Russia-Ukraine war: ICC issues arrest warrants for Russian officials over attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets – as it happened

• The European Union has begun membership talks with Ukraine, in a landmark moment for the country bogged down fighting off the brutal Russian invasion now in its third year. EU ministers are launching official membership talks with Ukraine and later on with neighbouring Moldova, who lodged applications soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

• Ukraine has downed 1,953 Shahed drones out of 2,277 launched by Russia this year alone, Ukraine’s air force commander said on Tuesday. “Air defences destroyed about 86% (of the drones),” he said on Telegram.

• The international criminal court issued arrest warrants on Tuesday for Russia’s former defence minister and its military chief of staff for attacking civilian targets in Ukraine. The court is accusing former defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of staff Valery Gerasimov of war crimes and the crime against humanity of inhumane acts.

• Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff applauded the International Criminal Court’s move to issue arrest warrants for Russia’s former defence minister and chief of general staff on Tuesday, saying it was “an important decision”. “(Sergei) Shoigu and (Valery) Gerasimov bear individual responsibility... (They) will held be responsible for evil,” Andriy Yermak said on Telegram.

• Russia’s Security Council said on Tuesday that the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for former defence minister Sergei Shoigu was part of a hybrid war against Moscow, the state-run news agency Tass reported. The ICC issued arrest warrants for Shoigu, who is secretary of the Security Council, and leading Russian general Valery Gerasimov on Tuesday for alleged crimes committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

• The European Union will open membership talks with Ukraine on Tuesday, giving the country a political boost in the midst of its war against Russia’s invasion, although a long and tough road still lies ahead before it could join the bloc. The ceremony in Luxembourg will be more about symbolism than the nitty-gritty of negotiations, which will start in earnest only after the EU has screened reams of Ukrainian legislation to assess all the reforms needed to meet the bloc’s standards, Reuters reported.

• President Maia Sandu welcomed the start of the EU accession talks with Moldova, stressing that her country is within the European family. “We are stronger together,” she said on X. The European Union is set for a symbolic opening of membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday.

• Ukrainian troops trying to hold their ground on the eastern front in Donetsk region may still be outnumbered by Russian forces, but the “shell hunger” that plagued them for months as ammunitions started to run out is now behind them. One unit in Donetsk region, the focus of Russian troops’ slow advance along the 1,000 km (600 mile) front, fired its M-109 self-propelled howitzer as needed - there were no further fears of running short of Western-supplied 155 mm shells, Reuters reported.

• Two key advisers to Donald Trump have presented him with a plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine - if he wins the presidential election - that involves telling Ukraine it will only get more US weapons if it enters into peace talks. The United States would at the same time warn Moscow that any refusal to negotiate would result in increased US support for Ukraine, retired Lt Gen Keith Kellogg, one of Trump’s national security advisers, said in an interview.

• Vladimir Putin’s aide, Yuri Ushakov, said the Russian president’s peace proposals can stop conflict in Ukraine almost immediately, state-run TASS news agency reported on Tuesday. Putin said on 14 June he would be ready for peace talks “tomorrow” if Ukrainian troops withdraw from the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

• Ukraine wants to see a “strong” decision taken at the Nato summit in Washington next month as Kyiv tries to advance its strategic goal of joining the military alliance, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s foreign policy adviser told Reuters. Ihor Zhovkva, who spoke in an interview before travelling to Luxembourg for a European Union meeting that will formally launch accession talks for Ukraine, said that Kyiv wanted the Nato summit to end with concrete results.

• China on Tuesday urged the European Union to revoke sanctions on Chinese companies for what it believes is supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine. China always opposes unilateral sanctions, and has made solemn representations to the EU side, spokesperson Mao Ning told a press conference.

• Moscow expects to sign a new agreement on comprehensive cooperation with Iran “in the very near future,” Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told Russia’s RIA state news agency in an interview published on Tuesday. “We expect that this agreement will be signed in the very near future, since work on the text is already close to completion. All the necessary wording has been found,” RIA cited Rudenko as saying.

• An elderly woman was killed, four people injured and scores of buildings damaged in multiple air attacks by Ukraine on the Belgorod region, the governor of the southern Russian region that borders Ukraine said on Tuesday. The Russian defence ministry said that its air defence systems destroyed a total of 29 Ukraine-launched drones over the region’s territory, Reuters reported.

That’s all from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed the Ukraine live blog for today. Thanks for following along.

25 Jun 202410.13 EDT

Jennifer Rankin

The European Union has begun membership talks with Ukraine, in a landmark moment for the country bogged down fighting off the brutal Russian invasion now in its third year.

EU ministers are launching official membership talks with Ukraine and later on with neighbouring Moldova, who lodged applications soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The opening meetings, which take place in a conference centre in Luxembourg, mark a low-key, but highly symbolic moment more than a decade after protesters bearing EU flags took to the streets of Kyiv to demonstrate for European integration at the Euromaidan revolution.

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Olga Stefanishyna, representing Ukraine at the talks, described the IGC as “a historic moment that fully establishes [the] irreversibility of our European integration”.

Moldova’s president Maia Sandu, said: “Becoming an EU member is our path to peace, prosperity, and a better life for all citizens”.

The start of talks begins a long and highly uncertain process with no guarantees that either country will become EU members, which requires unanimous approval from the 27 existing states. Officials from both sides will embark on a screening process to check how far Ukraine and Moldova law corresponds to EU standards.

The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said both countries and the EU stood “on the threshold of a significant and transformative moment”. She added: “The accession negotiations are designed to prepare the candidates for the resp of membership and this is why there are no shortcuts.”

25 Jun 202409.45 EDT

Andrew Roth

The international criminal court (ICC) at The Hague has issued arrest warrants for Russia’s ex-minister of defence and current army chief of staff for alleged war crimes in Ukraine after a missile campaign targeting Ukrainian power plants and other civilian infrastructure during the full-scale invasion.

Ex-minister of defence Sergei Shoigu and the current chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, Valery Gerasimov, are accused of the war crimes of directing attacks at civilian objects and of causing excessive incidental harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects. They were also accused of crimes against humanity.

The Hague issued warrants for their arrest, although will likely be unable to serve them as they are in Russia, which is not a party to the ICC and has denounced the court publicly. Ukraine is not a member of the ICC but has given the court jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes committed on its territory since 2022. Shoigu was removed as minister of defence last month but has remained a senior government official as head of Russia’s security council.

Ukraine has downed 1,953 Shahed drones out of 2,277 launched by Russia this year alone, Ukraine’s air force commander said on Tuesday.

“Air defences destroyed about 86% (of the drones),” he said on Telegram.

Bridget A. Brink, the US ambassador in Kyiv, has congratulated Ukraine on the opening of EU accession talks.

“The U.S. will continue to support Ukraine in its efforts to realize its EU aspirations,” she said.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, has welcomed the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Russia’s former defence minister and chief of general staff.

“Every criminal involved in the planning and execution of these strikes must know that justice will be served. And we do hope to see them behind bars,” he said.

“This decision is a clear indication that justice for Russian crimes against Ukrainians is inevitable. It clearly demonstrates that no military rank or cabinet door can shield Russian criminals from accountability,” he added.

In a statement today, the European Council president, Charles Michel, said “we are witnessing an historic moment today.”

“Opening accession negotiations via the first Intergovernmental Conferences is a key milestone. It is also proof of the immense progress both nations have made on their journey towards European integration, despite the immense challenges they have faced and are still facing,” he said of Ukraine and Moldova’s efforts.

Nevertheless, Michel also said “this is the beginning of a long process.”

While today we celebrate a significant step forward, we must also recognise that the road ahead will require sustained effort, dedication, and further substantial reforms.

Ukraine and Moldova will need to continue their work to strengthen institutions, continue combatting corruption, and enhance economic stability to meet the rigorous standards of full EU membership.

The European Union, through its institutions and Member States, stands ready to support Ukraine and Moldova at each step of this journey.

• The international criminal court issued arrest warrants on Tuesday for Russia’s former defence minister and its military chief of staff for attacking civilian targets in Ukraine. The court is accusing former defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of staff Valery Gerasimov of war crimes and the crime against humanity of inhumane acts.

• Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff applauded the International Criminal Court’s move to issue arrest warrants for Russia’s former defence minister and chief of general staff on Tuesday, saying it was “an important decision”. “(Sergei) Shoigu and (Valery) Gerasimov bear individual responsibility... (They) will held be responsible for evil,” Andriy Yermak said on Telegram.

• Russia’s Security Council said on Tuesday that the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for former defence minister Sergei Shoigu was part of a hybrid war against Moscow, the state-run news agency Tass reported. The ICC issued arrest warrants for Shoigu, who is secretary of the Security Council, and leading Russian general Valery Gerasimov on Tuesday for alleged crimes committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

• The European Union will open membership talks with Ukraine on Tuesday, giving the country a political boost in the midst of its war against Russia’s invasion, although a long and tough road still lies ahead before it could join the bloc. The ceremony in Luxembourg will be more about symbolism than the nitty-gritty of negotiations, which will start in earnest only after the EU has screened reams of Ukrainian legislation to assess all the reforms needed to meet the bloc’s standards, Reuters reported.

• President Maia Sandu welcomed the start of the EU accession talks with Moldova, stressing that her country is within the European family. “We are stronger together,” she said on X. The European Union is set for a symbolic opening of membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday.

• Ukrainian troops trying to hold their ground on the eastern front in Donetsk region may still be outnumbered by Russian forces, but the “shell hunger” that plagued them for months as ammunitions started to run out is now behind them. One unit in Donetsk region, the focus of Russian troops’ slow advance along the 1,000 km (600 mile) front, fired its M-109 self-propelled howitzer as needed - there were no further fears of running short of Western-supplied 155 mm shells, Reuters reported.

• Two key advisers to Donald Trump have presented him with a plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine - if he wins the presidential election - that involves telling Ukraine it will only get more US weapons if it enters into peace talks. The United States would at the same time warn Moscow that any refusal to negotiate would result in increased US support for Ukraine, retired Lt Gen Keith Kellogg, one of Trump’s national security advisers, said in an interview.

• Vladimir Putin’s aide, Yuri Ushakov, said the Russian president’s peace proposals can stop conflict in Ukraine almost immediately, state-run TASS news agency reported on Tuesday. Putin said on 14 June he would be ready for peace talks “tomorrow” if Ukrainian troops withdraw from the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

• Ukraine wants to see a “strong” decision taken at the Nato summit in Washington next month as Kyiv tries to advance its strategic goal of joining the military alliance, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s foreign policy adviser told Reuters. Ihor Zhovkva, who spoke in an interview before travelling to Luxembourg for a European Union meeting that will formally launch accession talks for Ukraine, said that Kyiv wanted the Nato summit to end with concrete results.

• China on Tuesday urged the European Union to revoke sanctions on Chinese companies for what it believes is supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine. China always opposes unilateral sanctions, and has made solemn representations to the EU side, spokesperson Mao Ning told a press conference.

• Moscow expects to sign a new agreement on comprehensive cooperation with Iran “in the very near future,” Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told Russia’s RIA state news agency in an interview published on Tuesday. “We expect that this agreement will be signed in the very near future, since work on the text is already close to completion. All the necessary wording has been found,” RIA cited Rudenko as saying.

• An elderly woman was killed, four people injured and scores of buildings damaged in multiple air attacks by Ukraine on the Belgorod region, the governor of the southern Russian region that borders Ukraine said on Tuesday. The Russian defence ministry said that its air defence systems destroyed a total of 29 Ukraine-launched drones over the region’s territory, Reuters reported.

Russia’s Security Council said on Tuesday that the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for former defence minister Sergei Shoigu was part of a hybrid war against Moscow, the state-run news agency Tass reported.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Shoigu, who is secretary of the Security Council, and leading Russian general Valery Gerasimov on Tuesday for alleged crimes committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff applauded the International Criminal Court’s move to issue arrest warrants for Russia’s former defence minister and chief of general staff on Tuesday, saying it was “an important decision”.

“(Sergei) Shoigu and (Valery) Gerasimov bear individual responsibility... (They) will held be responsible for evil,” Andriy Yermak said on Telegram.

The international criminal court issued arrest warrants on Tuesday for Russia’s former defence minister and its military chief of staff for attacking civilian targets in Ukraine.

The court is accusing former defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of staff Valery Gerasimov of war crimes and the crime against humanity of inhumane acts.