Ukraine war latest: Huge explosion reported in Russian city - amid escalation in fighting; Vietnam criticised over Putin visit (2024)

Ukraine's finance minister Serhiy Marchenko says the country will continue to talk with bondholders after failing to reach an agreement over the restructuring of around $20bn (£15.7bn) of international debt.

An agreement was struck between Ukraine and the holders of international bonds that allowed the country to suspend payments after Russia's invasion in 2022.

That agreement ends in August, raising the chances that the country might slip into default if a new agreement is not made before then.

So far, the government's proposal for a new deal and a counter proposal by bondholders showed large disparities between what a restructuring could look like.

Mr Marchenko said today that a "critical" debt rework deal was stillexpected by August.

"Strong armies must be underpinned by strong economies towin wars," he said, adding the country's economy was a "fragilebalance" that hinged on consistent and substantial support fromits partners.

"Timely debt restructuring is a critical part of thissupport."

A large explosion has been reported overnight in the Rostov-on-Don region of southern Russia.

Eyewitness reports, which have not been verified by Sky News, say a large flash was seen by residents before they lost power in their apartments. Video of the reported blast has been circulating online.

Reports suggested it occurred at an electricity substation.

Quotes attributed to the Rostov mayor's office suggest the explosion and subsequent power outage stemmed from the water treatment facilities of JSC Rostovvodokanal, which designs water supply and drainage systems.

The statement says there was a malfunction of the pumping equipment, which also left residents without a steady water supply for some hours.

We'll bring you more details on this as we get them.

There's been an escalation in fighting in the Kharviv region over the weekend as Ukrainian soldiers look to isolate Russian troops advancing across the nearby border in Vovchansk,

Heavy combat is reportedly underway at an aggregate plant on the northern edge of Vovchansk.

DeepState – a Ukrainian monitoring group – says small groups of Russian soldiers have repeatedly attempted to secure the aggregate plant, but have been repelled by Ukraine forces.

One Ukrainian squad commander,Stanislav Buniatov, described the situation as "difficult but controlled" and said Russian troops are "surrounded".

In a post on Telegram yesterday, Buniatov said: "Our guys are not losing their positions, occasionally conducting successful assaults, liberating positions and pushing the enemy back."

Yesterday, the Russian Ministry of Defence said in a statement that "troops improved the situation along the front line and defeated the manpower and hardware" of Ukrainian troops in the "areas of the settlements of Vovchansk, Synelnykove and Vovchanski Khutory" in Kharkiv region.

A total of 78 nations have said the "territorial integrity" of Ukraine must be the basis for any peace agreement to end Russia's two-year war.

Ukraine's prime minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy hosted two days of peace talks in Switzerland over the weekend, with around 1,000 delegations attending.

They included leaders from the UK, Germany, France, Poland, Argentina and Kenya, while the US sent vice president Kamala Harris for the talks.

The final document focuses on issues of food, security, the exchange of prisoners and nuclear safety.

It said that "respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty — can and will serve as a basis for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine."

Among those not to sign the final document were Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Mexico and India.

US officials have criticised Vietnam's decision to host Russian president Vladimir Putin in Hanoi this week.

The Communist-ruled country was not present at the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland over the weekend, with the country's new president, To Lam, instead set to host Mr Putin during a two-day visit to Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday.

The move has triggered a US rebuke, with a spokesperson for the US embassy in Hanoi warning that Mr Putin's visit might "normalise his atrocities."

"No country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalise his atrocities," the spokesperson said.

"If he is able to travel freely, it could normalise Russia'sblatant violations of international law."

According to Ian Storey, a senior fellowat the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Hanoi's hosting of Mr Putin is meant "to demonstratethat Vietnam pursues a balanced foreign policy that does notfavour any of the major powers."

The espionage trial of US reporter Evan Gershkovich - currently being held in Russia on spy charges, will take place behind closed doors, a court in city of Yekaterinburg said today.

Mr Gershkovich was detained by Russian authorities in March 2023. It is claimed the Wall Street Journal reporter was collecting military secrets for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), charges he denies.

The first hearing is due to take place on 26 June.

"According to the investigation authorities, the American journalist of The Wall Street Journal, Gershkovich, on the instructions of the CIA, in March 2023, collected secret information in the Sverdlovsk region about the activities of the defence enterprise JSC NPK Uralvagonzavod for the production and repair of military equipment," the Sverdlovsk Regional Court said.

"The process will take place behind closed doors."

Mr Gershkovich is the first American journalist to be detained on sky charges in Russia since the Cold War.

US president Joe Biden has said the detention of Mr Gershkovich is "totally illegal."

Welcome back to our coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Before we launch into live updates and analysis, here's an overview of the major movements in the war as it stands.

Peace plans

Vladimir Putin put forward what he described as pre-requisites for peace negotiation - which analysts called a hollow attempt to "seduce" the West into giving up on Ukraine.

In what the Institute for the Study of War called "absurd ultimatums", the Russian leader demanded Ukraine effectively surrender almost 20% of its territory and abandon its aspirations to join NATO, while the West would be required to lift all sanctions and recognise parts of Ukraine as Russian.

His comments came ahead of a peace summit held in Switzerland at the request of Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Dozens of world leaders attended, including from Japan, the UK, Germany, the EU and France - but Joe Biden notably skipped the talks for an election fundraiser and China declined to take part.

Russia was not invited, Mr Zelenskyy said, because "if Russia was interested in peace, there would be no war".

Leaders rejected Mr Putin's proposals, with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan branding them a "completely absurd vision."

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said freezing the conflict was a "recipe for future wars of aggression".

But Saudi Arabia - touted as the potential host of a follow-up summit - said peace talks must involve "difficult compromise".

Aid

While the US president was not present at the summit, vice president Kamala Harris was, announcing a $1.5bn aid package aimed at energy and refugees.

Earlier in the week, G7 leaders agreed in Italy to provide additional financial support for Ukraine - including a loan deal worth roughly $50bn using interest raised through frozen Russian assets.

On the sidelines of the conference, Ukraine and Japan signed a security agreement worth £3.5bn over 10 years, including security and defence assistance and humanitarian aid.

Rishi Sunak pledged £240m for reconstruction, while the Dutch government agreed to provide £50.9m to bolster Ukraine's aerial and naval drone purchasing and production.

NATO

Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a 10-yearbilateral security agreement, seen as "supporting a bridge to Ukraine's eventual membership in the NATO alliance".

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban - seen as the closest of any EU leader to Vladimir Putin - assured NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that his country will not block military aid to Ukraine, though he will not help either.

Meanwhile,NATO members announced a crackdown on Russian spies after a campaign of hostile activities by Moscow that includes acts of sabotage and cyber attacks.

A meeting took place in Brussels todiscuss how NATO could respond and protect critical maritime and cyber infrastructure.

Kharkiv

Eyes are still on the second front opened by Russia in northeastern Ukraine last month.

A NATO official told European Pravda last week that Russia lost an "astronomical" 1,000 people per day in May as troops rushed across the border from Belgorod into Kharkiv, while also waging war on the eastern front.

Russian forces have advanced a little under 10km into Ukrainian territory and have not taken control of the city of Vovchansk.

The US defence secretary said Russia's advance was slowing and the frontline stabilising, partly thanks to countries lifting restrictions on Ukraine's use of donated weapons on Russian territory.

Mr Zelenskyy said month-long, Republican-backed delays to US aid allowed Russia to launch its fresh incursion, but that Ukraine had managed to stop it.

Meanwhile, in the same region, a Ukrainian combat brigade claimed to have captured dozens of Russian soldiers.

The Ukrainian brigade said the troops were taken prisoner during combat operations around the town of Vovchansk.

That's all for our live coverage today, but we'll be back with more live updates and analysis soon.

If you're just checking in, here is a recap of the key moments that occurred over the last 24 hours.

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy kicked off a peace summit in Switzerland that excluded Russia;
• Joe Biden skipped the event - sending vice president Kamala Harris instead - and China declined an invitation;
• White House national security adviser branded Russia's latest so-called peace proposal a "completely absurd vision", after Vladimir Putin called for Ukraine to give up almost 20% of its land;
  
• The head of the EU Commission said freezing the conflict as it stands was "a recipe for future wars of aggression";
• But Saudi Arabia - touted as the potential host of a follow-up summit - said peace talks must involve "difficult compromise";
• Meanwhile, Russia blamed Ukraine for attacks that killed six people in Belgorod last night, while Ukraine said Russia killed three people with cluster munitions in a Ukrainian village today;
• The G7 unanimously backed a French proposal to request a global truce during the Olympic Games, the Italian prime minister said.
  

A draft statement at the Swiss peace summit recognises Russia's war in Ukraine continues to cause large-scale human suffering and destruction, Reuters reports.

"We reaffirm out commitment to refraining from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state... including Ukraine," reads the statement.

"Any threat or use of nuclear weapons in the context of the ongoing war against Ukraine is inadmissible."

The communique continues: "Ukrainian nuclear power plants and installations... must operate safely and securely under full sovereign control of Ukraine."

It calls for prisoners of war to be released, and all deported and unlawfully displaced Ukrainian children or unlawfully detained Ukrainian civilians to be returned to Ukraine.

The statement also pushes for "free, full and safe" commercial travel via sea ports in the Black Sea and Azov Sea.

"We underscore our commitment to upholding international law, including the UN charter."

The first batch of Russian and Belarusian athletes have been cleared to compete at next month's Paris Olympics, with a total of 25 making the cut.

Another 16failed an International Olympic Committee vetting process over the war in Ukraine, the IOC said, the spaces for which will be distributed to other countries.

Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to qualify as neutrals so long as they have not actively supported the war in Ukraine and have not been contracted to any military or security agency.

The vetting process means the countries will have sportspeople competing in some events, like road cycling and trampolining, but in others neither country has qualified, such as taekwondo.

In this round of vetting, Russia cleared 14 athletes for 24 allocated spots, while 11 Belarusian athletes passed the process for 17 spots.

Once all applicants are vetted, the IOC said it expects to see about 36 Russian and 22 Belarusian athletes competing as neutrals, out of 54 and 28 spots respectively.