“The command decided to pull back to more protected and prepared positions, but even there the enemy does not stop its active combat actions.”

Holding the city was deemed crucial for Ukraine, with the site a highly sought-after due to its strategic location and elevated position.

The commander of a Ukrainian brigade operating near Chasiv Yar had said his forces were in need of ammunition as President Volodymyr Zelensky bemoaned the time it was taking for equipment to reach the front line.

Ukraine is now receiving Western weaponry and ammunition after assistance from Washington was halted for months by disputes in the US Congress, which announced its latest $2.3 billion military aid package this week, including artillery rounds, interceptor missiles and anti-tank weapons.

Key points

• Ukrainian forces pull back in Chasiv Yar
• Russian strikes kill elderly woman and wound eight people
• Ukraine must take irreversible steps before we end war, says Putin
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Russia

[4 July 2024 04:00 · Alexander Butler]

Erdogan tells Putin that Turkey can help reach fair end to Russia-Ukraine war

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that Ankara could help establish a basis to end the Ukraine-Russia war and that a fair peace suiting both sides was possible, the Turkish presidency said.

They two leaders also discussed the war in Gaza and ways to end the conflict in Syria, the Turkish presidency said in a statement after Erdogan and Putin met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan.

[4 July 2024 03:00 · Alexander Butler]

Pictured: Ukrainian convicts join the army and attend a training session in Kharkiv

Ukrainian convicts attend a training session in Kharkiv (AFP via Getty Images)

Ukrainian convicts attend a training session in Kharkiv (AFP via Getty Images)

[4 July 2024 02:00 · Alexander Butler]

Survey finds popular support for NATO at a challenging time for the Western alliance

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.

Meanwhile, the presidential reelection bid of Donald Trump, who long has spoken scathingly of NATO allies and admiringly of Putin, has some NATO members worrying about the future commitment of the alliance’s most powerful military and economy.

[4 July 2024 01:00 · Alexander Butler]

World Athletics leader Sebastian Coe visits Ukraine and invites Zelenskyy to Olympic track meet

[3 July 2024 23:30 · Alexander Butler]

Troops look for weak spots as Russia sets the stage for another push in Ukraine

[3 July 2024 22:30 · Alexander Butler]

Litvinenko’s widow ‘disgusted’ by Farage and Reform UK candidate’s praise for Putin

Russian dissidents living in the UK have hit back at the “deeply offensive” words of admiration for Vladimir Putin spoken by Nigel Farage and another Reform UK candidate.

It comes as a British former defence attache who was previously stationed in Moscow described Mr Farage and his party, now third in the polls, as “deeply malign actors ... working against the security interests of our country”.

When asked about the accusations, a Reform UK spokesperson burst into laughter before suggesting that Julian Malins, a Reform party candidate who last weekend bragged about meeting Mr Putin and said that he “seemed very good”, was merely a highly intelligent and “eccentric sort of character”.

[3 July 2024 21:30 · Alexander Butler]

Ukraine offers prisoners release at a high price

[3 July 2024 20:30 · Alexander Butler]

Russia is ordering its troops to kill Ukrainian prisoners of war – why?

Russian commanders are ordering their forces to kill surrendering Ukrainian soldiers in a plan to “terrify” droves of Russian troops into not giving themselves up.

Many newly conscripted and poorly trained Russian soldiers realise their lives are being squandered in human-wave attacks, according to Ukrainian officials.

Petro Yatsenko, a spokesperson for Kyiv’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, says orders to kill Ukrainians who could be taken prisoner come from the “highest level” – the Kremlin. The instructions are designed to “terrify” their own soldiers, he adds.

[3 July 2024 15:30 · Alexander Butler]

New Dutch PM pledges continued support for Ukraine in call with Zelensky

The Netherlands’ new Prime Minister Dick Schoof assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a phone call on Wednesday that his country would maintain its support for Ukraine.

The Netherlands has been one of the driving forces behind an international coalition to supply Ukraine with F-16s to strengthen its air defences against Russia.

The outgoing Dutch government said on Monday that the first of 24 promised jets would be supplied soon.

“I assured (Zelenskiy) that the Netherlands’ support for his country is rock solid; we will continue to support Ukraine politically, militarily, and financially against Russian aggression, whatever it takes and for as long as it takes,” Schoof said on social media platform X.

[3 July 2024 14:30 · Alexander Butler]

Olena 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.