CONFLICTSUKRAINE
Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy thanks Navy during Odesa visit
Published 07/02/2023Published July 2, 2023last updated 2 hours agolast updated 2 hours ago
The Ukrainian president visited Odesa port to thank Navy personnel for their work and met wounded soldiers in hospitals. Meanwhile, Joe Biden is expected to visit Europe later this month for a NATO summit.
https://p.dw.com/p/4TJY4
Zelenskyy’s face, as he records a video message from Odesa
Zelenskyy recorded a video message during his trip to Odesa, a major port for global grain suppliesImage: president.gov.ua
Skip next section What you need to know
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Zelenskyy awarded servicemen for their “heroism” during a visit to Odesa region
Ukraine’s defense minister says “fierce fighting going on everywhere”
Biden expected to visit Europe later this month for NATO summit
Austria said it’s seeking to join the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), a European air defense system aimed at closing the gaps of NATO’s air defense
Skip next section New live updates article available for Monday’s developments
2 hours ago2 hours ago
New live updates article available for Monday’s developments
This live blog is now closed. For the latest DW coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war, click here.
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Skip next section Ukraine’s deputy defense minister: ‘Fierce’ fighting in the east
10 hours ago10 hours ago
Ukraine’s deputy defense minister: ‘Fierce’ fighting in the east
Russian troops are making advances along the front line in eastern Ukraine, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said.
She said “fierce fighting is going on everywhere” and that the “situation is quite complicated.”
“The enemy is advancing in Avdiivka, Mariinka, Lyman sectors. The enemy is also moving forward in the Svatove sector,” Maliar said.
Maliar said Ukrainian troops were also pushing ahead with “partial success” to the south of the eastern city of Bakhmut, as well as near Berdyansk and Melitopol in southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces faced “intense enemy resistance” in their counterattack in the south, but they were “persistently and unceasingly creating conditions for as fast an advance as possible.”
Ukraine: Small advances in ‘extremely fierce’ fighting
04:14
https://p.dw.com/p/4TKRX
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Skip next section Zelenskyy visits Odesa seaport on Navy Day
11 hours ago11 hours ago
Zelenskyy visits Odesa seaport on Navy Day
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Odesa seaport in southern Ukraine to thank navy personnel for their “courage” and “heroism.”
Zelenskyy wrote that he was in Odesa “first and foremost, to congratulate our warriors of the Ukrainian Navy on their professional day.”
He then thanked them “for their courage, heroism, and the extraordinary results they have achieved and are achieving for Ukraine.”
In a video message, Zelenskyy said that the “enemy will definitely not dictate conditions in the Black Sea.”
The port is critical to ensuring the supply of agricultural products to countries around the world through Black Sea routes.
It came under critical strain after Russia occupied Ukraine last year in February 2022, with a deal eventually allowing for the safe passage of Ukrainian grains to other countries.
Zelenskyy heard a report from the navy commander and discussed prospects for the development of a naval drone and missile program.
He also visited wounded soldiers in hospitals in the region and presented them with state awards.
https://p.dw.com/p/4TKNf
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Skip next section Biden to visit Europe for NATO summit: White House
14 hours ago14 hours ago
Biden to visit Europe for NATO summit: White House
The White House confirmed on Sunday that President Joe Biden would visit three European countries later in July amid the NATO leaders’ summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Biden’s trip was scheduled for July 9-13. He would begin in London for meetings with King Charles and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “to further strengthen the close relationship between our nations,” the White House said.
The president will then attend the July 11-12 NATO leaders’ summit in Lithuania.
He’s then scheduled to head to Finland, NATO’s newest member, on July 13.
On Biden’s last European visit in February this year, formally scheduled as a series of appointments in Poland, he made an unannounced trip to Kyiv.
https://p.dw.com/p/4TKHs
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Skip next section Zelenskyy thanks France for controversial tanks
17 hours ago17 hours ago
Zelenskyy thanks France for controversial tanks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked French counterpart Emmanuel Macron for the shipment of light combat tanks to Kyiv, though some Ukrainian military officials have challenged their practicality.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov was filmed riding in a highly mobile AMX-10 RC infantry fighting vehicle.
However, a Ukrainian battalion commander strongly criticized the tanks, describing them to the French AFP news agency as “impractical” due to their “thin armor.”
The commander told AFP at one instance, a crew of four were killed when a shell exploded near the vehicle, piercing the armor due to its thin quality.
In April, Kyiv announced the French tanks were already in service.
https://p.dw.com/p/4TJxy
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Skip next section Russia’s war in Ukraine ‘corrosive’ for Vladimir Putin: CIA chief
20 hours ago20 hours ago
Russia’s war in Ukraine ‘corrosive’ for Vladimir Putin: CIA chief
The effect of the war in Ukraine has been “corrosive” for Vladimir Putin’s leadership in Russia, William Burns, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said on Saturday.
According to Burns, Russian resentment towards the war has created a “once-in-a generation opportunity” for the spy agency.
He called Putin’s invasion of Ukraine “the most immediate and acute geopolitical challenge to international order today,” while speaking at the Ditchley Foundation in the UK.
Burns also described the war as a “strategic failure” for Moscow.
“Disaffection with the war will continue to gnaw away at the Russian leadership … That disaffection creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us at CIA.”
Burns’ address came a week after Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny. He said Prigozhin’s mutiny is “a vivid reminder of the corrosive effect of Putin’s war on his own society and his own regime.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4TJmZ
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Skip next section Russia’s ultranationalist party seeks to curb travel to ‘unfriendly countries’
22 hours ago22 hours ago
Russia’s ultranationalist party seeks to curb travel to ‘unfriendly countries’
Russia’s far-right Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) is formulating rules for a bill that would temporarily impose a travel ban on close relatives of high-ranking officials to “unfriendly countries,” the RIA state news agency reported on Sunday.
All the countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine are considered unfriendly by Russia.
The restrictions under the bill will apply to law enforcement officers, judges, top managers of state corporations, and the board of directors of the Central Bank among others, RIA reported citing lawmaker Sergei Karginov.
“Now, when Russia is forced to confront a group of Western countries led by the United States that provoked a conflict in Ukraine, such journeys … are not only inadmissible, but also dangerous,” RIA cited Karginov as saying.
It is not clear when the LDPR plans to introduce the bill for consideration by the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.
https://p.dw.com/p/4TJi2
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Skip next section Russia launches first overnight drone attack on Kyiv in 12 days, says Ukraine
07/02/2023July 2, 2023
Russia launches first overnight drone attack on Kyiv in 12 days, says Ukraine
Russia launched an overnight drone attack on Kyiv after a 12-day break, a Ukrainian military official said.
“Another enemy attack on Kyiv,” Serhiy Popko, a colonel general who heads Kyiv’s military administration, said in a post on the Telegram channel.
“At this moment, there is no information about possible casualties or damage.”
There was no immediate information about the scale of the attack.
Kyiv, its region and a number of central and eastern Ukraine’s regions were under air raid alerts for about an hour after 2 a.m. local time (2300 GMT).
Drones could make all the difference in the war in Ukraine
04:44
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Skip next section Russian air superiority ‘a big problem,’ says Ukrainian FM
07/02/2023July 2, 2023
Russian air superiority ‘a big problem,’ says Ukrainian FM
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russian air superiority is one of the major problems facing the country’s counteroffensive.
In an interview published by the media outlets Bild, Welt and Politico, he pointed out that Ukrainian soldiers are encountering difficulties as Russia bolstered its defenses with extensive trenches and minefields.
“Our armed forces suffer a lot from the fact that we lack anti-air, anti-helicopter and anti-aircraft weapons on the ground,” he said.
Noting that Ukraine’s Western allies could have decided earlier to deliver fighter jets, Kuleba said he now wants them to speed up deliveries.
The minister also criticized comments about the lack of progress in the counteroffensive. “We feel frustrated by those who are now saying, ‘Oh, this is not going well.'”
Trans-Atlantic coalition to supply US-made jets to Ukraine
01:53
https://p.dw.com/p/4TJZF
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Skip next section Austria plans to join European air defense system
07/02/2023July 2, 2023
Austria plans to join European air defense system
Austria said it’s seeking to join the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), a European air defense system aimed at closing the gaps of NATO’s air defense.
“The threat situation has massively intensified due to the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine,” said Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
Austria, together with other European countries, must therefore protect itself against drone and missile attacks, he underlined.
The ESSI is a German initiative against the backdrop of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
More than a dozen European states have already joined the project.
Austria’s militarily neutral status would not be endangered by joining, Nehammer and Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner said.
“It is a question of participation in a protective umbrella that serves to avert danger,” they argued.
https://p.dw.com/p/4TJZG
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Skip next section Zelenskyy says ‘serious threat’ remains at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
07/02/2023July 2, 2023
Zelenskyy says ‘serious threat’ remains at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that a “serious threat” remained at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
He claimed that Russia was “technically ready” to provoke a localized explosion at the facility.
Zelenskyy cited Ukrainian intelligence as the source of his information.
He gave no further details.
Ukrainian military intelligence has previously said Russian troops had mined the plant.
Russia has dismissed any suggestion it plans to attack or sabotage the Zaporizhzhia plant.
Each side accuses the other of shelling near the facility.
The Zaporizhzhia plant is Europe’s largest civil nuclear facility.
Fears for safety of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
05:13
https://p.dw.com/p/4TJZH
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Skip next section Biden to host Swedish PM for talks on NATO, Ukraine
07/02/2023July 2, 2023
Biden to host Swedish PM for talks on NATO, Ukraine
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will be in Washington on Wednesday for talks with US President Joe Biden about the Nordic nation’s NATO bid, trans-Atlantic security ties and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The two leaders “will review our growing security cooperation and reaffirm their view that Sweden should join NATO as soon as possible,” the White House said in a statement Saturday.
Kristersson noted “the focus of the visit will be on Sweden’s NATO accession.”
Sweden, along with neighboring Finland, abandoned its longstanding military neutrality after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and applied for NATO membership.
Sweden discards neutrality, awaits NATO membership
04:10
But Stockholm’s entry into the military alliance has so far been blocked by two members, Turkey and Hungary.
NATO requires the unanimous approval of all members to expand.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said top diplomats from Turkey and Sweden will meet at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels on Thursday for talks to overcome Turkish objections.
rm, sri/lo (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)
