Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Moscow would emerge from the aftermath of the Wagner mercenary group’s aborted rebellion “stronger” than before. The uprising sparked the largest political crisis in decades in Russia and posed a potential threat to President Vladimir Putin’s authority. Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell had warned ahead of a bloc summit on Thursday that a “weaker” Putin would pose a “greater danger”. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
11:06am: Ukraine says its forces advance in all directions of counteroffensive
Ukrainian troops are advancing in all directions of their counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces, a senior defence official said on Friday.
Since the start of the counteroffensive this month, Ukraine says it has reasserted control over clusters of villages in the southeast although Russia still holds swathes of territory in the east, south and southeast.
“If we talk about the entire front line, both east and south, we have seized the strategic initiative and are advancing in all directions,” Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar told Ukrainian television.
Maliar said Ukrainian troops were moving “confidently” on the flanks around the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, which is held by Russian forces, and the main fighting was going on around the city.
In the south, Kyiv’s forces were moving with mixed success and mainly levelling the front line, she said.
11:00am: Russia will be ‘stronger’ in wake of Wagner insurrection, says Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Moscow will emerge from the aftermath of the Wagner mercenary group’s aborted insurrection “stronger” than before.
“Russia has always overcome all its problems … it comes out stronger and stronger. It will be the same this time, too. This process has already begun,” Lavrov told journalists during a briefing in Moscow, after Wagner fighters marched on the capital last week to oust the country’s military leadership.
10:49am: Russia has evacuated orphanages from Ukraine war zones, says Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Russia had evacuated children from orphanages in war zones in Ukraine.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in March issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s commissioner for children, accusing them of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.
Lavrov, speaking at a news conference, accused the West of hypocrisy for attacking Russia over its alleged human rights abuses in Ukraine while, in his view, ignoring “racist” statements by Ukrainian authorities about killing Russians.
10:36am: Russia’s Lavrov calls for UN Security Council membership to be expanded
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Friday for a widening of the UN Security Council to give more representation to Asian, African and Latin American countries in order to break what he called Western domination of the world.
“A majority of the world does not want to live according to Western rules,” Lavrov told a news briefing.
He also reiterated Moscow’s accusation that the West, especially the United States, was trying to prevent Russia and China from acting independently in a multipolar world.
9:49am: Russia reducing personnel at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, says Ukrainian intelligence
Russia is gradually reducing the number of personnel at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in southern Ukraine, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said on Friday.
Russia, which has occupied the plant since March 2022, did not immediately comment on the assertion.
“According to the latest data, the occupation contingent is gradually leaving the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” the Main Directorate of Intelligence at the ministry of defence (GUR) said on the Telegram messaging app.
GUR said that among the first to leave the nuclear power station were three employees of Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom who had been “in charge of the Russians’ activities”.
It said the number of military patrols was also gradually decreasing on the plant’s vast territory and in the nearby city of Enerhodar, and personnel remaining at the plant had been told to blame Ukraine “in case of any emergency situations”.
GUR said Ukrainian employees who have signed a contract with Rosatom had also been advised to depart.
9:27am: Ukraine to receive $1.5 billion from World Bank to support reconstruction
Ukraine will receive $1.5 billion from the World Bank to support reconstruction and recovery, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Friday.
The funds will be provided with guarantees from the Japanese government and channelled to support social security and economic development, Shmyhal said on the Telegram messaging app.
6:00am: Human Rights Watch reports new evidence of Ukrainian use of banned landmines
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday that it uncovered new evidence of the indiscriminate use by Ukrainian forces of banned anti-personnel landmines against Russian troops who invaded in 2022.
The group called on Ukraine’s government to follow through with a commitment made earlier this month not to employ such weapons, investigate their suspected use and hold accountable those responsible.
“The Ukrainian government’s pledge to investigate its military’s apparent use of banned anti-personnel mines is an important recognition of its duty to protect civilians,” Steve Goose, Human Rights Watch’s arms director, said in a statement.
HRW said it shared its findings with the Ukrainian government in a May letter to which it received no response.
5:30am: Spain’s Prime Minister Sanchez to visit Kyiv on Saturday
Spain will take on the EU’s rotating presidency this weekend with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visiting Kyiv to show steadfast European support for Ukraine as it battles Russian forces, officials said Thursday.
Sanchez “will kick off the EU presidency on Saturday, July 1, in Ukraine … to demonstrate with his presence the unfaltering European Union support” to the country, said a statement from his office.
The announcement was made as Sanchez attended an EU summit in Brussels, in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, participating via videolink, confirmed the visit.
From July to the end of December, Spain will hold the EU presidency which rotates among the bloc’s 27 member nations, taking over from Sweden.
1:16am: Trump, longtime admirer of Putin, says aborted rebellion ‘somewhat weakened’ Russian leader
Former US president Donald Trump, a longtime admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Thursday that Putin has been “somewhat weakened” by the Wagner Group’s aborted rebellion and that now is the time for the United States to try to broker a negotiated peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine.
“I want people to stop dying over this ridiculous war,” Trump told Reuters in a telephone interview.
12:50am: EU leaders back security commitments for Ukraine
European Union leaders declared on Thursday they would make long-term commitments to bolster Ukraine’s security as President Volodymyr Zelensky urged them to start work on a new round of sanctions against Russia.
At a summit in Brussels, the leaders restated their condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine and said the EU and its member countries “stand ready” to contribute to commitments that would help Ukraine defend itself in the long term.
In a text summarising the conclusions of the summit, the leaders said they would swiftly consider the form these commitments would take.
Josep Borrell, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, suggested they could build on existing EU support, such as the European Peace Facility fund that has financed billions of euros in arms for Ukraine and a training mission for Ukrainian troops.
“The military support to Ukraine has to (be for the) long haul,” Borrell told reporters, suggesting the EU could establish a Ukrainian Defence Fund, modelled on the Peace Facility.
“The training has to continue, the modernisation of the army has to continue. Ukraine needs our commitment to continue ensuring their security during the war and after the war,” he added.
Key developments from Thursday, June 29:
The EU’s top diplomat warned Thursday that a “weaker” Russian President Vladimir Putin would pose a “greater danger” after the Wagner Group’s aborted rebellion sparked the largest political crisis in decades in the nuclear-armed country.
“A weaker Putin is a greater danger. So we have to be very much aware of the consequences,” Josep Borrell said ahead of a gathering of EU leaders in Brussels. “Until now we were looking at Russia as a threat because it was a lot of force and force has been used in Ukraine. Now we have to look at Russia as a risk because of internal instability,” Borrell told reporters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg and prominent European figures who are forming a working group to address ecological damage from the 16-month-old Russian invasion.
“Ecocide and environmental destruction is a form of warfare … as Ukrainians by this point know all too well – and so does Russia,” said Thunberg, during a visit to Kyiv.
Read yesterday’s liveblog to see how all the day’s events unfolded.
(C) France M?dias Monde graphic studio
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)