- Latest on Russia -Ukraine War:
- Russia has declared victory in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, a day after Ukrainian forces withdrew from their last remaining stronghold in the province. On Monday, Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, told Putin that “the operation” in Luhansk was complete. The Russian president said the military units “that took part in active hostilities and achieved success, victory” in Luhansk “should rest, increase their combat capabilities”.
- Luhansk governor, Serhiy Haidai, said the weeks-long battle for Lysychansk had drawn in Russian troops that could have been fighting on other fronts, and had given Ukraine’s forces time to build fortifications in the Donetsk region to make it “harder for the Russians there”. He also reiterated calls for Ukraine’s western allies to provide more arms, saying the country’s armed forces would launch a counteroffensive when they had sufficient long-range weapons.
- Following Russia’s capture of Lysychansk and control of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, Ukrainian forces will be able to fall back to a more readily defendable, straightened frontline, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
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- Ukrainian forces are set to raise the country’s flag on Snake Island, a strategic and symbolic outpost in the Black Sea that Russian troops retreated from last week after months of heavy bombardment. Ukraine’s military earlier stated that the national flag had been returned to the island shortly before 11pm on Monday. However, Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern military command, later confirmed in an interview with CNN: “The flag was delivered to the island by helicopter. It will wait for the arrival of the troops, then it will wave.”
- Russia is reportedly planning to launch a railway link between the Rostov region and the areas of Donetskand Luhansk which it occupies in eastern Ukraine.
- Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has claimed that Russia has made two humanitarian corridor in the Black and Azov Seas to facilitate the export of grain.
- Yevgeny Balitsky, head of the Russian-imposed administration of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, has said the region plans to sell Ukraine’s grain to the Middle East. The main countries involved in the deal were Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
- Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has urged the international community to reduce Russian access to maritime transport, saying “Russia’s export-oriented economy relies heavily on maritime transportation provided by foreign fleets. I urge partners: restrict Russia’s access to their services and deplete Putin’s war machine.”
- The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, will fly to Hanoi today for a two-day visit to Vietnam before heading to a G20 meeting later this week in Indonesia.
- Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has claimed that Russia has created two humanitarian corridors in the Black and Azov Seas to facilitate the export of grain.
Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency quotes Shoigu saying: “A set of measures is being taken to ensure the safety of navigation in the waters of the Black and Azov Seas. The mine danger in the waters of the port of Mariupol has been completely eliminated.”
Russia has said repeatedly it is not obstructing the export of Ukraine’s grain, and that authorities in Kyiv simply need to de-mine their waters, an act that would also allow Russian warships closer unhindered access to Ukraine’s southern coast.
Story by Martin Belam And Léonie Chao-Fong