The aftermath of a Ukrainian missile strike in the Belgorod border region of Russia. Ukraine wants permission from western allies to use their weapons to strike further into Russia. Photograph: Reuters
The aftermath of a Ukrainian missile strike in the Belgorod border region of Russia. Ukraine wants permission from western allies to use their weapons to strike further into Russia. Photograph: Reuters
Allowing Ukraine to attack Russian territory would be 'dangerous escalation', says Kremlin
Any decision by Western countries to allow Ukraine to use weapons they have supplied to strike further into Russian territory would be a “dangerous escalation”, the Kremlin has said.
Use of the weapons is currently limited to strikes on Russian forces and positions that are launching attacks on Ukraine, but Ukrainian officials have repeatedly called for all limitations to be lifted.
Multiple world leaders, including Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg and French President Emmanuel Macron, have said the restrictions should be relaxed.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “the main thing is that these missiles are already hitting our territory”.
“As for increasing this distance, this is pure provocation, a new, very dangerous escalation of tension,” he said.
In case you missed anything, here’s a quick round-up of the day’s developments in the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine downed five missiles and 11 drones targeted at cities across the country overnight, military officials said
Three civilians were injured by a mine in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv
Russian forces carried out “massive shelling” in the centre of the city of Kherson, a military official said, adding that no injuries had been reported
Ukraine’s top prosecutor called on the International Criminal Court to prosecute Russia over a missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv on Monday
The Kremlin warned that the relaxation of restrictions on the use of Western-supplied weapons to target Russian territory would be a “dangerous escalation”
The Ukrainian estimate of the number of Russian casualties since the start of the war reached 556,650
The UK Ministry of Defence said Russia’s decision to open a new front in the Kharkiv region had seen its average daily casualties reach their highest level since the start of the conflict
Russia’s state-owned telecoms provider announced that YouTube would be slowed down due to “technical problems” amid reports of plans by Russian authorities to block the service altogether
The Kremlin dismissed reports of a plot to assassinated the head of a major German arms manufacturer as a “fake story”, while the German government said it “won’t be intimidated”
The German government has said it “won’t be intimidated” over its support for Ukraine following reports of an alleged assassination attempt on the head of a leading defence company.
On Thursday, CNN reported that US intelligence services had foiled a plot to kill Armin Papperger, the CEO of Rheinmetall, which has provided large amount of armaments to Ukraine.
The report, which cited numerous US and western officials, said the plot was one of several Russian government plans to kill defence industry executives in European countries that have supported Ukraine’s war effort.
Speaking on Friday, German interior ministry spokesperson Maximilian Kall declined to comment on the reports, but said Germany takes the “significantly increased threat from Russian aggression very seriously”.
“We know that Putin’s regime wants above all to undermine our support for Ukraine in its defence against the Russian war of aggression, but the German government won’t be intimidated,” he said.
Asked about the reports, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that they “do not contain any serious arguments and are based on anonymous sources”.
“It’s all presented in the style of another fake story,” he said. “Therefore, such reports cannot be taken seriously.”
Youtube is to be slowed down inside Russia due to “technical problems” with equipment belonging to Google, state-owned telecoms provider Rostelecom has announced.
The company said in a statement that a “growth of processed traffic” had caused a “serious overload of the existing capacities”.
“This may affect the download speed and quality of playback of videos on YouTube for subscribers of all Russian operators,” it said.
Following the invasion of Ukraine, Russia blocked both Facebook and Instagram, labelling parent company Meta as “extremist”.
A source has told independent outlet Meduza that Russian authorities were deliberating slowing down YouTube, while pro-Kremlin site Gazeta.ru reports that there are plans to block the service altogether in September.
On Friday, Anton Gorelkin, the deputy chairman of the committee on information policy in the Russian parliament, said on Telegram that Google had abandoned its servers in Russia after the start of the war and that the slowdown was a “natural” result.
Ukraine wants the restrictions on its use of Western-supplied weapons inside Russia lifted in order to target air bases and other infrastructure, a presidential advisor has said.
We reported earlier on the debate among Western leaders about whether the current limits – which allow Ukraine to strike inside Russia only in order to target forces that are launching attacks onto its territory – should be relaxed.
In a post on social media, Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor in the office of the Ukrainian president, said Ukraine did not want to simply carry out “strikes for the sake of strikes”.
“This is about systemic destruction,” he said.
“First of all, of air bases where strategic aviation is based, which in turn carries out deliberate massive strikes against the civilian population and civilian objects of Ukraine.
“This is also the destruction of infrastructure and war support. This is the destruction of military production facilities and places where resources are accumulated.”
It’s Robyn Vinter here for an hour, covering for Christy.
China has hit back at what it says are “groundless accusations” it is helping Russia in its war on Ukraine.
The Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, warned against the Western alliance causing confrontation in a call with his Dutch counterpart.
It comes hours after a declaration at a summit in Washington in which Nato members expressed “profound concern” about Beijing’s relationship with Russia.
The North Atlantic Council members wrote: “The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) stated ambitions and coercive policies continue to challenge our interests, security and values. The deepening strategic partnership between Russia and the PRC and their mutually reinforcing attempts to undercut and reshape the rules-based international order, are a cause for profound concern.”
Donald Trump will “make peace” in Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said after visiting the former president at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Orban posted photos of himself and Trump, who is running for re-election in November, each giving a thumbs up in a room at the resort.
“It was an honour to visit President [Trump],” he said. “We discussed ways to make #peace. The good news of the day: he’s going to solve it!”
He later added that Trump had “proved during his presidency that he is a man of peace” and would “do it again”.
Last week, Orban travelled to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of what he called a “peace mission”.
The Kremlin said on Friday that Orban did not tell Putin about any plan to meet Trump and had not conveyed any message to Trump from Putin.
Peace mission 5.0 It was an honour to visit President @realDonaldTrump at Mar-a-Lago today. We discussed ways to make #peace. The good news of the day: he’s going to solve it! pic.twitter.com/AiTRsdexM5
Russia saw its average daily casualties reach their highest level since the start of the conflict in recent months, according to the Ministry of Defence.
The ministry said in its latest intelligence update that the figure reached 1,262 in May and 1,162 in June, and that total casualties over the two months were around 70,000.
It said the rise reflected that fact Russia had opened a new front in the Kharkiv region while trying maintain its operations in other areas.
“Although this new approach has increased the pressure on the frontline, an effective Ukrainian defence and a lack of Russian training reduces Russia’s ability to exploit any tactical successes, despite attempting to stretch the frontline further,” it said.
It added that casualties would remain similarly high over the next two month as Russia tries to “overmatch Ukrainian positions with mass”.
Allowing Ukraine to attack Russian territory would be 'dangerous escalation', says Kremlin
Any decision by Western countries to allow Ukraine to use weapons they have supplied to strike further into Russian territory would be a “dangerous escalation”, the Kremlin has said.
Use of the weapons is currently limited to strikes on Russian forces and positions that are launching attacks on Ukraine, but Ukrainian officials have repeatedly called for all limitations to be lifted.
Multiple world leaders, including Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg and French President Emmanuel Macron, have said the restrictions should be relaxed.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “the main thing is that these missiles are already hitting our territory”.
“As for increasing this distance, this is pure provocation, a new, very dangerous escalation of tension,” he said.
Rescuers work at the Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital following a Russian strike. Photograph: Oleksandr Ratushniak/Reuters
Ukraine’s top prosecutor has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Russia over a missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv on Monday.
The strike was one of a number across Ukraine that killed 38 people, including four children, and injured hundreds.
Photos from its aftermath showed visibly sick children being led out of the hospital, some still attached to their drips.
“For the sake of international justice, cases like the intentional attack on the biggest child hospital in Kyiv [are] worth lifting to the ICC,” Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin told Reuters.
He added that prosecuting the case could help demonstrate a pattern of crimes against humanity carried out by Russian forces.
“It’s important to show that Russia itself, at the moment, is a criminal state,” he said.
Russia has denied attacking the hospital and blamed Ukrainian anti-missile fire, but the UN has said video analysis suggests there is a “high likelihood” the site took a direct hit from a Russian missile.
The ICC has so far issued arrest warrants for six individuals, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and former defence minister Sergei Shoigu, over the war in Ukraine.
Three civilians have been injured by the detonation of an explosive device in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv.
The regional military administration said on Telegram the incident took place in the village of Staritsa, which sits around 28 miles (46km) from Kharkiv city and only a few miles from the Russian border.
It said the people wounded were two men aged 18 and 63 and a woman aged 43.
Other statements from the administration have warned of mine clearances taking place in other areas along the Russian border.
The Nato summit concluded on Thursday with the endorsement of a new Ukraine Compact by 32 of the country’s allies and partners.
The participants, 23 of whom already have bilateral security agreements with Ukraine, pledged to continue to supply it with the weapons and training it needs to fight the current war while also building up its capabilities to deter future aggression.
Among the signatories were the US, the UK, the EU, and Japan.
“Through this Compact, we declare our enduring intent and commitment to ensure Ukraine can successfully defend its freedom, independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity today and deter acts of aggression in the future,” the document said.
The summit did not deliver the invitation to join Nato that Ukraine has long asked for, but President Biden said in a statement that the Compact would form “part of [Ukraine’s] bridge to NATO membership”.
In case you missed it, last night the US announced a further $225m (£174m) of military support for Ukraine.
The state department said in a statement that the package contained “urgently needed weapons and equipment”, including a Patriot defence system, stinger anti-aircraft system, Javelin anti-tank systems, and artillery rounds.
It added that the aid would be deployed “as quickly as possible to bolster Ukraine’s defense of its territory and its people”.
Ukraine downs five missiles and 11 drones overnight
Ukrainian air defences shot down five cruise missiles and 11 drones overnight, the commander of the country’s air forces has said.
Writing on Telegram, Lt Gen Mykola Oleschuk said the missiles were fired from the Saratov region of southern Russia and downed over the Ukrainian regions of Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, and Cherkasy.
He added that 19 drones in total were fired and that 11 were shot down over Mykolaiv, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Kherson, and Sumy.
He said the remaining eight drones were lost, but were probably only dummy drones intended to overload the air defences.
