Russian forces battle to surround the Ukrainian military's last stronghold in the long-contested eastern Donbass region, as fighting enters its 127th day.
Thursday, June 30, 2022
Russia leaves Snake Island, in blow to blockade of Ukraine ports
Russian forces have withdrawn from Ukraine’s Snake Island in the northwestern Black Sea with an aim to free the passage of Ukraine’s grain export, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“On June 30, as a step of goodwill, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation completed their tasks on the Snake Island and withdrew from the garrison stationed there."
“Thus, it was demonstrated to the world community that the Russian Federation does not hinder the efforts of the UN to organize a humanitarian corridor for the export of agricultural products from the territory of Ukraine,” it said.
Russia begins shipping grain from occupied Ukraine port
Russia began shipping grain from Ukraine's occupied territory, with a vessel carrying 7,000 tonnes of cereal sailing from Ukraine's occupied port of Berdyansk.
Kiev has for weeks accused Russia and its allies of stealing its grain from southern Ukraine, contributing to a global food shortage caused by grain exports blocked in Ukrainian ports.
Until now shipments have been transported by land, Kiev says.
Russia says it has more than 6,000 Ukrainian POWs
Russia is holding more than 6,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war, the defence ministry has said, a day after the two sides swapped imprisoned soldiers.
"The total number of Ukrainian troops captured or who surrendered is more than 6,000," Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the ministry, said in a statement.
On Wednesday each side received 144 detained soldiers. The Ukrainian defence ministry said most of the Ukrainian soldiers had been seriously wounded.
Pro-Russian separatists say Kiev shelling civilians with Western weapons
Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine accused Kiev's army of shelling civilians with advanced multiple rocket launch systems and howitzers they have recently received from the Western countries.
The United States announced in early June it would deliver to Ukraine M142 HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, with a slightly longer range than their Russian and Soviet-made equivalents, to enable the Kiev military to destroy enemy forces while staying out of reach.
Several European countries, including France and Germany, have also supplied heavy howitzers to Ukraine in recent weeks.
Russian lawmakers approve bill on banning foreign media
The lower house of Russia’s parliament gave final approval to a bill that would allow the banning of foreign news media in response to other countries' actions against Russian news outlets.
The State Duma approved the bill on its final, third reading. The equally pliant upper house of parliament is set to quickly approve the measure before Russian President Vladimir Putin signs it into law.
Russia has repeatedly complained in recent months that Western countries were improperly restricting Russian media by banning their operation or denying visas to their journalists.
Pope implicitly accuses Russia of aggression, imperialism in Ukraine
Pope Francis implicitly accused Russia of "armed conquest, expansionism and imperialism" in Ukraine, calling the conflict a "cruel and senseless war of aggression".
The pope, speaking to a delegation of Orthodox leaders in Rome, referred to the conflict as one pitting Christians against one another.
Both Russia and Ukraine are predominantly Orthodox Christian but there is a sizeable Catholic minority in Ukraine.
Russian forces withdraw from Snake Island in Black Sea – head of Ukraine President's Office pic.twitter.com/XVcrhG0xvO
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) June 30, 2022
Russian forces fight to capture Ukraine's eastern bulwark
Russian troops have been fighting to encircle the last bulwark of Ukraine's resistance in an eastern province, as funerals were to be held for those who were killed by a Russian strike on a shopping mall in central Ukraine earlier this week.
Moscow’s push to take control of the entire Donbass region from Ukraine is focused on Lysychansk, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the Luhansk province. Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95 percent of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbass.
The Ukrainian General Staff said that the Russian troops were shelling Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery on the edge of the city.
Britain sends more military aid to Ukraine
Britain is sending 1 billion pounds' ($1.21 billion) worth of military support to Ukraine, bringing its total military and economic support since the start of the war to 3.8 billion pounds.
The government said the new money is for equipment including air defence systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare equipment.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged allies at a NATO summit in Madrid to “dig deep” in support of Ukraine.
Ukraine secures the release of 144 of its soldiers in the largest prisoner swap since the conflict with Russia started pic.twitter.com/g1XfGBU11Y
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) June 30, 2022
Amnesty accuses Russia of bombing Mariupol theatre
A theatre sheltering civilians destroyed in March in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol was likely hit by a Russian air strike in a "war crime," Amnesty International has said in a report.
"Until now, we were speaking about an alleged war crime. Now we can clearly say it was one, committed by the Russian armed forces," Oksana Pokalchuk, head of Amnesty's Ukraine branch, told the AFP news agency.
"These explosions were caused by something really big: two 500-kg bombs" dropped from a plane, she added, dismissing Russian claims that the theatre was hit in a false-flag attack by the city's Ukrainian defenders.
Based on eyewitness statements and public death reports, "Amnesty International believes that at least a dozen people died in the attack, but also that it is likely that many additional fatalities remain unreported," the group added.
Russia steps up attacks in Ukraine after landmark NATO summit
Russia has pressed on with its offensive in eastern Ukraine after NATO branded Moscow the biggest "direct threat" to Western security and agreed plans to modernise Kiev's beleaguered armed forces.
Ukrainian authorities said they were trying to evacuate residents from the frontline eastern city of Lysychansk, the focus of Russia's attacks where about 15,000 people remained under relentless shelling.
"Fighting is going on all the time. The Russians are constantly on the offensive. There is no let-up," regional Governor Serhiy Gaidai told Ukrainian television. "Absolutely everything is being shelled."
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(With input from news agency language)
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