Russia Ukraine war latest: Kremlin claims militants have struck border with heavy shelling – Stars Obituary

Russia claims it shot down several Ukrainian drones overnight in the city of Kursk in the west of the country.

“Several Ukrainian drones were shot down by air defenses near Kursk tonight,” Roman Starovoyt, governor of the Kursk region, wrote in a Telegram post.

However, Kiev neither denied nor confirmed the drone strike.

A day earlier, Mr Starovoyt claimed that “drone ammunition” had been dropped on a substation in the village of Gogolevka in the Kursk region, causing a power outage, the Kiev Independent reported.

Both German Chancellor Olaf Schulz and France’s Emmanuel Macron have stressed the need for Ukraine’s security over NATO membership.

Speech at the Second Summit of the European Political Community [EPC] In Moldova yesterday, Mr Schulz said Ukraine and its allies remained “very far away” from any kind of peace agreement, adding that security guarantees for Ukraine should take precedence over NATO membership, Reuters report.

“Given the current situation, it’s not about building membership … we all have to focus on how we personally support Ukraine,” he said.

“They have to be designed in such a way that they can provide Ukraine with the security it needs from the dangers of attack, and at the same time they also stabilize Ukraine, … Of course, that’s always part of the security that it takes seriously.”

Macron also said he was in favor of NATO members providing “stronger, concrete, very clear security guarantees” for Ukraine. “We have to take a long-term view of Ukraine.”

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that it foiled three cross-border attacks near the town of Shebekino in the Belgorod region.

“In total, the attack involved up to 70 militants, five tanks, four armored vehicles, seven pickups and one KAMAZ truck,” Russia’s defense ministry said last night.

The ministry claimed to have killed more than 50 Ukrainian soldiers.

According to Ukraine, Russia has lost about 208,000 troops since the invasion began.

Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesman for the eastern bloc of Ukraine’s armed forces, said that was more than the 170,000 Russian troops he said would take part in the original invasion in 2022.

Meanwhile, Sky News reported that as of June 1, Russia had killed or injured more than 60,000 people in an attack on the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

Last month, Russia announced it had successfully captured Bakhmut after about a year of fighting. The report quoted Western officials as saying.

Russia shelled Ukrainian strongholds in Bakhmut at least 476 times yesterday, according to Mr Cherevatyi.

The United States has decided to stop providing Russia with some of the notifications required by the New START arms control treaty — including updates on the location of its missiles and launchers.

The State Department said in a fact sheet on its website that it would also stop providing Russia with telemetry information — data collected remotely about missile flights — about U.S. intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missile launches.

The move was aimed at reaffirming Moscow’s “continuous breach” of the agreement, according to Reuters.

The New START treaty, signed by then-Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev in 2010, limits each country to deploying more than 1,550 nuclear warheads and 700 missiles and bombers. The agreement envisages comprehensive on-site inspections to verify compliance.

“Beginning June 1, 2023, the United States will refuse to provide Russia with treaty-mandated notifications, including updates on the status or location of treaty-obligated items such as missiles and launchers,” the State Department fact sheet said.

Ukrainian authorities reportedly lifted the airstrike alert across most of the country today.

Kiev officials said defense systems shot down more than 30 missiles and drones launched by Russia.

“According to preliminary information, air defense forces detected and destroyed more than 30 air targets of various types over Kiev and in the surrounding airspace,” military officials said in a statement shared on Telegram.

Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who had earlier reported two separate waves of attacks, wrote on Telegram that no calls had been received from rescue services.

At least three people were killed and others wounded in a fresh aerial bombardment of Kiev by Russian forces that began in June on Tuesday, authorities said.

Two of the dead were children, according to city officials:

For decades, the Lefortovo prison that housed American journalist Evan Gershkovich has been a symbol of Russian oppression and control.

Testimonies from inmates, lawyers and prison supervisors say it was designed to instill fear, isolation and hopelessness, the psychological stress that defines inmate torture:

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reiterated Brazil’s criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but said he had been trying to remain neutral in order to facilitate potential peace talks.

After meeting in Brasília with Finnish President Saul Niinisto, Mr Lula said he was seeking to create conditions for the two countries to enter into peace talks to “stop the war when they are ready”.

“Brazil is working with other countries to achieve peace, but unless Ukraine and Russia are willing, nothing will happen,” Mr Lula said, adding that he had recently discussed the issue with other leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping theme.

A spokesman said the United Nations was concerned by the continued slowdown in the implementation of a Black Sea grain export agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

Only 33 ships left Ukrainian ports in May, less than half the number of the previous month.

He said the United Nations would engage with all parties to fully restore the agreement.

Ukraine said the export deal had again been suspended as Russia prevented ships from registering at all Ukrainian ports.