Ukraine news latest: Putin warned deadly apartment block bombing could be war crime

Ukraine has accused Russian troops of utilizing phosphorus bombs to assault Snake Island, reported Al Jazeera.

Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s military, claimed that two Russian Su-30 fighters dropping phosphorus bombs have been flown over Snake island.“Immediately at round 18:00 … Russian air power Su-30 planes twice carried out strikes with phosphorus bombs on Zmiinyi island,” stated the military, referring to the Snake Island.

White phosphorus, which ignites on contact with air, is commonly used to mark enemy targets and produce a smokescreen to cover troop actions.

It can be used to begin fires, and may burn via bone when it comes into contact with flesh. It could possibly kill, maim and poison victims.

Using phosphorus is banned in closely populated civilian areas beneath worldwide regulation – however it isn’t thought-about a chemical weapon beneath the Chemical Weapons Conference.

Russia has been accused of utilizing white phosphorus munitions earlier than.

Phosphorus bombs have been dropped in assaults on the cities of Lutsk within the west and Popasna within the east earlier this month, in line with Ukrainian officers.

Germany’s power regulator has recognized precedence areas which can have protected entry to energy this winter if the nation experiences gasoline shortages.

These vary from households and hospitals to pharmaceutical firms and paper producers.

The authorities are propelled to make pressing preparation forward of winters attributable to sharp cuts to deliveries of Russian gasoline via the Nord Stream pipeline.

“We will’t classify each enterprise as systemically necessary,” Klaus Mueller, head of Germany’s Federal Community Company watchdog, informed the Funke newspaper group in an interview printed on Saturday.

“Services for leisure will likely be much less necessary … Swimming swimming pools clearly aren’t essential and neither is chocolate biscuit making.”

Whereas households are a prime precedence, Mr Mueller didn’t rule out the potential of energy cuts.

“If it involves rationing, we should scale back industrial consumption first,” he stated.

“I can assure that we are going to do every thing to keep away from personal households being left with out gasoline. However now we have realized from the coronavirus disaster that we shouldn’t make guarantees that we’re not sure of having the ability to maintain.”

Russia has blamed technical difficulties ensuing from sanctions for Nord Stream pipeline flows being halved in current weeks, although German officers say the cuts are a retaliation for western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi spoke with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin on Friday, the place he reiterated the nation’s “place in favour of dialogue and diplomacy”.

“The 2 leaders reviewed the implementation of the selections taken throughout President Putin’s go to to India in December 2021,” stated India’s Ministry of Exterior Affairs in a press release. “Particularly, they exchanged concepts on how bilateral commerce in agricultural items, fertilisers and pharma merchandise may very well be inspired additional”.

“The leaders additionally mentioned international points, together with the state of the worldwide power and meals markets,” it stated, reported the Indian Categorical. “Within the context of the continuing scenario in Ukraine, the prime minister reiterated India’s long-standing place in favour of dialogue and diplomacy.”

The 2 leaders have earlier spoken to one another thrice since Russia invaded Ukraine in February this 12 months. The Indian authorities – although it has criticised the killings in Bucha – has thus far did not instantly condemn the Russian aggression.

Highly effective explosions have been heard early on Saturday within the Ukrainian metropolis of Mykolaiv, stated mayor Oleksandr Senkevich.

“There are highly effective explosions within the metropolis! Keep in shelters!” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The reason for the explosions was not instantly recognized.

Air raid sirens sounded throughout the entire Mykolaiv area earlier than the blasts, reported Reuters, including that they weren’t in a position to independently confirm the claims by the mayor.

Not less than 21 individuals, together with two kids, have been killed after Russian missiles struck an residence constructing and two vacation camps close to Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa on Friday morning, Ukrainian authorities have stated.

Ukrainian officers informed The Unbiased that at the least 18 individuals perished within the strike on a nine-storey residence block within the village of Serhiivka, and one other three died in a success on the resort.

A member of Odesa’s army administration stated that two kids on the resort have been in essential situation and the hunt for many who have been nonetheless lacking continued.

Bel Trew and Shweta Sharma report.

The European Union’s government arm on Friday pledged to draft an emergency plan this month geared toward serving to member nations do with out Russian power within the wake of the Kremlin’s conflict in Ukraine.

European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen stated the initiative would construct on EU strikes to ditch Russian coal, oil and pure gasoline and would complement a bloc-wide push to speed up the event of renewable power corresponding to wind and solar energy.

“We’re making ready emergency plans for Europe,” von der Leyen stated within the Czech city of Litomysl, the place she marked the beginning of the nation’s six-month stint as holder of the rotating EU presidency. “Power costs are excessive. Folks — rightly so — count on us to do one thing about it.”

She stated the contingency plan, due round mid-July, would give attention to two key factors together with having a “clear concept” of the place to chop again on Russian power provide and to do it “in a sensible manner” in addition to to rally round EU nations going through provide squeezes.

WNBA star Brittney Griner, 31, has been detained in Russia since February after medicine have been allegedly present in her baggage by officers at a Moscow airport.

Her detainment occurred shortly earlier than Russia launched its conflict in Ukraine, with geopolitical tensions making it undoubtedly tougher to safe her launch.

Ms Griner’s household, buddies and followers — alongside many public figures — have been calling on Russia to free her for months and for the US State Division to intervene.

Her trial started on Friday (1 July), days after a courtroom ordered her detainment be prolonged till December.

Right here’s every thing we all know concerning the ordeal:

Two British males captured by Russian forces in separatist-held Ukraine have been charged with being mercenaries, Russian media has stated.

Help employee Dylan Healy, 22, was stopped at a checkpoint earlier this 12 months whereas serving to a lady and kids to flee a battle zone in Russian-backed territory, in line with an support charity.

Andrew Hill, a army volunteer who was detained within the Mykolaiv area across the similar time, was proven in camouflage gear on Russian state tv.

Ukraine‘s nuclear energy operator stated on Friday it had re-established its connection to surveillance methods on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, which is occupied by Russian forces.

The Worldwide Atomic Power Company (IAEA), the UN’s atomic watchdog, has stated it desires to examine the plant in southern Ukraine urgently, however Ukrainian authorities oppose any such go to whereas Russian forces stay in management.

It was the second time communications had been misplaced with the plant, made up of six reactors. Ukraine state Energoatom company stated on its Telegram channel that it had restored the connection “by its personal efforts”.

The hyperlink, it stated, had been misplaced “as a result of chopping off by the occupiers in Enerhodar of all Ukrainian cell operators, together with Vodavone, with which the (IAEA) has a contract for information transmission.”

All “necessary monitoring information are transmitted” and the IAEA had confirmed receipt, Energoatom stated.

The IAEA stated earlier this week that the lack of communication hyperlinks “solely provides to the urgency to dispatch this mission” to Zaporizhzhia. It stated the connection had been misplaced “attributable to a disruption of the ability’s communication methods”.

Brittney Griner, an American basketball star, appeared in a Russian courtroom on Friday, 4 months after she was arrested on hashish possession fees at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport whereas travelling to play for a Russian staff.