Ukraine-Russia war latest: Ukrainian forces advance in Zaporizhzhia

Ukrainian forces advanced up to one kilometre overnight in Berdyansk in the Zaporizhzhia region, officials said, as Kyiv steps up its counter-offensive.

Andrii Kovalov, spokesman for the Ukrainian General Staff, said during a live broadcast on Tuesday: “As part of the offensive, the troops of the strike group of the Ukrainian Defence Forces advanced by 500 metres to 1 kilometre on the Berdyansk front over the past 24 hours.”

Elsewhere, Ukrainian troops advanced 250 metres near the Berkhiv reservoir in Bakhmut and 200 metres on the Toretsk front, both in the Donetsk region, according to deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar writing on Telegram on Tuesday morning.

Kyiv has claimed to have retaken four villages from Russian forces in the last week in the Donetsk region of Ukraine as their long-anticipated counter-offensive began, with Ukrainian forces reportedly favouring night attacks where their superior Western equipment gives them the edge.

03:00 PM

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Thanks for following today’s liveblog. Here are the day’s top stories:

• A top Russian general leading troops in southern Ukraine has been killed in a missile strike, pro-Russian military bloggers have said. Major General Sergei Goryachev, the chief of staff of the 35th Combined Arms Army, was reportedly killed on June 12 amid heavy fighting around the so-called “Vremivka Ledge” region in southern Donetsk.

• Russia launched a “massive missile attack” overnight on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, President Zelensky’s hometown, killing eleven people.

• The US is expected to provide depleted-uranium rounds to Ukraine to equip the Abrams tanks that Washington is to send to Kyiv. A senior official in the Biden administration told The Wall Street Journal that there appeared to be no major obstacles to approving the ammunition.

• The FSB security service has arrested a group of former defence industry workers suspected of supplying Ukraine with sensitive military information and planning sabotage attacks.

• Ukrainian forces advanced up to one kilometre overnight in Berdyansk in the Zaporizhzhia region, officials said, as Kyiv steps up its counter-offensive. Elsewhere, Ukrainian troops advanced 250 metres near the Berkhiv reservoir in Bakhmut and 200 metres on the Toretsk front, both in the Donetsk region, according to deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar.

We will be back tomorrow with all the latest updates on Ukraine

02:47 PM

NATO chief says Ukraine offensive could force Kremlin to negotiate

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg  said that Ukraine’s counter-offensive to liberate swaths of Russian-occupied territory could force the Kremlin to negotiate.

Mr Stoltenberg spoke to CNN ahead of a meeting with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday, and said it was “still early days” for the Ukrainian offensive, which he described as “difficult”.

He added: “The more land they gain, the more likely it is that President Putin will understand that he has to sit down at the negotiating table and agree to a just and enduring peace in Ukraine.”

02:34 PM

Top Russian general killed in missile strike

A top Russian general leading troops in southern Ukraine has been killed in a missile strike, pro-Russian military bloggers have said.

Major General Sergei Goryachev, the chief of staff of the 35th Combined Arms Army, was reportedly killed on June 12 amid heavy fighting around the so-called “Vremivka Ledge” region in southern Donetsk, where Ukraine has liberated four villages in their counter-offensive.

Goryachev, who is at least the fifth high-ranking Russian general to die in Ukraine, had previously served in Transnistria, the self-declared militarised region of Moldova, and Tajikistan.

02:21 PM

France prevented attack on government website likely carried out by Russian individuals

France prevented a cyber attack on its foreign ministry website that was likely carried out by Russian or Russian-speaking individuals, the country’s foreign minister said.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said that authorities had prevented an attempted identity hacking of the website and that France believed that there was a broader campaign of spreading disinformation in the country from Russian parties.

02:00 PM

Pictured: A rescuer carries a cat out from a residential building damaged by Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih

01:40 PM

Zelensky adviser: Russian invasion is 'a great opportunity for many European countries to rearm themselves profitably'

An adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become a “great opportunity” for European countries to “rearm themselves profitably” by “[giving] away obsolete weapons and [getting] new models of equipment at the expense of strategic partners” as he called for allies to send more of their weapons.

Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter: “Today, the hangars of many countries are filled with modern military equipment that is covered with dust and is not planned to be used. Question. If Russia is the main strategic doctrinal threat to Europe and the war with Russia is going on in Ukraine today... why do you need so many weapons right now?

“With whom else do you plan to fight on this continent in the 21st century? Wouldn’t it be better to transfer as many weapons as possible directly to the battlefield and ‘pacify’ the aggresser here and now?”

01:19 PM

In pictures: War in Ukraine

12:57 PM

Zelensky: 'We live in a time when our freedom depends on all of us'

12:46 PM

Wagner chief 'not sure' whether his fighters will remain in Ukraine

The head of the Wagner mercenary group has said he is “not sure” whether Wagner would stay in Ukraine after having taken Bakhmut.

Yevgeny Prigozhin’s forces spearheaded the campaign in the front-line city, which saw some of the heaviest fighting of the war.

Wagner mercenaries have been active in Africa and the Middle East in the past and maintain some contracts there.

12:33 PM

Watch: Russia releases footage allegedly showing 'trophy' abandoned western tanks

12:07 PM

Priest killed in Russian shelling

A 72-year-old priest has been killed in the Ukrainian settlement of Bilozerka in the Kherson region as a result of Russian shelling, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office said.

Andriy Yermak said that artillery fire struck the courtyard of a church, also injuring a 76-year-old woman.

The shelling also damaged the local post office, administrative buildings, the central square and four residential buildings, he added.

11:51 AM

Seventeen dead following breach of Nova Kakhovka dam, says Russian official

The number of those who have died following flooding in two Russian-controlled towns in southern Ukraine after the Nova Kakhovka dam was breached has risen to 17, a Russian-installed official said on Tuesday,

The dam burst last Tuesday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in southern Ukraine without access to drinking water. President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of deliberately bringing down the structure with explosives. Russia has blamed Kyiv for the attack.

Chairman of the Russian-installed administration in the Kherson region, Andrei Alekseyenko, said that there were 12 people confirmed dead in Hola Prystan and another five in Oleshky.

The figures have not been independently verified.

11:39 AM

Death toll in Kryvyi Rih missile strike reaches ten

At least ten people have been killed in the central city of  Kryvyi Rih following a Russian missile strike overnight, the city’s mayor has said.

Oleksandr Vilkul said on Telegram on Tuesday: “As of 1300 (1000 GMT) 10 people have been killed.” He added that another person was trapped under the rubble and a further 28 people were wounded.

A five-storey residential building was struck and was set alight, and footage on social media showed rescuers putting out the fire.

11:20 AM

US expected to send depleted-uranium rounds to Ukraine

The US is expected to provide depleted-uranium rounds to Ukraine to equip the Abrams tanks that Washington is to send to Kyiv.

A senior official in the Biden administration told The Wall Street Journal that there appeared to be no major obstacles to approving the ammunition, which is regularly used by the US Army. When fired at a high rate of speed, the rounds can penetrate the frontal armour of a Russian tank from a distance.

Some officials at the White House expressed concern that the US could be criticised for supplying a weapon which may carry health and environmental risks if it did send the ammunition. according to the newspaper.

The White House agreed to provide Ukraine with 31 Abrams tanks in January, and Ukrainian personnel are currently being trained on how to operate and maintain them, as the tanks are to be delivered by the autumn.

10:57 AM

FSB arrests former defence industry workers suspected of supplying sensitive material to Ukraine

The FSB security service has arrested a group of former defence industry workers suspected of supplying Ukraine with sensitive military information and planning sabotage attacks.

The Russian security service accused the former employees, who have not been named, of spying for Ukrainian military intelligence and of handing over technical documents and models used in the manufacture of weapons systems and equipment for the country’s air force.

The FSB also claimed in a statement that it was the same group which was involved in plans to blow up transport infrastructure, such as railway lines used to supply Russian forces in Ukraine.

10:42 AM

Lukashenko says there should be 'no hestitation' in using nuclear weapons if required

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has said that there should be no hesitation in using the tactical nuclear weapons Russia is to deploy in the country if required, saying that they would serve as a deterrent against a potential aggressor.

Belta state news agency reported that he made the comments on Tuesday, after President Vladimir Putin said last Friday that Russia will begin to deploy the weapons in Belarus once special storage facilities are ready, on July 7-8.

10:16 AM

Ukraine eyes Australian F-18s to boost air capabilities in war

Ukraine has asked Australia about the condition of an estimated 41 retired F-18 fighter jets, the country’s ambassador has said.

Vasyl Myroshnychenko told news agency AFP that “there has been a request for information” about the jets, stored at an air base north of Sydney.

“Ukraine is looking at fighter jet capabilities, including this one,” he added.

Ukraine’s interest in Australia’s planes is the first time that F-18s have been publicly discussed, as several Western countries have discussed supplying F-16 jets to Ukraine.

A deal would require the diplomatic and logistical cooperation of Kyiv, Canberra and Washington. Robert Potter, an Australian who advises the Ukrainian government, told AFP: “The specifics of any potential deal are not yet finalised.

“There are multiple formal approvals required to conclude a procurement of these planes but it is likely an idea whose time has come.”

09:47 AM

In pictures: Kryvyi Rih missile strike

09:34 AM

The stealth strategy giving Ukraine the edge in counter-offensive

Ukrainian forces are taking advantage of Western-supplied night-vision equipment to attack under the cover of darkness, seizing villages and territory, Roland Oliphant and Joe Barnes report.

Kyiv has launched repeated night-time assaults since its counter-offensive in the Zaporizhzhia region began a week ago, triggering alarm among Russian war correspondents reporting the losses.

On Monday morning, Ukraine claimed to have captured Storozhov, a village near Velyka Novosilka. It came a day after it claimed to have liberated the villages of Neskuchny and Blahodatne and Makarivka, in the same area.

Read more on this story here. 

09:20 AM

Nova Kakhova dam breach will have 'huge impact on global food security', says UN official

The breach of the Nova Kakhovka dam will have a “huge impact on global food security”, the United Nations’ aid chief has said.

Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary General for humanitarian affairs and its emergency relief coordinator, told the BBC: “This is a breadbasket - that whole area going down towards the Black Sea and Crimea is a breadbasket not only for Ukraine but also for the world.

“We’re in difficulties already on food security but food prices, I’m sure, are bound to increase.”

He added: “It is almost inevitable that we are going to see huge, huge problems in harvesting and sowing for the next harvest. And so what we are going to see is a huge impact on global food security - that’s what’s going to happen.”

The dam in the Kakhovka Reservoir burst last Tuesday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in southern Ukraine without access to drinking water. President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of deliberately bringing down the structure with explosives. Russia has blamed Kyiv for the attack.

09:01 AM

Russian oil refinery catches fire in Krasnodar

An oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region caught fire on Tuesday as a result of a technical fault with flaring equipment, RIA Novosti state news agency said.

The fire has since been extinguished, according to a local emergency task force, and RIA reported that the refinery was operating as normal.

The Krasnodar region is located in southern Russia and is close to Crimea.

Oil refineries and energy facilities in southern Russia have regularly been the target of drone attacks in recent months, which have often caused fires. The Afipsky and Ilsky refineries were both allegedly attacked by drones last month.

08:42 AM

Pictured: Vladimir Putin meets with Russian servicemen injured in the Ukraine war at a military hospital in Moscow

08:27 AM

Zelensky says Russia 'will never be forgiven' following Kryvyi Rih strike

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia “will be held accountable for every missile they launch” after the strike on his hometown of Kryvyi Rih.

Mr Zelensky shared a video of rescuers working to put out fires in a burning building in the central Ukrainian city, surrounded by destroyed cars, on Twitter on Tuesday morning, and wrote: “More terrorist missiles, Russian killers continue their war against residential buildings, ordinary cities and people.

“Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded. The rescue operation in Kryvyi Rih continues. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones! Russian terrorists will never be forgiven, and they will be held accountable for every missile they launch.

08:08 AM

Death toll rises to six in Kryvyi Rih missile strike

At least six people have been killed in a Russian missile strike on the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, the city mayor has said.

Oleksandr Vilkul said on the Telegram: “Unfortunately, there are already six dead. The rescue operation continues.”

Mr Vikul had previously said that three people had died and that more were trapped under the rubble of a five-storey apartment building.

07:58 AM

Latest MoD update

07:48 AM

Watch: Russian missile strike hits Zelensky's hometown Kryvyi Rih

07:47 AM

'Massive' missile attack on Kryvyi Rih overnight

Russia launched a “massive missile attack” overnight on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing and wounding people and damaging civilian infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

Serhiy Lisak, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region where Kryvyi Rih is located, said on the Telegram messaging app that there had been a “massive missile attack” and that “there are dead and wounded.”

Russian air strikes hit several civilian buildings in the city, including a five-storey building, the mayor of Kryvyi Rih, Oleksandr Vilkul, said earlier.

“Likely, there are people under the rubble,” Mr Vilkul said on Telegram.

07:42 AM

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