UKRAINE WRAP | Russia says UK 'often hysterical', after Donetsk death sentences

June 10 2022 - 13:42

Russia says UK "often hysterical", after Donetsk death sentences

Russia said on Friday that Britain should appeal to the authorities of the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) - internationally recognised as part of Ukraine - over two British citizens sentenced to death on Thursday by a Donetsk court.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram that Britain's reaction to such cases was "often hysterical".

Russia describes the two Britons and one Moroccan, who had been captured serving with Ukrainian forces in east Ukraine, as "mercenaries". The British government says they are prisoners of war, entitled to protection under the Geneva Convention.

Russia is the only United Nations member state to recognise the DPR, much of it still controlled by Ukraine, as independent.

Reuters 

June 10 2022 - 13:40

Judgement against jailed British men breaches Geneva convention - UK's Truss

Britain's foreign minister Liz Truss said on Friday that the judgement against two British men sentenced to death by a court in one of Russia's proxies in eastern Ukraine was a breach of the Geneva convention.

"The judgement against them is an egregious breach of the Geneva convention," Truss said in a tweet after she spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to discuss efforts to secure the release of prisoners of war held by Russian proxies.

Reuters 

June 10 2022 - 12:37

Russia's Lavrov says Britons and Moroccan sentenced to death committed crimes in Donetsk

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that the two Britons and one Moroccan sentenced to death on Thursday in the Donetsk People's Republic had committed crimes on the territory of the self-proclaimed state trying to break away from Ukraine.

Lavrov said: "At the moment, the trials you mentioned are being held on the basis of the legislation of the Donetsk People's Republic, because the crimes in question were committed on the DPR's territory."

The DPR, where separatist forces began a military campaign to break away from Ukraine with Moscow's support in 2014, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine.

Among United Nations member states, only Russia recognises the entire Ukrainian province of Donetsk, much of which remains under Ukrainian control, as the independent DPR.

Reuters 

June 10 2022 - 12:00

Ukrainian rapper-soldier puts war into words

From Ukraine's battlefronts comes rap music, filled with the fury of a young generation that will certainly never forget and may never forgive.

June 10 2022 - 11:05

Ukraine say Russia looks for weak points in Ukrainian defences near key river

Russia is looking for weak points in Ukrainian defences near the Siverskyi Donets River in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian Defence Ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said on Friday.

He told national television that Russian forces had not abandoned attempts to launch storming operations in the area.

If Russia captures the cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk on the Siverskyi Donets, it will hold all of Luhansk, one of two provinces in the Donbas region that Moscow claims on behalf of separatists.

"Russia's strategic goal is the complete destruction of Ukraine ... They won't let us live in peace," Motuzyanyk said."

The Russian Federation wants to completely destroy Ukrainian statehood and install a government it can control here.

"Russia has previously denied such assertions. It says its "special military operation" in Ukraine is intended to disarm and "denazify" its neighbour.

Ukraine and its allies call the invasion an unprovoked war of aggression.

Motuzyanyk said the situation was calmer in southern Ukraine, where Russia is trying to impose its rule on a tract of occupied territory spanning Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces. He gave no details.

Nataliya Gumenyuk, a spokesperson for Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine, said Russia had 40 cruise missiles targeting Ukraine from the sea. She did not say how Ukraine obtained the information and Reuters was unable to verify her remarks.

"We must be prepared for increased missile attacks," she told national television.

Reuters

June 10 2022 - 10:02

Russia seeks weak points in Ukrainian defences near key river - Ukraine's defence ministry

Russia is looking for weak points in Ukrainian defences near the Siverskyi Donets River in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian Defence Ministry Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said on Friday.

He told national television that Russian forces had not abandoned attempts to launch storming operations in the area.

If Russia captures the cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk on the Siverskyi Donets, it will hold all of Luhansk, one of two provinces in the Donbas region that Moscow claims on behalf of separatists.

Reuters 

June 10 2022 - 09:22

Sweden seeks progress in talks with Turkey over NATO membership, foreign minister says

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said on Friday Sweden aims to make constructive progress in talks with Turkey over the Nordic country's application to join NATO.

"Our application has received broad support among NATO members," she said in a foreign policy declaration after Sweden, alongside Finland, applied last month to join the military alliance as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Our ambition is to, in a constructive spirit, make progress on the questions that Turkey has raised," she told parliament.

Reuters 

June 10 2022 - 09:12

Ukraine seeks new IMF deal to shore up its war-ravaged finances

Ukraine must clinch a new loan program with the International Monetary Fund, the country’s finance chief said, as efforts to fight off invading Russian forces push its budget and international reserves to the limit.

Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said Kyiv needs more foreign aid from its longstanding donor, and preliminary discussions on a new assistance package are under way. His statement followed an appeal by central bank Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko, who called last week for a new deal with the Washington-based lender.

“Now we are having preliminary discussion with the IMF team in a way to have a new program, because we really need it,” Marchenko said in an interview with Bloomberg Radio on Thursday. “Now we are deciding on what basis it can be prepared, because it’s very uneasy for us and for the IMF team to prepare a very sophisticated macro-financial structure, macro-financial forecast by the end of this year.”

June 10 2022 - 06:20

NATO tests air defenses at Baltic Sea in Poland

NATO forces conducted live-fire air defense exercises in Poland to test their readiness to respond to aircraft, drone and missile attacks.

June 10 2022 - 06:00

Video shows Ukraine destroy Russian rocket launcher with US-provided weapon

Ukrainian troops say weapons provided by the US are giving them an advantage because they are lighter and more precise than the ones used by Russia. CNN's Matthew Chance reports from the front lines.