Ukraine news – live: Russia accused of repeated use of illegal cluster bombs

Russia has been accused of repeatedly using illegal cluster bombs and unguided missiles in “shocking” attacks on Ukrainians, Amnesty International has found.

In a new report, Amnesty International said the Kremlin must be held accountable. The investigation found evidence of Russian forces repeatedly using 9N210/9N235 cluster munitions which are subject to international treaty bans because of their indiscriminate effects.

The report found that hundreds of civilians were killed in “relentless attacks” on residential neighbourhoods in the Ukrainian city Kharkiv.

“People have been killed in their homes and in the streets, in playgrounds and in cemeteries, while queueing for humanitarian aid, or shopping for food and medicine,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s senior crisis response adviser.

Ms Rovera added: “The repeated use of widely-banned cluster munitions is shocking, and a further indication of utter disregard for civilian lives.”

It comes as president Zelensky said Ukrainian troops are “fighting for every metre” in the embattled eastern city of Sievierodonetsk.

Key Points

• Russia to ‘rely’ on new recruits, says UK

• Russia hit playground with cluster bombs, human rights group says

• EU likely to give Ukraine candidacy status

• Moscow’s forces in control of much of Sievierodonetsk, governor of Luhansk says

• Russia handing out passports in occupied Ukrainian cities

• Russian shelling of Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk causes fire, says region’s governor

British ambassador tries the 'Boris Johnson' croissant

16:02 , Thomas Kingsley

A bakery in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has named a croissant after UK prime minister Boris Johnson last week.

Cafe Zavertailo announced on Instagram that: “Boris Johnson is not just a prime minister but is also now a croissant.”

British ambassador Melinda Simmons posted on social media that she had tried the now-famous croissant highlighting the prime minister’s popularity in the country.

Russia using ‘weapons of mass destruction,’ Finland says

15:44 , Thomas Kingsley

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Monday both sides in the war in Ukraine were using heavier weapons, including in Russia's case thermobaric bombs.

“We are supporting Ukraine with increasingly heavy weaponry. And on the other hand Russia has also begun to use very powerful weapons, thermobaric bombs that are in fact weapons of mass destruction,” Mr Niinisto said during security policy talks at his summer residence in Naantali, Finland.

Ukraine and Nato countries have also accused Russia of using thermobaric bombs, which are also known as vacuum bombs and are much more devastating than conventional explosives.

Nato chief says Sweden has taken ‘important steps' to meet Turkey’s demands

15:15 , Thomas Kingsley

Sweden has make important steps to meet Turkey's demands for approving Stockholm's Nato membership application, Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday during a visit to Sweden.

“I welcome that Sweden has already started to change its counter-terrorism legislation and that Sweden will ensure that the legal framework for arms export will reflect the future status as a Nato member with new commitments to allies,” Mr Stoltenberg said during a press conference with Swedish prime minister Magdalena Andersson.

“These are two important steps to address concerns that Turkey has raised.”

Wikipedia fights Russian order to remove Ukraine war information

15:00 , Thomas Kingsley

The Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, has filed an appeal against a Moscow court decision demanding that it remove information related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, arguing that people have a right to know the facts of the war.

A Moscow court fined the Wikimedia Foundation 5 million roubles ($88,000) for refusing to remove what it termed disinformation from Russian-language Wikipedia articles on the war including “The Russian Invasion of Ukraine,” “War Crimes during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine” and “Massacre in Bucha”.

“This decision implies that well-sourced, verified knowledge on Wikipedia that is inconsistent with Russian government accounts constitutes disinformation,” Stephen LaPorte, Associate General Counsel at the Wikimedia Foundation, said in a statement.

Wikipedia, which says it offers “the second draft of history”, is one of the few remaining major fact-checked Russian-language sources of information for Russians after a crackdown on media in Moscow.

Lithuania seeks to decouple from Russian power grid a year early

14:40 , Thomas Kingsley

Lithuania seeks to decouple from the Russian power grid in 2024, a year ahead of schedule, Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda said on Monday.

“Let's not leave any opportunities for the aggressor to use energy as a tool of political manipulation”, Mr Nauseda was quoted as saying in a statement released after his meeting with EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson in Vilnius.

“The fastest possible coupling to the European electricity grid would increase the energy security of the Baltic States and the European Union as a whole,” Mr Nauseda added.

ICYMI: McDonald’s replacement opens in Russia under new name

14:21 , Thomas Kingsley

More than a dozen fast food restaurants which were once McDonald’s have reopened in Russia with new branding.

The fast food giant halted its operations in the country in March following the invasion of Ukraine and decided to pull out all together soon after.

All 850 stores were sold to Russian businessman Alexander Govor - who already operated 25 restaurants in the country - under the condition the McDonald’s name, branding and famous ‘golden arches’ were not used.

Under the new name Vkusno-i Tochka (Tasty and that’s it), the first 15 of the revamped restaurants opened their doors to crowds of people across Moscow on Sunday.

Read the full story below:

McDonald’s replacement opens in Russia under new name

Three killed in artillery attack on Donetsk market

14:04 , Thomas Kingsley

At least three people including a child were killed and four injured on Monday by Ukrainian artillery at a market in the Russian-backed separatist Ukrainian region of Donetsk, the province's news agency said.

The Donetsk News Agency showed pictures of burning stalls at the central Maisky market and at least one body on the ground. The news agency said 155-mm caliber Nato-standard artillery munitions hit parts of the region on Monday.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the reports.

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that the main immediate reason for what he casts as a “special military operation” was to protect the Russian-speakers of Donbas from persecution and attack by Ukraine.

Ukraine and its Western backers say Russia is waging an unprovoked war against a sovereign state which is fighting for its existence. Kyiv says Russia's claim of persecution of Russian-speakers is a baseless pretext for the invasion.

Moroccan sentenced to death in Donetsk has Ukrainian nationality, father says

13:45 , Thomas Kingsley

The father of a Moroccan man sentenced to death by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) on mercenary charges said his son should be treated as a prisoner of war as he is a Ukrainian national who handed himself in voluntarily.

Morocco-born Brahim Saadoun and Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner were found guilty of mercenary activities and committing actions aimed at seizing power and overthrowing the constitutional order" of the DPR, Russian media said last week.

The three men were captured while fighting for Ukraine against Russia and Russian-backed forces.

The Moroccan fighter received Ukrainian nationality in 2020 after undergoing a year of military training as a requirement to access aerospace technology studies at a university in Kyiv, his father Tahar Saadoun said in an email to Reuters.

He handed himself in “voluntarily” and should be treated as a “prisoner of war”, the father said.

The sentence will be appealed, he said.

“We as a family suffer from the absence of contact with the lawyer to exchange legal information and this adds to our ordeal,” he said.

Both sides using heavier weapons in war in Ukraine, says Finnish president

13:31 , Thomas Kingsley

Finnish president Sauli Niinisto said on Monday both sides in the war in Ukraine were using heavier weapons, including in Russia's case thermobaric bombs.

“We are supporting Ukraine with increasingly heavy weaponry. And on the other hand Russia has also begun to use very powerful weapons, thermobaric bombs that are in fact weapons of mass destruction,” Mr Niinisto said during security policy talks at his summer residence in Naantali, Finland.

Ukraine and Nato countries have also accused Russia of using thermobaric bombs, which are also known as vacuum bombs and are much more devastating than conventional explosives.

ICYMI: Russia has committed war crimes in Kharkiv through indiscriminate shelling, claims Amnesty

13:16 , Joe Middleton

Russia’s indiscriminate shelling of civilian infrastructure - including children’s playgrounds - in the city of Kharkiv is a war crime, Amnesty International has claimed.

Hundreds of Ukrainian civilians have died and scores of others have been maimed in Russian attacks on Kharkiv, the organisation said.

Located close to the border with Russia, the northeast Ukrainian city, which was home to 1.5 million people before Vladimir Putin launched his invasion, has been widely hit by banned cluster munitions and unguided rockets in violation of humanitarian law, according to the new research.

Rory Sullivan reports.

Russia has committed war crimes in Kharkiv, claims Amnesty

Both sides using heavier weapons in war in Ukraine-Russia war, says Finnish president

12:51 , Joe Middleton

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Monday both sides in the war in Ukraine were using heavier weapons, including in Russia’s case thermobaric bombs.

“We are supporting Ukraine with increasingly heavy weaponry. And on the other hand Russia has also begun to use very powerful weapons, thermobaric bombs that are in fact weapons of mass destruction,” Niinisto said during security policy talks at his summer residence in Naantali, Finland.

Ukraine and Nato countries have also accused Russia of using thermobaric bombs, which are also known as vacuum bombs and are much more devastating than conventional explosives.

India, China growing markets for shunned Russian oil

12:20 , Thomas Kingsley

India and other Asian nations are becoming an increasingly vital source of oil revenues for Moscow despite strong pressure from the US not to increase their purchases, as the European Union and other allies cut off energy imports from Russia in line with sanctions over its war on Ukraine.

Such sales are boosting Russian export revenues at a time when Washington and allies are trying to limit financial flows supporting Moscow's war effort.

India, an oil-hungry country of 1.4 billion people, has guzzled nearly 60 million barrels of Russian oil in 2022 so far, compared with 12 million barrels in all of 2021, according to commodity data firm Kpler. Shipments to other Asian countries, like China, have also increased in recent months but to a lesser extent.

Read the full story below:

India, China growing markets for shunned Russian oil

Russia earned £80 billion from fossil fuel exports in first 100 days of war

12:06 , Thomas Kingsley

Russia has earned $98bn (£80 billion) from fossil fuel exports during the first 100 days of its war in Ukraine, with the European Union being the top importer, according to new research.

The report published on Monday by the independent, Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) came as Russian forces continued making slow but steady progress in their campaign to fully capture eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.

The United States and the EU have sent weapons and cash to help Ukraine fend off the Russian advance, alongside punishing Moscow with unprecedented economic sanctions.

But Kyiv has called on Western countries to sever all trade with Moscow in the hopes of cutting off its financial lifeline in the wake of the February 24 invasion. Pre-war, Russia supplied 40 percent of the EU’s gas and 27 percent of its imported oil.

Watch: Chemical plant sheltering civilians hit by Russian shelling in Severodonetsk

11:40 , Thomas Kingsley

Ukraine needs ‘heavy weapons parity’ to end war, Zelensky aide says

11:24 , Thomas Kingsley

An aide to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the west to send more weapons to help end the war with Russia.

Mykhailo Podolyak said that Ukraine needs “heavy weapons parity” with Russia in order to bring the conflict to a close.

Ukraine is “waiting for a decision” on how many weapons will be sent from the West, ahead of defence ministers meeting at the Nato headquarters in Brussels.

The adviser said Ukraine needs 1,000 howtizers and 500 tanks in addition to several drones and armoured vehicles.

Russia hit playground with ‘illegal’ cluster bombs, human rights group says

11:07 , Thomas Kingsley

Russia has been accused of repeatedly using illegal cluster bombs and unguided missiles in “shocking” attacks on Ukrainians, Amnesty International has found.

In a new report, Amnesty International said the Kremlin must be held accountable. The investigation found evidence of Russian forces repeatedly using 9N210/9N235 cluster munitions which are subject to international treaty bans because of their indiscriminate effects.

The report found that hundreds of civilians were killed in “relentless attacks” on residential neighbourhoods in the Ukrainian city Kharkiv.

“People have been killed in their homes and in the streets, in playgrounds and in cemeteries, while queueing for humanitarian aid, or shopping for food and medicine,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s senior crisis response adviser.

Nordics should consider joint air control in far north, Finnish parliament speaker says

10:45 , Thomas Kingsley

Finland, Sweden and Norway should consider organising their air defence control jointly in territories north of the Arctic Circle in coming years, the speaker of the Finnish parliament said on Monday.

If Finland and neighbouring Sweden's applications for membership in the Western military alliance Nato are successful, the Nordics could for the first time consider organising parts of their defence jointly with their common neighbour Norway which is already a Nato member.

“We all three - Sweden, Norway and Finland - have relatively strong airforces and we have to control our borders and airspace,” said Matti Vanhanen, discussing Nato and security policy with Norway's prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere at an event organised by Finland's president Sauli Niinisto at his summer residence in Naantali, Finland.

“It would be most natural that in the coming years the controlling of the airspace would be common,” said Vanhanen, a former Finnish prime minister.

Finland and Sweden abandoned their traditional policy of neutrality in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February are seeking to join Nato. Their applications face opposition from Turkey, however, which accuses them of harbouring terrorists.

Russia says it destroyed American and European weapons in eastern Ukraine

10:30 , Thomas Kingsley

Russia’s defence ministry said on Monday its missiles had destroyed a large quantity of weapons and military equipment in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, including some that had been sent by the United States and European nations.

The ministry said high-precision air-based missiles had struck near the Udachne railway station, hitting equipment that had been delivered to Ukrainian forces.

10:15 , Thomas Kingsley

A German government spokesperson declined to confirm a media report on Monday that Chancellor Olaf Scholz would travel to Kyiv on Thursday with French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

Online magazine Focus, citing Italian newspaper La Stampa, earlier reported that the three European leaders would travel to the Ukrainian capital on Thursday, adding a specific date to a Bild am Sonntag report on Sunday that they planned to go before a Group of Seven summit at the end of June.

“We still do not confirm that,” the spokesperson said.

Mr Scholz, who has not been to Kyiv since the start of the war, has faced criticism abroad for his caution in supplying Ukraine with heavy arms such as tanks and howitzers, and has been forced to reject criticism that Berlin is not showing leadership.

At home, frustration has also grown among Mr Scholz's junior coalition partners over what they say are shortcomings in his leadership on Ukraine, an internal rift that risks undermining western unity against Russia.

Pictured: Scale of damage in ‘embattled’ Sievierodonetsk

10:00 , Thomas Kingsley

Which weapons are the UK and other countries sending to Ukraine?

09:50 , Thomas Kingsley

Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February, the UK and Western allies have been providing military aid to help Ukrainian forces resist Moscow’s advances.

After starting cautiously with helmets and flak jackets and then limiting supplies to defensive weapons, Western countries have massively stepped up their response.

Some 40 nations have joined in delivering missiles, tanks and heavy artillery to help Ukraine’s efforts in countering Russia’s intensified offensive in the eastern Donbas region.

Read the full story below:

Which weapons are the UK and other countries sending to Ukraine?

Hundreds of civilians killed in Kharkiv by indiscriminate Russian shelling, says Amnesty

09:35 , Thomas Kingsley

Russia’s indiscriminate shelling of civilian infrastructure - including children’s playgrounds - in the city of Kharkiv has killed hundreds of Ukrainians and maimed scores of others, Amnesty International has claimed.

Located close to the border with Russia, the northeast Ukrainian city, which was home to 1.5 million people before Vladimir Putin launched his invasion, has been widely hit by banned cluster munitions and unguided rockets in violation of humanitarian law, according to the new research.

The Kremlin’s forces have routinely fired inaccurate rockets such as Grads and Uragans as well as outlawed 9N210/9N235 cluster munitions at Kharkiv, as attested by evidence discovered in craters across the city.

Read the full story below:

Hundreds killed in Kharkiv by indiscriminate Russian shelling, says Amnesty

Industrial zone under heavy Russian fire in Ukraine's Sievierodonetsk - governor

09:14 , Thomas Kingsley

An industrial zone where about 500 civilians are sheltering is under heavy artillery fire from Russian forces, the regional governor said on Monday.

Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine that includes Sievierodonetsk, said on Facebook that Russian forces controlled about 70 per cent of the city and fighting there was fierce.

The Russian destruction of a bridge left stranded civilians with just one remaining bridge to escape across a river to the neighbouring city of Lysychansk, which was also being shelled but was still in Ukrainian hands.

Hundreds of civilians in the city were sheltering in the city's Azot chemical plant, creating a scenario similar to the fall of the southern port city of Mariupol, where hundreds of people were trapped for weeks in the Azovstal steelworks.

“Russians continue to storm the city, having a significant advantage in artillery they have somewhat pushed back the Ukrainian soldiers,” said Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the Luhansk region.

“The Russians are destroying quarter after quarter,” Mr Gaidai said on Monday.

Ukraine hits back at Biden’s ‘absurd’ remark that Zelensky ‘didn’t want to hear’ US intel on Russia

09:00 , Thomas Kingsley

Volodymyr Zelensky’s aides have hit back at Joe Biden’s remarks that the Ukrainian president “didn't want to hear it” when US intelligence alerted him that Russia was preparing an invasion and had called it “absurd”.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak criticised Mr Biden for putting the blame on Ukraine while Mr Zelensky’s spokesperson Sergei Nikiforov said the remark “probably needs to be clarified” as it was their partners who had paid no heed to Ukraine’s concerns.

Mr Nikiforov told Russian-language Ukrainian news outlet Liga that Mr Zelensky had “three or four telephone conversations” with Mr Biden before the war started, during which they exchanged “detailed” assessments of the situation.

Read the full story from our reporter, Stuti Mishra:

Ukraine hits back at Biden for claiming Zelensky ‘didn’t want to hear’ US intel

‘River crossing operations’ critical in determining course of the war - UK intelligence

08:44 , Thomas Kingsley

River crossing operations are critical in determining the court of the war in Ukraine, UK defence officials have said.

In its regular intelligence update, the UK stated that: “Over the coming months, river crossing operations are likely to be amongst the most important determining factors in the course of the war.”

The update added: “The key, 90km long central sector of Russia’s frontline in the Donbas lies to the west of the Siverskyy Donets River.”

“To achieve success in the current operational phase of its Donbas offensive, Russia is either going to have to complete ambitious flanking actions, or conduct assault river crossings.”

“Ukrainian forces have often managed to demolish bridges before they withdraw, while Russia has struggled to put in place the complex coordination necessary to conduct successful, large scale river crossings under fire.”

Eyewitness accounts of attacks in Ukraine

08:30 , Thomas Kingsley

In one case on the afternoon of 12 March, Veronica Cherevychko, a 30-year-old logistics manager, lost her right leg when a Grad rocket struck a playground in front of her home in the Saltivka neighbourhood.

She told Amnesty: “I was sitting on this bench when the explosion happened. I remember hearing a whistling sound just before the explosion. Then I woke up in hospital, without a leg; my right leg was gone. Now my life is divided into before 12 March, and after 12 March. I will get used to this. Now I am not yet used to it; I often try to touch my leg, to scratch my foot … I don’t know what to say about [the] people who did it. I will never understand them.”

In a nearby playground, Oksana Litvynyenko, 41, suffered devastating injuries when several cluster munitions exploded while she was walking with her husband Ivan and their four-year-old daughter.

She tragically died on 11 June. Ivan told Amnesty on 26 April: “All of a sudden, I saw a flash … I grabbed my daughter and pushed her against the tree and hugged the tree, so that she was protected between the tree and my body.

“There was a lot of smoke and I couldn’t see anything … Then as the smoke around me eased, I saw people on the ground … my wife Oksana was lying on the ground. When my daughter saw her mum on the ground in a pool of blood, she said to me, ‘Let’s go home. Mum is dead and the people are dead’. She was in shock and so was I. I still don’t know whether my wife will recover. The doctors cannot say if she will be able to speak or walk again. Our world has been turned upside down.”

Russia hit playground with cluster bombs, human rights group says

08:10 , Thomas Kingsley

Russia used cluster bombs and unguided missiles on children’s playgrounds and churches, a human rights organisation has found.

In a new report, Amnesty International said the Kremlin had led “horrific attacks” in Ukraine which they must be held accountable for.

During an investigation, Amnesty found evidence of Russian forces repeatedly using indiscriminate cluster munitions which are subject to international treaty bans because of their indiscriminate effects.

“People have been killed in their homes and in the streets, in playgrounds and in cemeteries, while queueing for humanitarian aid, or shopping for food and medicine,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s senior crisis response adviser.

“The people of Kharkiv have faced a relentless barrage of indiscriminate attacks in recent months, which killed and injured hundreds of civilians.

“The repeated use of widely-banned cluster munitions is shocking, and a further indication of utter disregard for civilian lives. The Russian forces responsible for these horrific attacks must be held accountable for their actions, and victims and their families must receive full reparations.”

Almost 10 hectares of ecosystems burnt down in Kharkiv

08:00 , Thomas Kingsley

More than 8 hectares of ecosystems burned down in Kharkiv as a result of Russian shelling.

On 12 June, a coniferous forest in Izium district burned out after it was shelled by Russian troops. The flames covered area of ​​4 hectares, emergency services reported.

Among the largest fires causing by shelling were fires in the Balaklia city. There were two residential buildings in the area of 1000 and 500 sq metres.

Watch: Ukrainian soldiers describe what life is like in the trenches

07:40 , Thomas Kingsley

Ukrainian Territorial Defense troops have spent a winter and a spring in tight trenches. “It’s not like what we had at home but our shower is the river under the bridge, we usually wash ourselves there,” said one soldier.

With the sound of explosions in distance, soldiers joke about their current daily life describing themselves as “boy-scouts in the forest”.

Watch the full video below:

Ukrainian soldiers describe what life is like in the trenches

Canada condemns official’s visit to Russian embassy event

07:23 , Thomas Kingsley

It was “unacceptable” for a Canadian official to have attended Russia Day celebrations at the country's embassy in Canada, foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly said on Sunday.

A deputy protocol chief in Canada's global affairs department, Yasemin Heinbecker, attended Friday's event, along with representatives of Egypt, Pakistan and some African nations, the Globe and Mail newspaper said in a report.

“No Canadian representative should have attended the event hosted at the Russian embassy and no Canadian representative will attend this kind of event again,” Ms Joly said in a Twitter post.

She also reiterated Canada's support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.

Russia struggling with large scale river crossings under fire, claims UK

06:41 , Arpan Rai

The British defence ministry has said that the river crossing operations could be pivotel in the future course of war in the next months.

“Over the coming months, river crossing operations are likely to be amongst the most important determining factors in the course of the war,” the ministry officials said in its latest intelligence update, adding that over the weekend, “the battle around Sieverodonetsk has continued to rage”.

“The key, 90km long central sector of Russia’s frontline in the Donbas lies to the west of the Siverskyy Donets River,” the British MoD said.

It added: “To achieve success in the current operational phase of its Donbas offensive, Russia is either going to have to complete ambitious flanking actions, or conduct assault river crossings.”

“Ukrainian forces have often managed to demolish bridges before they withdraw, while Russia has struggled to put in place the complex coordination necessary to conduct successful, large scale river crossings under fire,” the ministry said.

Former British soldier killed fighting Russia in Ukraine ‘a true hero'

06:24 , Arpan Rai

The family of the former British soldier and his adviser have hailed him as a hero for defending Ukraine against Russian invasion.

The soldier Jordan Gatley, who left the British army in March, was shot dead in Sievierodonetsk in Ukraine.

His father Dean Gatley said that Gatley had decided to leave the UK “after careful consideration”.

Taking pride in his son’s decisions, Mr Gatley said that he will “forever be in our hearts”.

Read full story here:

Former British soldier killed in Ukraine ‘a true hero’

Ukraine still controlling industrial area in Sievierodonetsk, says governor

06:03 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian fighters continue to control the industrial area in Sievierodonetsk and a chemical plant sheltering civilians, the region’s governor Serhiy Gaidai said on Sunday.

He added that troops from both Russia and Ukraine fought street-by-street in the key Donbas city over the weekend.

However, Ukrainian troops remain in control of the Azot chemical plant, where hundreds of civilians are sheltering.

“About 500 civilians remain on the territory of the Azot plant in Sievierodonetsk, 40 of them are children,” the governor said. “Sometimes the military manages to evacuate someone.”

However, rescue operations have been severely hampered due to widespread firing and shelling.

Russian soldiers have destroyed a bridge over the Siverskyi Donets River linking Sievierodonetsk with its twin city of Lysychansk, Mr Gaidai said, adding that only one out of three bridges is now functional.

Warning against its impact on the rescue of civilians, Mr Gaidai said: “If after new shelling, the bridge collapses, the city will truly be cut off. There will be no way of leaving Sievierodonetsk in a vehicle.”

He added that a six-year-old child was killed in shelling in Lysychansk.

Ukraine fighting for every metre of Sievierodonetsk, says Zelensky

04:56 , Arpan Rai

Fierce fighting is underway in Sievierodonetsk, Volodymyr Zelensky said adding that his fighters are wresting for control over every meter literally.

“The key tactical goal of the occupiers [Russia] has not changed. They are pressing in Severodonetsk, where very fierce fighting is going on - literally for every meter. And they are also pressing in the direction of Lysychansk, Bakhmut, Slovyansk and so on,” Mr Zelensky said late on Sunday.

He added that the Russian army will now try to deploy reserve forces in Donbas. “But what reserves can they have now? It seems that they will try to throw into battle poorly trained conscripts and those who were gathered by covert mobilisation,” he said.

“Russian generals see their people simply as the cannon fodder they need to gain an advantage in numbers — in manpower, in military equipment. And this means only one thing: Russia can cross the line of 40,000 of its lost troops already in June. In no other war in many decades have they lost so much,” Mr Zelensky said.

Zelensky condemns Russian missile strike as 10 hospitalised

04:44 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of launching a strategically senseless strike in Ukraine’s Ternopil region and said that the besieged country needs a modern missile defence system.

“After the missile strike at the Ternopil region, ten people are still in hospitals. There was no tactical or strategic sense in this strike, as in the vast majority of other Russian strikes. This is terror, just terror,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Sunday.

He added that the victims include a 12-year-old girl from Kharkiv. “She went to the Ternopil region to flee from the Russian army. And such facts will now determine perception of Russia in the world. Not Peter I or Lev Tolstoy, but children wounded and killed by Russian strikes,” he said.

Urging the allies to back Ukraine with more artillery, Mr Zelensky said: “Today is the 109th day of a full-scale war, but it is not the 109th day as we tell our partners a simple thing: Ukraine needs modern missile defence systems.”

“The supply of such systems was possible this year, last year and even earlier. Did we get them? No. Do we need them? Yes. There have already been 2606 affirmative answers to this question in the form of various Russian cruise missiles that have hit Ukrainian cities.”

He added: “Our cities, our villages for the period from 24 February. These are lives that could have been saved, these are tragedies that could have been prevented if Ukraine had been listened to.”

Watch: Ukrainian soldiers describe what life is like in the trenches

03:00 , Emily Atkinson

Ukrainian First Lady opens refugee centre in Lithuania

01:45 , Emily Atkinson

Ukraine’s First Lady has opened a refugee centre in Lithuania, where tens of thousands of Ukrainians have fled since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion.

“We wanted Ukrainians who were forced to come to Lithuania because of the war to have a truly native place. So that the centre will be the place where it is possible to address on any matter – help or communication,” Olena Zelenska said.

In total, almost five million Ukrainians who fled their homeland because of the conflict are living elsewhere in Europe, according to the UN.

Vladimir Putin urges citizens to stand united in speech to mark Russia Day

Monday 13 June 2022 00:45 , Emily Atkinson

Vladimir Putin has urged Russian citizens to “be united” and build on the “deep feelings of patriotism” in a speech to mark Russia Day as the war in Ukraine raged on.

Speaking at the Kremlin, the Russian president said the importance of unity and patriotism is “as clear as ever”.

Mr Putin praised former Russian ruler Peter the Great, the 18th Century tsar who he earlier this week compared himself to. Calling him a “great reformer”, Mr Putin paid tribute to his “profound transformations” and urged Russian citizens to recognise the strength of century-old traditions.

Zaina Alibhai reports:

Vladimir Putin urges citizens to stand united in speech to mark Russia Day

Watch: McDonald's in Russia reopens as Vkusno i Tochka

Sunday 12 June 2022 23:45 , Emily Atkinson

Russia facing military staffing issues, says MoD

Sunday 12 June 2022 22:45 , Emily Atkinson

Russia’s third battalions within brigades are often not fully staffed, meaning Moscow’s forces will likely have to rely on new recruits or mobilised reservists to deploy these units to Ukraine, according to an intelligence update.

The latest update from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) adds: “Deploying all three of their battalions simultaneously will likely reduce formations’ longer term capacity to regenerate combat power after operations.”

Sunday 12 June 2022 21:45 , Emily Atkinson

Images capture Ukrainian servicemen fire towards Russian troops with a tank at a position in the eastern Donetsk region.

Russia planning ‘to fight a longer war'

Sunday 12 June 2022 20:45 , Emily Atkinson

Ukrainian intelligence suggests Russian forces are planning “to fight a longer war”, according to a US-based think tank.

The Institute for the Study of War cited the deputy head of Ukraine’s national security agency as saying that Moscow had extended its war timeline until October, with adjustments to be made depending on any successes in the Donbas.

The intelligence “likely indicates the Kremlin has, at a minimum, acknowledged it cannot achieve its objectives in Ukraine quickly and is further adjusting its military objectives in an attempt to correct the initial deficiencies in the invasion of Ukraine”, it said.

Latest intelligence update

Sunday 12 June 2022 19:45 , Emily Atkinson

Major depot containing western weapons ‘destroyed by Russian missiles'

Sunday 12 June 2022 18:45 , Emily Atkinson

A major depot in western Ukraine’s Ternopil region containing US and European weapons has been destoryed by Russian cruise missiles, Russia‘s Interfax agency has reported.

Ternopil’s governor said rockets fired from the Black Sea at the city of Chortkiv had partly destroyed a military facility and injured 22 people. A local official said there were no weapons stored there.

Watch: Victims of Russian invasion buried in fields of nameless graves in Mariupol

Sunday 12 June 2022 17:45 , Emily Atkinson

Donbas is holding on, says Zelensky

Sunday 12 June 2022 16:42 , Emily Atkinson

No one knows how long the war in Ukraine will last but the country’s forces are defying expectations by preventing Russian troops from overrunning eastern Ukraine, president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

In his nightly video address, Zelensky said he was proud of the Ukrainian defenders managing to hold back the Russian advance in the Donbas region, which borders Russia and where Moscow-backed separatists have controlled much of the territory for eight years.

“Remember how in Russia, in the beginning of May, they hoped to seize all of the Donbas?” the president said.

“It’s already the 108th day of the war, already June. Donbas is holding on.”

Foreign Office confirms death of former British soldier in Ukraine

Sunday 12 June 2022 16:25 , Rory Sullivan

The Foreign Office has confirmed that Jordan Gatley, a former British soldier, has died in Ukraine while fighting against the Russian army.

In a post on social media, his father wrote: “His team say they all loved him, as did we, and he made a massive difference to many peoples lives, not only soldiering, but also by training the Ukrainian forces.

“Jordan and his team were so proud of the work they were doing and he often told me that the missions they were going on were dangerous, but necessary.

“He loved his job and we are so proud of him. He truly was a hero and will forever be in our hearts.”

In response to his death, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Ukraine.”

Photos

Sunday 12 June 2022 15:55 , Rory Sullivan

Here are some of the latest photos to emerge from Ukraine and Russia:

Calls grow to save Moroccan man sentenced to death by Russian proxies

Sunday 12 June 2022 15:35 , Rory Sullivan

The friends of Brahim Saadoun, a young Moroccan man who has been sentenced to death by Russian proxies in Ukraine, have called for his release.

Campaigning under the hashtag #SaveBrahim, they have stressed that he joined the Ukrainian marines in November last year and is not a mercenary, a charge levelled against him by pro-Russian separatists who captured him in April.

“I can see how he’s tired and exhausted. I wish he knew how much support he has...how many people care, how many people write about it, how many people post about it...so he has a reason to hold on, to know that he is not alone,” one of his friends told the Guardian.

No reason to pardon Britons given death sentences, says pro-Russian separatist leader

Sunday 12 June 2022 15:05 , Rory Sullivan

There is no reason to pardon two British men condemned to death for fighting for Ukraine, the leader of the Russian-backed separatist Donetsk region (DPR) has said.

Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner - and Moroccan Brahim Saadoun - received the judgement earlier this week, after being accused of being “mercenaries”.

“I don’t see any grounds, prerequisites, for me to come out with such a decision on a pardon,” said Denis Pushilin, the breakaway Donetsk region’s leader.

The international community has hit out at the decision by a DPR court, which is only recognised by Russia.

Mr Aslin’s family said he and Pinner “are not, and never were, mercenaries” and were “members of Ukrainian armed forces”. They therefore called on Russia to respect the Geneva Convention by treating them as prisoners of war.

Turkey’s concerns about ‘terrorism’ legitimate, says Nato secretary general

Sunday 12 June 2022 14:41 , Rory Sullivan

When Finland and Sweden asked to join Nato last month due to security concerns about Russia, Turkey decided to oppose the move.

The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused them of harbouring “terrorists”.

Speaking about the impasse, Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general, said such concerns are legitimate, noting that no Nato member suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey.

Czech foreign minister criticises Macron over Putin comment

Sunday 12 June 2022 14:26 , Rory Sullivan

The Czech foreign minister has criticised French president Emmanuel Macron for saying that Vladimir Putin mustn’t be “humiliate” if peace is to be achieved in Ukraine.

“Macron probably doesn’t understand the issue very well,” Jan Lipavsky said.

“Putin doesn’t care how Russia is perceived in the west,” he added.

The Macron administration sought to quell criticism earlier this week by insisting that it did not want to given any concessions to Russia.

Former British soldier ‘killed fighting against Russia'

Sunday 12 June 2022 14:00 , Rory Sullivan

A former British soldier has reportedly been killed fighting for Ukraine in the Donbas.

In an emotional Facebook tribute, Jordan Gatley’s family paid tribute to him.

British ex-solider ‘killed fighting against Russia in eastern Ukraine’

Hundreds of Ukrainian bodies remain in Mariupol, says former commander

Sunday 12 June 2022 13:37 , Rory Sullivan

The bodies of many Ukrainian soldiers remain in Mariupol, the former head of the Azov National Guard regiment has said.

Maksym Zhorin said that 220 corpses from the Azovstal steel plant were sent to Kyiv but added that “just as many bodies still remain in Mariupol”.

“Talks are continuing about further exchanges, to return home all the bodies. Absolutely all bodies must be returned and this is something we will work on,” he said.

Hundreds of Ukrainian troops were holed up for months in the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, where they made their last stand before surrendering last month.

Lewis condemns death sentence given to Britons by pro-Russian separatists

Sunday 12 June 2022 13:15 , Rory Sullivan

Brandon Lewis, the UK’s Northern Ireland secretary, has criticised pro-Russian separatists’ decision to condemn two captured British men to death for fighting for Ukraine.

Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, he said: “Really I think it backs up what we’ve all seen in this abhorrent process that Putin has followed in terms of an unwarranted attack on Ukraine in the general way that Putin’s regime is acting. It’s pretty despicable actually.”

Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner remain in prison in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.

Ukraine war in photos

Sunday 12 June 2022 12:50 , Rory Sullivan

Ukrainian teenager hailed a ‘hero'

Sunday 12 June 2022 12:23 , Rory Sullivan

A Ukrainian teenager praised as a hero by his country has spoken of how he helped geo-locate a Russian convoy near Kyiv earlier in the war.

Andriy Pokrasa, 15, used his drone to track its exact coordinates, before sending them to the Ukrainian army.

“These were some of the scariest moments of my life,” the teenager said.

“We provided the photos and the location to the armed forces. They narrowed down the co-ordinates more accurately and transmitted them by walkie-talkie, so as to adjust the artillery,” he said.

In total, 20 Russian military vehicles were destroyed, the 15-year-old added.

Russia to ‘rely’ on new recruits, says UK

Sunday 12 June 2022 11:57 , Rory Sullivan

Vladimir Putin’s generals will “likely have to rely” on new recruits or mobilised reservists as the war grinds on in eastern Ukraine, the UK has said.

As heavy fighting continues around the city of Sievierodonetsk, Russia is attempting to use its artillery superiority to its advantage, according to the British Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) latest military assessment

Usually, the Kremlin’s senior officers only commit two of their three battalions to operations at the same time. However, it is thought that Russia will soon use all three.

“The third battalions within brigades are often not fully staffed - Russia will likely have to rely on new recruits or mobilised reservists to deploy these units to Ukraine,” the UK said.

Ukraine establishes grain export routes through Poland and Romania

Sunday 12 June 2022 11:12 , Rory Sullivan

Ukraine has managed to create two food export routes through Poland and Romania, as Russia continues to blockade Ukrainian ports, Kyiv has said.

Dmytro Senik, the Ukrainian deputy foreign minister, said Russia was putting global food security at risk by its actions.

Speaking about the overland routes, he said: “Those routes are not perfect because it creates certain bottlenecks, but we are doing our best to develop those routes in the meantime.”

Ukraine is the world’s fourth-largest grain export. With millions of tonnes of its crops unable to be exported, experts have warned that hunger and famine will become more prevalent around the world.