Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow warns US of ‘fatal consequences’; 1,300 Russian casualties in 24 hours, Ukraine claims

World

By admin On Jun 4, 2024

Key points

Deborah Haynes:

21:58:36 Good evening

That’s it for our live coverage this evening, but we’ll be back soon with more updates.

21:17:19 In pictures: Houses in ruins amid shelling

Images taken by Reuters photographers on the ground in Russian-occupied Donetsk show houses destroyed by shelling.

Chickens can be seen walking among the ruins of a wooden structure in the village of Rozivka.

Resident Valentina Chernaya, 90, was pictured with her head in her hands near her damaged house and destroyed outbuildings.

20:14:00 Italy donates unit of only European-made ballistic missile defence systems

Italy will send a second SAMP/T air defence system to Ukraine – the only European-made system that can intercept ballistic missiles.

Also known as MAMBA, it is a Franco-Italian battery that can track dozens of targets and intercept 10 at once.

Rome and Paris jointly delivered the first system in 2023, but Ukraine has repeatedly called on partners to provide more help with air defence as it faces an increasing barrage of Russian attacks on cities and energy infrastructure.

Italy has approved eight support packages to Ukraine since the invasion began.

Its foreign minister said the SAMP/T will be part of a ninth package under preparation, but did not give a time frame for delivery.

All shipments have so far been covered by official secrecy and the government has never made public the exact list of weapons it has sent to Ukraine.

18:45:01 France arrests three after coffins found at Eiffel Tower

French police have arrested three people after five empty coffins wrapped in French flags with the words “French soldiers from Ukraine” were found near the Eiffel Tower.

The public prosecutors have requested that the three individuals, who are from Bulgaria, Germany and Ukraine, be charged with premeditated violence.

Prosecutors said leaving coffins at the foot of the Eiffel Tower was an act of psychological violence.

France could soon send military trainers to Ukraine despite the concerns of some allies and criticism by Russia, diplomatic sources told Reuters last week.

French daily Le Monde, quoting security documents, reported that the three men had been in contact with a man suspected of having sprayed red hands on the Paris Shoah Memorial, a Holocaust museum, in mid-May.

17:45:01 Russian soldiers’ wives demand men return from the front in protest

А group of Russian women have staged a small but rare protest outside the Russian defence ministry.

They demand the return of some mobilised soldiers from the front in Ukraine.

For months, different groups of Russian women have organised sporadic demonstrations to exert pressure on authorities to return their husbands, sons and brothers.

One of the woman at the protest, Paulina, said the women wanted strict limits on how long soldiers can serve before they must rotate out of active duty.

Pictures and videos Paulina published on the Telegram app showed women holding signs with slogans including “please bring Papa home”.

Several had brought along their school-aged children and toddlers in pushchairs.

No ministry officials came out of the building to speak with the women, Paulina said.

16:45:01 18 arrested in Poland over collaborating with Russia and Belarus

Poland has arrested 18 people accused of pursuing hostile activities or sabotage on behalf of Russia and Belarus.

One of the schemes allegedly included plans to assassinate Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the interior minister said.

Ten of those arrested since December were directly involved in planning various forms of sabotage across Poland, Tomasz Siemoniak told a news conference.

Authorities in Poland have linked some recent arsons or attempted arsons to Russian-sponsored agents.

Mr Siemoniak said that acts of sabotage were apparently part of a wider plan that also includes cyberattacks, pushing migrants in Belarus to cross into Poland and threatening the security of the country.

“We have no doubt that on the bidding of a foreign country, Russia, there are some people active who are ready to threaten the life, health and property of the Polish citizens,” Mr Siemoniak said.

15:53:11 Zelenskyy will participate in G7 summit

Volodymyr Zelenskyy will participate in the G7 summit in Italy late this month, either online or in person, his spokesman said.

The summit, set to take place in southern Italy from 13 to 15 June, will have as a key agenda item ways to use profits from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.

“Unfortunately, I cannot confirm or deny that the President will physically participate in the G7 summit, but in any case, whether online or physically, there is no doubt that he will be there,” the president’s spokesman, Sergey Nikiforov told Ukrainian television.

15:19:28 One dead in shelling in Belgorod, governor claims

A Russian has been killed by Ukrainian shelling in Belgorod, according to the local governor.

Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on his Telegram channel: “A munition detonated in the Korocha district, as a result of which one person was killed and three were injured.

“Nine people received various injuries in two shelling attacks; five of them were hospitalised. One of the injured persons, a woman wounded in the village of Voznesenovka, is in grave condition. She is currently in intensive care, on artificial lung ventilation.”

One person was also injured in the Graivoron district, the governor said.

14:25:09 Russia bars British ‘establishment figures’ in latest sanctions

Russia added several British “establishment figures”, journalists and experts to the list of people barred from entering the country.

Moscow’s foreign ministry says the decision was made due to their “hostile” actions.

In a statement, the ministry also urged Britain to drop its support for Ukraine which it claimed was causing more civilian casualties.

The names of those sanctioned have not been published.

13:56:53 ‘Unsafe’ to restart Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant as long as war rages, says UN

It will be unsafe to restart the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine as long as war rages around it, the UN nuclear watchdog chief has said.

Rafael Grossi held a meeting with Russia on the issue last week after officials including Vladimir Putin told him Moscow wanted to restart Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant.

The six reactors are shut down on safety grounds at the recommendation of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“The idea, of course, they have is to restart at some point,” Mr Grossi told a news conference on the first day of a quarterly meeting of the IAEA’s 35-nation board of governors.

“They are not planning to decommission this nuclear power plant. So this is what prompts the need to have a discussion about that.”

Russia said after last week’s meeting that it was not currently planning to reactivate the plant.

Mr Grossi said some important steps needed to be taken before it can restart safely.

“In terms of what needs to happen… there shouldn’t be any bombing or any activity of this type,” he said.

“Then there should be a more stable assurance of external power supply.

“This requires repairs, important repairs of existing lines, which at the moment, and because of the military activity, are very difficult to envisage.”

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