Ukraine has reported some success in taking back land in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region – as “especially heavy fighting” is taking place near Lyman in the Donetsk region. Meanwhile, Russia has said its navy will receive two new nuclear submarines by the end of the year.
Wednesday 21 June 2023 11:00, UK
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One of Russia’s main allies has said its armed forces are beginning 10 days of annual “mobilisation exercises”.
The Belarusian defence ministry said the exercises were aimed at assessing how prepared the country was to mobilise reservists.
All Belarusian men must perform military service, and remain in the reserves after completing it.
For context: Although Belarusian forces have not directly joined the war, the country has remained closely tied to Russia and allowed Moscow to use its territory as a launch pad for the invasion.
It has held frequent military exercises with Russia and also let Moscow use its bases for training.
Earlier this month, Russian tactical nuclear missiles were moved to Belarusian territory – something Vladimir Putin described as a warning to the West.
The importance of Ukrainian grain in combatting world hunger and food prices was highlighted by Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Ukraine Recovery Conference earlier this morning.
But the Black Sea deal, which provides a safe corridor for exported grain during the war, is in peril, according to the Kremlin.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there are “no grounds” to extend the agreement, which expires in July, saying it was not implemented properly.
Russia has demanded the West stop imposing obstacles to the export of its own grain and fertilisers.
The UN is “not managing to exert the necessary influence on the countries of the collective West in order to fulfil this Russian part of the agreement” he said.
Returning to the Ukraine Recovery Conference briefly, and the US has announced another $1.3bn (£1bn) in aid.
This tranche will focus on rebuilding Ukraine’s energy grid and other recovery projects.
US aid has been vital to Ukraine since the beginning of the war, with its support vastly outstripping all other allies.
As of the end of February, it has committed more than £61bn, according to the Kiel Institute.
The UK, by comparison, is the second biggest donor with £8.3bn committed.
Ukraine’s former president Petro Poroshenko has said “only 30% of our brigades” reserved for the counteroffensive are active.
Ukraine’s lack of air dominance and Russia’s superior electronic warfare systems, fighter jets, and air defences were of concern, he told Sky News.
But he added: “Even during that situation we demonstrated progress during this counteroffensive.”
Asked how long it will take for Ukraine to be free, he said: “Excuse me, please – no scale, no time. Everything depends now on the ability of Ukrainian armed forces and I think we have more than enough motivation.
“We surprised the world, we do the miracle, and we stopped the second biggest nuclear power in the world.”
He said Ukraine has performed a “miracle” in stopping the Russian invasion.
“Russia is very strong… but we do not have any doubts about our victory.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy begins his speech to the Ukraine Recovery Conference by thanking the UK for its leadership and support.
The Ukrainian president stresses the need for business confidence that what will be rebuilt in Ukraine “will not fall”.
“We protect Ukraine and we protect freedom. And when we build Ukraine we will build freedom. Country, region, continent, world: it’s a global task,” he says.
Mr Zelenskyy says Ukraine has “succeeded in making the EU as united as it has never been before”.
At least 600 million consumers “directly depend on our agricultural production” and the war highlights the importance of Ukrainian grain products, he says.
“It is green energy that guarantees real energy stability. Ukraine can be and will be one of the key suppliers,” he says, pointing to the impact of the world’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
Critical resources for modern economies, like lithium, are present in Ukraine, he adds.
He says resources and land were not the only reasons Russia invaded: “Russian bosses are very, very afraid of our democracy… because democracy paves the way for the rule of law, getting rid of corruption and the key principles of our countries: every person matters.
“By building Ukraine we are building much more than one country, we are building a world as it will be in the lifetime of our generation and after us.
“Will it be peaceful? Will it be stable? Will it be democratic? It depends on all of us.”
The British prime minister takes to the podium to begin his speech and starts by praising the ingenuity and spirit of Ukraine.
Russia wants to destroy Ukraine’s economy, but people are “getting on with business” in the streets of Kyiv, he says.
Here’s a quick rundown of what he is saying…
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address diplomats, politicians and businesspeople from more than 60 countries in London this morning to drum up funds to rebuild Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will open the conference with the Ukrainian president and is expected to announce billions in bank loan guarantees.
Further assistance will be pledged by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the event.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is among international representatives hoping to get big businesses to back Ukraine.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: “[It’s] very much about encouraging the private sector to invest in Ukraine’s rebuilding and recovery.”
He said to do so “we need to demonstrate that those investments will be effective and that they will be safe” by underwriting Ukraine’s long-term security.
The World Bank estimates Ukraine’s recovery will cost more than £313bn – rising daily.
Read the full story here
Russia is building “elaborate defences” around Crimea, according to British military intelligence.
The “significant effort” it is undertaking means Russian command believes Ukrainian forces are “capable of directly assaulting” the peninsula, the UK Ministry of Defence has said in its daily update.
Maintaining control of Crimea is a “top political priority” for Moscow, it said.
Among the defences is a 5.6-mile stretch near Armiansk, across the narrow land bridge connecting Crimea to Kherson.
Crimea, a peninsula in southern Ukraine, has been controlled by Moscow since 2014.
It is a key target for Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had until the invasion seen political and diplomatic talks as the way to take back Crimea.
Now, it appears Ukraine is set on taking back the territory militarily.
The submarines will be added to the navy’s fleet by the end of this year, Russia’s TASS state news agency has reported.
Alexei Rakhmanov, head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, told TASS in an interview the strategic nuclear-powered submarine missile cruiser Emperor Alexander III and the multipurpose nuclear-powered submarine Krasnoyarsk will be operational by the end of 2023.
Earlier this week, US President Joe Biden warned the nuclear threat from Russia is “real”.
Mr Biden said people looked at him like he was “crazy” when he raised concern over Vladimir Putin’s possible use of the weapons.
Days before, Russia moved some of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.
First we’re bringing you news from the ground in Ukraine, where a Ukrainian military official has reported forces are gaining some land in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukrainian troops have managed to take some ground towards Melitopol and Berdiansk, General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces spokesman Andriy Kovalev said.
“They had partial success, they are gaining ground,” Mr Kovalev was quoted as saying in a post on the Ukraine Military Media Center’s Telegram channel.
He added the gains were near the settlements of Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne, among others.
Mr Kovalev said Ukraine has managed to hold back the advance of Russian troops in the east of the country, with “especially heavy fighting” taking place along near Lyman in the Donetsk region.
Military analysts yesterday reported Ukraine had made small gains around the village of Krasnopolivka, northeast of the town of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s east.
Ukraine also said troops had advanced 7km in the Tavrisk direction in the country’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.
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