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 party of the city, Ukraine’s military spokesman said on national television on Thursday.

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 Russian advancement comes after the commander of a Ukrainian brigade operating near Chasiv Yar 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 U.S. Congress, which announced its latest $2.3 billion military aid package this week, including artillery rounds, interceptor missiles and anti-tank weapons.

Key points

• Five killed in Ukraine after Russian missiles hit Dnipro
• Ukraine not ready to compromise with Russia, says Zelensky's aide
• Trump’s claim he could ‘end war in one day’ dismissed by Putin’s UN ambassador
• Hungary’s Orban asks Zelensky to ‘consider a quick ceasefire’

[2 July 2024 22:30 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

Ukraine offers prisoners release at a high price

“You can put an end to this and start a new life,” said the recruiter, a member of a volunteer assault battalion. “The main thing is your will, because you are going to defend the motherland. You won’t succeed at 50%, you have to give 100% of yourself, even 150%.”

At a rural penal colony in southeast Ukraine, several convicts stand assembled under barbed wire to hear the army recruiter offer them a shot at parole. In return, they must join the grueling fight against Russia.

Ukraine is expanding the draft to cope with acute battlefield shortages more than two years into fighting against Russia’s full-scale invasion. And its recruiting efforts have turned, for the first time, to the country’s prison population.