VLADIMIR Putin will be seeking the “most severe” response according to allies after they have accused Ukraine of launching a missile strike that has reportedly killed five.
The alleged attack took place in the Russian town of Belgorod, with the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, claiming several explosions hit the city of nearly 400,000, which lies 25 miles (40km) north of the border with Ukraine .
Senior Russian lawmaker Andrei Klishas accused Ukraine of shelling Belgorod and called for a stern response.
Klishas wrote on Telegram: “The death of civilians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Belgorod are a direct act of aggression on the part of Ukraine and require the most severe – including a military – response”.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility.
Read our Ukraine war live blog below for the latest up-to-date news…
-
Russia launching phosphorus bombs on Snake Island: Ukraine
The Ukrainian army has blamed Russia for carrying out attacks using incendiary phosphorus munitions on Snake Island, just a day after withdrawing its forces from there.
“Russian air force SU-30 planes twice conducted strikes with phosphorus bombs on Zmiinyi island,” it said in a statement, using another name for Snake Island, as reported by Al-Jazeera.
-
Emergency plan to do without Russian energy revealed by EU
The European Union’s executive arm on Friday revealed an emergency plan this month aimed at assisting member countries do without Russian energy in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
Independent.co.uk reports that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the plan would build on EU moves to ditch Russian coal, oil and natural gas and would help a bloc-wide push to accelerate the development of renewable energy such as wind and solar power.
She added the contingency plan, due around mid-July, would focus on two key points including having a “clear idea” of where to cut back on Russian energy supply and to do it “in a smart way” as well as to rally around EU nations facing supply squeezes.
-
President Zelenskyy hails EU-Ukraine ties
Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Ukraine and the European Union were starting a new chapter of their history after Brussels formally accepted Ukraine’s candidacy to join the 27-nation bloc.
“A new (chapter) of history for the European Union and Ukraine has started. Now we’re not close. Now we are together,” Zelensky said addressing Ukraine’s parliament.
He said it was a “big honour and big responsibility” to work towards realising the “aspirations of our country”.
“We made a journey of 115 days to candidate status and our journey to membership shouldn’t take decades. We should make it down this road quickly,” Zelensky said.
“Ukraine is fighting to choose its values, to be in the European family,” he said.
-
Captured Azov fighters will face trial, Putin ally says
Captured members of Ukraine’s armed forces who served in the Azov battalion will face trial, the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament said on Thursday.
“These nationalists, who hands are covered in blood, are not humans.
“They are awaiting trial,” said Vyacheslav Volodin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, in a post on Telegram.
-
Ukraine says Russia ramped up missile strikes during 2nd half of June
Oleksii Hromov, a brigadier general in Ukraine’s armed forces, said on Thursday that Russia had ramped up missile strikes in the second half of June.
Hromov told a news conference that more than half of the missiles were from Soviet reserves and less precise, adding that was why Russia was hitting residential buildings.
Russia has denied targeting civilians since invading Ukraine in late February. Reuters was not immediately able to verify Hromov’s remarks.
-
Horror moment Russian Olympic hockey star is dragged off by cops ‘to fight in Ukraine’
A RUSSIAN hockey star who played in the Olympics and had just lined up a big money move to a US team has been snatched in the street accused of being a “draft dodger”.
Ivan Fedotov, 25, was rushed to an army enlistment office after being dramatically held by a squad of uniformed and plain-clothed police officers in St Petersburg.
And chillingly, he was then later whisked away by an ambulance from the recruitment office.
Vladimir Putin ‘s cops have accused him of seeking to evade the military draft – and the move is being seen as revenge for signing to play in the US for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Top goalkeeper Fedotov was formerly with CSKA – a club with close ties to the military Russia .
Fontanka news outlet reported he can now be sent to the Russian army rather than the US.
-
‘Act of terrorism’
Pro-Vladimir Putin media called the Ukrainian attack on Belgorod as an “act of terrorism”.
“It is obvious that this act of terrorism was committed in response to the liberation of Lysychansk by Russian troops,” reported Readovka.
Ukrainian attacks were also reported on Kursk and Melitopol.
Readovka claimed that US-supplied HIMARS missiles could have been used, contrary to an agreement when the weapons were supplied to Ukraine.
-
Putin’s allies demand ‘revenge’
The Russian leader’s allies have demanded “revenge” after up to five died in a suspected night-time Ukrainian bombardment of the Russian city Belgorod.
At least ten people were wounded including a child.
Senior Russian senator Andrei Klishas accused Ukraine of shelling a residential area of Belgorod and demanded retaliation.
He said: “The death of civilians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Belgorod are a direct act of aggression on the part of Ukraine and require the most severe – including a military – response.”.
-
‘Attacked the city with incomprehensibly cruel tactics’
Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said on Telegram: “The occupiers threw all their forces on Lysychansk.
“They attacked the city with incomprehensibly cruel tactics.
“They suffer significant losses, but stubbornly advance. They are gaining a foothold in the city.”
-
Russia claims full control of Lysychansk
Russia today claimed full control of Lysychansk, the last major Ukrainian-held city in Ukraine’s Luhansk province.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu informed Vladimir Putin that troops and their allies had “gained full control over the city of Lysychansk”.
He said that Luhansk had been “liberated” after Russia earlier said its forces had captured villages around Lysychansk and encircled the city.
It is next to Severodonetsk which was one of the last areas in the eastern Luhansk region still under Ukrainian control until last week.
The gain of the city means that Moscow is closer to its goal of seizing all of the Donbas regions.
-
Russian tank EXPLODES in fireball hurling turret 100ft into air
This is the incredible moment a Russian tank explodes in a massive fireball sending its turret hurling 100ft into the air.
The dramatic footage believed to have been filmed in Dibrovne, Kharkiv shows the explosion of a Russian T-80 MBT following a Ukrainian strike.
The clip shows the moment the tank is blown up into pieces sparking a massive cloud of smoke with what appears to be a tank turret flying into the sky.
The video that was shared widely on social media, shows flames and smoke erupting from the tank while debris can be seen falling to the ground.
Twitter account Ukraine Weapons Tracker which has been following the war closely said the tank was “hit in recent fighting, and became smouldering scrap with great speed.”
-
Russian cargo ship detained
A Russian cargo ship has been detained by Turkish customs authorities after it was reportedly carrying stolen grain from Ukraine.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, said “We have full co-operation. The ship is currently standing at the entrance to the port, it has been detained by the customs authorities of Turkey”.
He says that the ship’s fate will be decided by a meeting of investigators tomorrow.
-
Paranoid Putin
PUTIN is growingly increasingly paranoid and distrusting, claims an expert, as the despotic dictator begins to see ‘spies everywhere.’
According to the Daily Mail , an academic who had close ties to one of Putin’s top scientists claims: ‘Putin is seeing spies everywhere.
“Top scientists were officially urged to collaborate with top foreign partners [and] did so.
“Now they are being accused of espionage.”
This comes as Russian troops begin to surround the Ukrainian city of Lysychansk, Ukraine’s last major stronghold in the Luhansk region.
This would be a major loss for Ukrainian forces, who are looking to keep hold of some influence in nation’s eastern region.
-
Putin could claim his forces have seized Luhansk
The Russian defence ministry earlier said its troops have taken full control of Lysychansk, although Ukraine denies the claim.
Russia specialist Prof Mark Galeotti has told the BBC that Lysychansk’s fall to the Russians would enable Putin to say his forces have seized Luhansk – one of the two regions that make up the Donbas.
If Russia took control of the Donbas it will be something Putin “will be able to spin as a victory, and probably that is the point at which he would feel comfortable with how the war has gone”.
He says the Russian’s attack on Lysychansk is part of a “slow, grinding offensive”.
-
Mystery of ‘world’s most successful spy’
A DOUBLE agent dubbed “the world’s most most successful spy” was instrumental in helping Vladimir Putin seize power – and his identity STILL remains a mystery decades on.
Known simply as “The Fourth Man”, the mole was one of several Soviet spies who managed to infiltrate the heart of the US intelligence services.
But unlike most who were eventually dug out, this mysterious spook has never been identified – making it one of the biggest mysteries in all of espionage.
And he and his colleagues’ mission was so devastating, it is believed they helped pave the way for the rise of the tyrannical Putin in Russia .
Russia’s spies at this time left the CIA paralysed and blind – with no trusty intel being fed to them on the sudden rise of the brutal Vlad.
With this gap, former KGB man and mafia enforcer Putin was able to consolidate his power and set the scene to take control of Russia.
“The Fourth Man” compromised the identities of Russian spies working for Washington DC and leaked troves of sensitive CIA data .
Read more here
-
Slovyansk under intense shelling
There has been intense shelling in Slovyansk by Russian troops.
Ova Ignatchenko, the Donetsk spokesperson, has told Ukrainian media that at least six people have been killed and 15 wounded.
Slovyansk is one of the biggest cities in the Donetsk region still in Ukrainian hands.
-
800,000 Ukrainians have lost their homes, official claims
As Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine wears on, more and more civilians find themselves without a home.
According to Olena Shulyak, head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, 800,000 Ukrainians are now without a home.
In response to this, the world has rallied behind the Ukrainian people, allowing thousands of refugees to find homes.
-
The battle in Donbas is not yet over, claims Ukrainian official
Ukraine’s defence ministry spokesman Yuriy Sak has rejected the idea that the fall of Lysychansk would mark the end of their struggle in the east.
He says there are “other large cities in the Donbas area, in particular in the Donetsk region” in which Ukraine still hold firm.
“These are cities that for the last couple of days [have been] targets of severe missile attacks, artillery shelling,” he says, “but the battle for the Donbas is not over yet”.
-
Where is Snake Island?
Snake Island, also known as Serpent Island or Zmiinyi Island, belongs to Ukraine.
It is located in the Black Sea, near the Danube Delta, just 30 miles from the coast.
The 46 acres of land are typically covered with rocks and grass, but following Russia’s invasion of the island , it was left “covered in fire,” according to The New York Times .
Prior to the invasion, it was known for its igneous rock formations and was home to an Odessa National University research facility, which students and scientists used to study flora, fauna, meteorology, geology, hydrobiology, and atmospheric chemistry, according to Ukraine.com .
It was also home to a popular lighthouse, which was built by the Russian Empire’s Black Sea Fleet in the fall of 1842.
At this time, it is unclear if Ukraine will restore the island.
-
Lysychansk not yet taken, claims Ukrainian official
Speaking to the BBC a Ukrainian official has denied reports that Lysychansk has fallen.
Ukrainian defence ministry spokesman Yuriy Sak said the fighting is: “very intense for quite a while now” with Russian ground forces “attacking the city non-stop”.
“For Ukrainians, the value of human life is a top priority, so sometimes we may retreat from certain areas so that we can retake them in the future,” he added.
-
President Zelenskyy heaps praise on the EU
Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Ukraine and the European Union were starting a new chapter of their history after Brussels formally accepted Ukraine’s candidacy to join the 27-nation bloc.
“A new (chapter) of history for the European Union and Ukraine has started. Now we’re not close. Now we are together,” Zelensky said addressing Ukraine’s parliament.
He said it was a “big honour and big responsibility” to work towards realising the “aspirations of our country”.
“We made a journey of 115 days to candidate status and our journey to membership shouldn’t take decades. We should make it down this road quickly,” Zelensky said.
“Ukraine is fighting to choose its values, to be in the European family,” he said.
-
Lysychansk is surrounded, reports claim
Breaking reports are emerging that the Ukrainian city of Lysychansk is surrounded by Russian troops.
This information is yet to be confirmed by the Ukrainian military.
This city marks a key stronghold in the region, and would be a blow for Ukraine should it fall.
-
Captured Azov fighters will face trial, Putin ally says
Captured members of Ukraine’s armed forces who served in the Azov battalion will face trial, the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament said on Thursday.
“These nationalists, who hands are covered in blood, are not humans.
“They are awaiting trial,” said Vyacheslav Volodin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, in a post on Telegram.
-
Russian losses as of July 3
Russia has continued to lose troops, equipment and weapons as its brutal invasion of Ukraine continue.
Presently, reports suggest the country has lost almost 36,000 soldiers.
217 planes have also been lost, as well as 1584 tanks, according to reports.
These are the indicative estimates of Russia’s combat losses as of July 3, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/JXsXBijf0a
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) July 3, 2022
-
Ukrainian official admits Lysychansk could fall
As Russian forces continue their assault on the last free city in the region, an advisor to Zelenskyy has admitted the city could fall.
“This is indeed a threat. We shall see. I do not rule out any one of a number of outcomes here. Things will become much more clear within a day or two,” said Oleksiy Arestovych.
“If Lysychansk is taken, strategically it becomes more difficult for the Russians to continue their offensive. The front lines will be flatter and there will be a frontal attack rather than from the flanks.”
