UKRAINE WRAP | UK to provide another 1bn pounds of military support to Ukraine

June 30 2022 - 14:08

Russia abandons Snake Island in strategic victory for Ukraine

Russian forces abandoned the strategic Black Sea outpost of Snake Island on Thursday, in a major victory for Ukraine that could loosen a Russian grain export blockade threatening to worsen global hunger.

Russia's defence ministry said it had decided to withdraw from the outcrop as a “gesture of goodwill” that showed Moscow was not obstructing UN efforts to open a humanitarian corridor allowing grains to be shipped from Ukraine's ports.

June 30 2022 - 13:40

Greece offers ships to export grain from blocked Ukrainian ports - NATO

Greece is willing to provide ships to help export grain from Ukraine's Black Sea ports that have been blocked by Russia, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.

"Greece announced that they are ready to make available ships to get the grain out of Ukraine," he told reporters on the third and last day of a NATO summit in Madrid. Reuters 

June 30 2022 - 13:30

Kremlin will decide later if Putin to attend G20 in Indonesia

The Kremlin said on Thursday it has not yet decided whether President Vladimir Putin will attend November's G20 summit in Indonesia.

In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia had an invitation to attend and would decide "at the necessary time" whether Putin will go in person.

Western leaders are weighing up how to approach the summit should Putin go, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling on leaders not to boycott if the Russian president does decide to attend.

Reuters 

June 30 2022 - 11:00

Ukraine says Russian forces have withdrawn from Snake Island

The head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office, Andriy Yermak, said on Thursday that Russian forces had withdrawn from Snake Island, a strategic Black Sea outpost.

"KABOOM! No Russian troops on the Snake Island anymore. Our Armed Forces did a great job," Yermak wrote on Twitter.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify Yermak's statement. 

Reuters 

June 30 2022 - 10:00

Russian gas flows to Europe via Nord Stream and Ukraine unchanged

Flows of Russian gas to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and through Ukraine on Thursday remained in line with deliveries in recent days, operator data showed.

Physical flows to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline across the Baltic Sea stood at 29,482,220 kilowatt hours per hour (kWh/h), in line with levels above 29,000,000 kWh/h on Wednesday, operator company information showed.

Russian gas producer Gazprom this month said that capacity through the pipeline would be cut to only 40% owing to the delayed return of equipment being serviced by Germany's Siemens Energy in Canada.

Nord Stream will undergo regular annual maintenance from July 11 to July 21, sparking concern over whether flows will restart when the maintenance ends.

The drop in Russian pipeline deliveries since mid-June has forced Germany's Uniper, a key buyer, to withdraw its outlook for the 2022 financial year and seek government support.

Nominations for gas flows into Slovakia from Ukraine via the Velke Kapusany border point stood at 37 mcm per day on Thursday, unchanged from the previous day, data from the Ukrainian transmission system operator showed.

Gazprom said its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point was seen at 42.2 million cubic metres (mcm) on Thursday compared with 42.1 mcm on Wednesday.

Eastbound gas flows via the Yamal-Europe pipeline to Poland from Germany edged lower, data from pipeline operator Gascade showed.

Exit flows at the Mallnow metering point on the German border stood at 2,729,761 kWh/h early on Thursday, down from about 2,860,000 kWh/h the previous day. 

Reuters 

June 30 2022 - 09:00

European court tells Russia to ensure two Britons do not face death penalty

The European Court of Human Rights issues said on Thursday it had issued interim measures to instruct Russia to ensure the death penalty on two Britons who were captured after fighting for Ukraine was not carried out.

"The Court indicated in particular to the Government of the Russian Federation, under Rule 39 (interim measures) of the Rules of Court, that they should ensure that the death penalty imposed on the applicants was not carried out," the court said in a statement.

Reuters 

June 30 2022 - 08:24

Russia steps up attacks in Ukraine after landmark NATO summit

Russia pressed on with its offensive in eastern Ukraine on Thursday after NATO branded Moscow the biggest “direct threat” to Western security and agreed plans to modernise Kyiv's beleaguered armed forces.

Ukrainian authorities said they were trying to evacuate residents from the front-line 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.

June 30 2022 - 06:00 

UK to provide another 1bn pounds of military support to Ukraine

 Britain will provide another 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) of military support to Ukraine, the British government said on Wednesday, as NATO branded Russia the biggest "direct threat" to Western security.

The funding will go towards boosting Ukraine's defence capabilities, including air defence systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles, new electronic warfare equipment and thousands of pieces of equipment for Ukrainian soldiers.

"UK weapons, equipment and training are transforming Ukraine's defences against this onslaught. And we will continue to stand squarely behind the Ukrainian people to ensure Putin fails in Ukraine," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement.

The latest funding comes after Britain said in May it would provide an additional 1.3 billion pounds in military support and aid to Ukraine, and takes the UK's total military and economic support to 3.8 billion pounds this year.

Ukrainian troops have also started training in Britain after Johnson offered to launch a major operation with the potential to train up to 10,000 soldiers every 120 days.

At a NATO summit dominated by Russia's invasion, which Moscow says is a "special military operation" to rid Ukraine of dangerous nationalists, NATO agreed plans to modernise Kyiv's armed forces, saying it stood fully behind Ukrainians' "heroic defence of their country".

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video link-up with the summit in Madrid that Ukraine needed $5 billion a month for its defence and protection.

Reuters