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Putin denies Russian forces were responsible for Kremenchuk shopping centre strike – as it happened

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Wed 29 Jun 2022 19.56 EDTFirst published on Wed 29 Jun 2022 00.05 EDT
Finland and Sweden to join Nato 'as quickly as possible' – video

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Nato: Russia 'the most direct threat to security and stability'

Nato leaders have announced a new “strategic concept” in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine which has “gravely altered our security environment”, describing Moscow as “the most significant and direct threat to allies’ security and stability”.

Nato has invited Sweden and Finland to become members of the military alliance, according to a communique published by the Nato summit in Madrid.

The statement reads:

The accession of Finland and Sweden will make them (the allies) safer, Nato stronger and the Euro-Atlantic area more secure.

The alliance pledged further help to Kyiv and agreed on a package of support aimed at modernising the country’s defence sector. Nato also said it had decided to significantly strengthen its own deterrence and defence.

The statement continues:

Allies have committed to deploy additional robust in-place combat-ready forces on our eastern flank, to be scaled up from the existing battlegroups to brigade-size units, where and when required underpinned by credible available reinforcements, prepositioned equipment, and enhanced command and control.

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Key events

Summary

Thank you for joining us for today’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

We will be pausing our live reporting overnight and returning in the morning.

In the meantime, you can read our comprehensive summary of the day’s events in our summary below.

  • Nato leaders have announced a new “strategic concept” in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine, describing Moscow as “the most significant and direct threat to allies’ security and stability”. Nato has invited Sweden and Finland to become members of the military alliance, according to a communique published by the Nato summit in Madrid. Leaders also pledged further help to Kyiv and agreed on a package of support aimed at modernising the country’s defence sector.
  • Russian president Vladimir Putin issued fresh warnings that Russia would respond in kind if Nato set up military infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after they joined the US-led alliance. If Sweden and Finland wanted to join Nato then they should “go ahead” Putin said. “But they must understand there was no threat before, while now, if military contingents and infrastructure are deployed there, we will have to respond in kind and create the same threats for the territories from which threats towards us are created.”
  • Putin also pushed back against allegations that Russian forces were responsible for a strike on a crowded shopping centre in the Ukrainian town of Kremenchuk on Monday in which 18 people were killed. “Our army does not attack any civilian infrastructure site. We have every capability of knowing what is situated where,” Putin said. Moscow said its military fired a “high-precision air attack at hangars where armament and munitions were stored” and the explosion of those weapon caches caused a fire in the nearby shopping centre– a claim discredited by first-hand accounts from survivors and expert analysis.
  • Ukraine announced the largest exchange of prisoners of war since Russia invaded, securing the release of 144 of its soldiers, including 95 who defended the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol. Ukrainian military intelligence said that most of the Ukrainians released had serious injuries, including burns and amputations, and are now receiving medical care.
  • The frequency of shelling on the eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk is “enormous”, the regional governor of Luhansk said on Wednesday. Lysychansk “is constantly being shelled with large calibres. The fighting is continuing at the outskirts of the city. The Russian army is trying to attack constantly,” Serhiy Haidai said.
  • Joe Biden announced that the US will increase its military forces across Europe with more land, sea and air deployments. During a Nato summit in Madrid, Biden announced the stationing of a brigade of 3,000 combat troops in Romania, two squadrons of F-35 fighters in the UK and two navy destroyers in Spain. Nato members are expected to announce further commitments to a strengthening of forces on the alliance’s eastern flank.
  • Britain will also commit an extra 1,000 troops and one of its two new aircraft carriers to the defence of Nato’s eastern flank. The forces will be earmarked for the defence of Estonia, where Britain already has about 1,700 personnel deployed, but they will be based in the UK, ready to fly out to defend the Baltic country if deemed necessary.
  • Separately, Downing Street said it has pledged another £1bn ($1.2bn) in military aid, almost doubling the UK commitment to military support. Defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said some money would likely be spent on supplying longer-range rocket artillery. This will be a “first step” to allow Ukraine to move towards “mounting offensive operations” to regain territory,” Downing Street said.
  • Zelenskiy announced the end of diplomatic ties between Ukraine and Syria after the Russia-ally recognised the independence of eastern Ukraine’s two separatist republics, Donetsk and Luhansk. “There will no longer be relations between Ukraine and Syria,” Zelenskiy said, adding that the sanctions pressure against Syria “will be even greater.”
  • Ukraine and the European Union have signed an agreement that liberalises road transport. According to the agreement, Ukrainian carriers no longer need to obtain permits to enter the European Union.
  • Turkey says it will seek the extradition of 33 alleged Kurdish militants and coup plot suspects from Sweden and Finland under a deal to secure Ankara’s support for the Nordic countries’ Nato membership bids. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped weeks of resistance to Sweden and Finland joining Nato after crunch talks ahead of Wednesday’s Nato summit in Madrid.

Russia’s state natural gas producer Gazprom will increase gas supplies to the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, regional governor Anton Alikhanov said on Wednesday, amid increased tensions with neighbouring Lithuania.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in May told Gazprom it should consider boosting liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to Kaliningrad - a region sandwiched between Nato members Lithuania and Poland.

Alikhanov said the decision to increase supplies was made at a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

The government said on its website the two officials discussed strengthening of the region’s energy security.

Lithuanian authorities imposed a ban this month on transit through their territory to Kaliningrad of goods subject to EU sanctions.

Kaliningrad is home to Russia’s Baltic naval fleet and a deployment location for Russian nuclear-capable Iskander missiles.

Billionaire British businessman, Sir Richard Branson, visited Kyiv on Wednesday to meet with Ukraine’s president Zelenskiy, foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and a group of Ukrainian business leaders.

Zelenskiy thanked Branson for his visit and his “willingness to join the post-war reconstruction of our country”.

One of the most famous businessmen in the world, Richard Branson, also visited Ukraine. He is more than just an entrepreneur. He is a visionary, a man who works for progress and the best technology for all mankind.

His arrival in Ukraine right now - and he visited Hostomel, where he discussed, in particular, the possibility of rebuilding the airport and building our ‘Mriya’, the world’s largest aircraft - is a very strong signal to everyone in the world that Ukraine will definitely withstand this war.”

After an invitation from @ZelenskyyUa, I travelled to Kyiv to meet with the President, Foreign Minister @DmytroKuleba and a group of Ukrainian business leaders. I also visited some of the sites of Russian attacks since Putin’s appalling invasion began https://t.co/f2Ccgf9BkS pic.twitter.com/W9RAFBAyyT

— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) June 29, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during his meeting with Sir Richard Branson in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/PA
Zelenskiy thanked Branson for his visit and his “willingness to join the post-war reconstruction of our country”. Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/PA
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Britain has pledged another £1bn ($1.2bn) in military aid to Ukraine, including air-defence systems and drones.

The package includes “sophisticated air-defence systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles, innovative new electronic warfare equipment and thousands of pieces of vital kit for Ukrainian soldiers,” it said, according to a Reuters report.

This will be a “first step” to allow Ukraine to go beyond its “valiant defence” efforts and move towards “mounting offensive operations” to regain territory.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Vladimir Putin’s attacks against Ukraine were “increasingly barbaric” as the Russian leader “fails to make the gains he had anticipated and hoped for and the futility of this war becomes clear to all.

“UK weapons, equipment and training are transforming Ukraine’s defences against this onslaught,” the statement quoted him as saying.

“And we will continue to stand squarely behind the Ukrainian people to ensure Putin fails in Ukraine.”

The fresh funds will bring Britain’s total military support to Kyiv since the start of the war to £2.3bn, Downing Street said in a statement.

Russia will respond in kind if Nato deploys troops in Finland and Sweden: Putin

Russia will respond in kind if Nato deploys troops and infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after they join the US-led military alliance, Vladimir Putin has said.

The Russian president told Russian state television after talks with regional leaders in the central Asian ex-Soviet state of Turkmenistan:

With Sweden and Finland, we don’t have the problems that we have with Ukraine. They want to join Nato, go ahead.

But they must understand there was no threat before, while now, if military contingents and infrastructure are deployed there, we will have to respond in kind and create the same threats for the territories from which threats towards us are created.”

Putin said it was inevitable that Moscow’s relations with Helsinki and Stockholm would sour over their Nato membership.

Everything was fine between us, but now there might be some tensions, there certainly will.

It’s inevitable if there is a threat to us.”

Summary

It’s 1am in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:

  • Russian president Vladimir Putin pushed back against allegations that Russian forces were responsible for a strike on a crowded shopping center in the Ukrainian town of Kremenchuk on Monday in which 18 people were killed. “Our army does not attack any civilian infrastructure site. We have every capability of knowing what is situated where,” Putin said on Wednesday.
  • Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Wednesday the end of diplomatic ties between his country and Syria after the Russia-ally recognized the independence of eastern Ukraine’s two separatist republics, Donetsk and Lugansk. “There will no longer be relations between Ukraine and Syria,” Zelensky said, adding that the sanctions pressure against Syria “will be even greater.”
  • The mother of Alex Drueke, a U.S. military veteran who went missing after he traveled to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia has spoken with her son by telephone, the family said Wednesday. “He sounded tired and stressed, and he was clearly reciting some things he had been made to practice or read, but it was wonderful to hear his voice and know he’s alive and alright,” she said.
  • The frequency of shelling on the eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk is “enormous”, the regional governor of Lugansk said on Wednesday. Lysychansk “is constantly being shelled with large calibres. The fighting is continuing at the outskirts of the city. The Russian army is trying to attack constantly,” governor Serhiy Haidai said.
  • Canada announced that would increase its diplomatic presence in central and eastern Europe as well as the Caucasus on Wednesday in attempts to “help counter Russia’s destabilizing activities” the region. “Canada is announcing that we are increasing our diplomatic footprint. Canada will be opening four new embassies in Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Armenia,” Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly said on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Madrid.
  • Turkey said Wednesday it would seek the extradition of 33 alleged Kurdish militants and coup plot suspects from Sweden and Finland under a deal to secure Ankara’s support for the Nordic countries’ NATO membership bids. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped weeks of resistance to Sweden and Finland joining NATO after crunch talks ahead of Wednesday’s NATO summit in Madrid, focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
  • Ukraine and the European Union have signed an agreement that liberalizes road transport. According to the agreement, Ukrainian carriers no longer need to obtain permits to enter the European Union.

That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as I hand the blog over to my colleague in Australia, Samantha Lock, who will bring you the latest updates. I’ll be back tomorrow, thank you.

Russian president Vladimir Putin pushed back against allegations that Russian forces were responsible for a strike on a crowded shopping center in the Ukrainian town of Kremenchuk on Monday in which 18 people were killed.

“Our army does not attack any civilian infrastructure site. We have every capability of knowing what is situated where,” Putin told a news conference in the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat.

“Nobody among us shoots just like that, randomly. It is normally done based on intelligence data on targets” and with “high-precision weapons.”

“I am convinced that this time, everything was done in this exact manner,” Putin said.

Ukraine accuses Russia of hitting the centre on Monday in Kremenchuk, 330 kilometres (205 miles) southeast of Kyiv.

Russia has denied the accusation and claimed earlier that its missile salvo was aimed at an arms depot and the centre was not operating at the time it was hit.

Debris removal works continue at Amstor shopping mall targeted by a Russian missile strike in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, June 29th, 2022. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Ukraine cuts diplomatic ties with Syria after Damascus's

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Wednesday the end of diplomatic ties between his country and Syria after the Russia-ally recognized the independence of eastern Ukraine’s two separatist republics.

The breakaway states of Donetsk and Lugansk are situated in the Donbas region at the centre of Russia’s invasion and have escaped Kyiv’s control since 2014. Moscow recognized their independence in February.

Earlier on Wednesday, Syria became the first state other than Russia to formally recognize the two separatist republics.

“There will no longer be relations between Ukraine and Syria,” Zelensky said in a video posted on Telegram, adding that the sanctions pressure against Syria “will be even greater”.

Zelensky described Syria’s move as a “worthless story”.

In 2018, Syria recognised South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent from the former Soviet state of Georgia, prompting Tbilisi to cut diplomatic ties.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia are internationally recognised as part of Georgia, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, but Russia and a handful of other countries recognise their independence.

Mother of missing US military veteran in Ukraine speaks to son on phone

The mother of a U.S. military veteran who went missing after he traveled to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia has spoken with her son by telephone, the family said Wednesday.

Associated Press reports:

Lois “Bunny” Drueke, of Tuscaloosa, answered a call from what appeared to be a Russian exchange and talked to son Alex Drueke on Tuesday for nearly 10 minutes in their first conversation since he and Andy Huynh, another Alabama veteran who traveled to Ukraine, were captured after a fight earlier this month in Ukraine.

Apparently at the prompting of his captors, Drueke said the people holding him were anxious to begin negotiations and that he had food, water and bedding, Bunny Drueke said in a statement released by her family.

“He sounded tired and stressed, and he was clearly reciting some things he had been made to practice or read, but it was wonderful to hear his voice and know he’s alive and alright,” she said.

Drueke said he hadn’t been in contact with Huynh for several days, according to the woman. The United States has said both men should be protected as prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions.

Huyhn’s fiance, Joy Black, said his family was thrilled the Drueke was able to speak with his mother.

“We are still hoping to get a similar communication from Andy,” she said.

Druke and Huynh didn’t return to a meeting spot after their group came under heavy fire in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border on June 9. The two traveled separately to help Ukraine and became buddies there in part because of their shared Alabama background, relatives have said.

The U.S. State Department said it was looking into reports that Russian or Russian-backed separatist forces in Ukraine had captured at least two American citizens. If confirmed, they would be the first Americans fighting for Ukraine known to have been captured since the war began Feb. 24.

This undated photograph provided by Diane Williams shows U.S. military veteran Alexander Drueke of Tuscaloosa, Ala., and his mother, Lois “Bunny” Drueke. Photograph: Lois "Bunny" Drueke/AP

Pictures have emerged of the latest and largest prisoner swap since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

The exchange involved 144 Ukrainian soldiers, including troops who were at Mariupol’s beseiged Azovstal steel plant, according to the Ukrainian defense ministry. It did not specify when and where the swap took place or how many Russian prisoners were released as part of the exchange.

Today the largest exchange of POWs has been held since Russian full-scale war against Ukraine

144 Ukrainian defenders were released from captivity &returned home. Most seriously injured. Right after the release, all received proper medical care,🇺🇦intel https://t.co/VGXaemmREQ pic.twitter.com/EHw3fUpWUl

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) June 29, 2022

The frequency of shelling on the eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk is “enormous”, the regional governor of Lugansk said on Wednesday.

Lysychansk “is constantly being shelled with large calibres. The fighting is continuing at the outskirts of the city. The Russian army is trying to attack constantly,” governor Serhiy Haidai said.

“Now there is a peak of fighting. The frequency of shelling is enormous,” he said, adding that out of the population of nearly 100,000 prior to the war, the city has only about 15,000 civilians remaining.

Their evacuation “might be dangerous at the moment,” he said.

The Russians “brought in big numbers of vehicles, enormous number of people. Shelling and attacks do not stop,” Gaiday said.

Mosow, which is currently setting its sights on Lysychansk, has already taken over the neighboring city of Siervierodonetsk after several weeks of fighting which killed dozens of civilians.

It is the last major city the Russians need to take over in the Lugansk region, one of two provinces in the large Donbas region that Moscow wants to control completely.

Canada announced that would increase its diplomatic presence in central and eastern Europe as well as the Caucasus on Wednesday in attempts to “help counter Russia’s destabilizing activities” the region.

“Canada is announcing that we are increasing our diplomatic footprint. Canada will be opening four new embassies in Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Armenia,” Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly said on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Madrid.

The announcement came as G7 and NATO leaders including Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau meet this week on how to support Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.

“This diplomatic expansion will help guide Canada’s response to evolving security threats, enhance political and economic cooperation to support European allies, and further counter the impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and support Armenia in its democratic development,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the changes would also “further enhance Canada’s engagement in the region, help counter Russia’s destabilizing activities and increase support for Operation REASSURANCE.”

That international military operation, under which 1,400 Canadian soldiers are deployed in Latvia, is currently Ottawa’s biggest. Its goal is to reinforce NATO’s collective defense.

“We believe that diplomacy remains one of the most effective ways to support security and stability,” Joly said in Madrid.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) speaks with Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly during a round table meeting at a NATO summit in Madrid, on June 29, 2022. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AFP/Getty Images

Turkey said Wednesday it would seek the extradition of 33 alleged Kurdish militants and coup plot suspects from Sweden and Finland under a deal to secure Ankara’s support for the Nordic countries’ NATO membership bids.

Agence France-Presse reports:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped weeks of resistance to Sweden and Finland joining NATO after crunch talks ahead of Wednesday’s NATO summit in Madrid, focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Erdogan emerged from Tuesday’s talks declaring victory, after securing a 10-point agreement under which the two countries vowed to join Turkey’s fight against banned Kurdish militants and to swiftly extradite suspects.

Turkey put the deal to the immediate test by announcing that it would seek the extradition of 12 suspects from Finland and 21 from Sweden.

“We ask them to fulfil their promises,” Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said in a statement.

The unnamed suspects were identified as being members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and a group led by a US-based Muslim preacher that Erdogan blames for a failed 2016 coup attempt.

The European Union and Washington both recognise the PKK as a “terrorist” organisation because of the brutal tactics it employed during a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.

But the agreement also stipulates that Sweden and Finland vow to “not provide support” to the YPG - a PKK offshoot in Syria that played an instrumental role in the US-led alliance against the Islamic State group.

Sweden and Finland abandoned decades of military non-alignment in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and were formally invited into the alliance at Wednesday’s summit in Madrid.

Ukraine and the European Union have signed an agreement that liberalizes road transport, the Kyiv Independent reports.

According to the agreement, Ukrainian carriers no longer need to obtain permits to enter the European Union.

The agreement also “envisions the recognition of Ukrainian drivers’ licenses by the EU,” the outlet reports.

⚡️Ukraine, EU sign agreement on liberalization of road transport.

The agreement eliminates the need for Ukrainian carriers to obtain permits to enter the EU. Previously, each country provided a specific number of quotas for freight transportation from Ukraine.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) June 29, 2022

Summary

It’s 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:

  • Nato leaders have announced a new “strategic concept” in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine, describing Moscow as “the most significant and direct threat to allies’ security and stability”. Nato has invited Sweden and Finland to become members of the military alliance, according to a communique published by the Nato summit in Madrid. Leaders also pledged further help to Kyiv and agreed on a package of support aimed at modernising the country’s defence sector.
  • Zelenskiy also accused the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, of becoming “a terrorist” leading a “terrorist state” and urged Russia’s expulsion from the United Nations. In a virtual address on Tuesday, Zelenskiy called for the UN to visit the site of Monday’s missile strike on a shopping mall in the city of Kremenchuk, which killed at least 18 people.

That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, today. My colleagues in the US will be here shortly with all the latest from Ukraine. Thank you.

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