Belarus will deploy special operations troops along its border with Ukraine and send air defence, artillery and missile units to training ranges in the west of the country, Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.
The MoD announced the development on Monday morning, saying: “The presence of Belarusian forces near the border will likely fix Ukrainian troops, so they cannot deploy in support of operations in the Donbas”.
Belarusia’s forces have not been directly involved in the conflict, though its territory was used as a staging post for Russia’s initial advance on Ukraine’s capital and Chernihiv. Russia has also launched air sorties and missile strikes from Belarus.
“Belarusian President Lukashenko is likely balancing support for Russia’s invasion with a desire to avoid direct military participation with the risk of Western sanctions, Ukrainian retaliation and possible dissatisfaction in the Belarusian military,” the MoD added.
The presence of Belarusian troops near the border may keep Ukrainian troops pinned down there, preventing them from moving to support the counteroffensive in the Donbas, Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland.
The development came as Ukrainian troops reached the Russian border, regaining control of territory near the country’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, which has been under constant fire since Moscow’s invasion began.
Follow the latest updates below.
10:34 AM
Finland-Sweden Nato bid will not improve security, says Kremlin
The Kremlin said Monday that Finland and Sweden’s decision to join the Nato military alliance will not improve security in Europe.
“We are not convinced that Finland and Sweden joining Nato will somehow strengthen or improve the security architecture on our continent,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“This is a serious issue, an issue that raises our concern, and we will follow very carefully what will be the consequences of this accession of Finland and Sweden to Nato in a practical sense in terms of our security, which must be ensured in an absolutely unconditional manner,” he said.
But he also pointed out that in comparison with Ukraine, Russia did not have any territorial disputes with Finland or Sweden.
Finland and Sweden are poised to end decades of military non-alignment to join Nato as a defence against feared aggression from Russia.
10:11 AM
Ukraine signs agreement with Japan on $100 million loan
Ukraine and Japan have signed an agreement on a $100 million loan intended primarily to help support vulnerable people in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, the Ukrainian finance ministry said on Monday.
It said the loan was for 30 years and included a grace period of 10 years.
09:09 AM
Some 650 Bucha victims were ‘executed’
More than 650 victims were “executed” by Russian soldiers in the Bucha region during a month under occupation.
In March, when fighting around Ukraine’s capital increased in intensity and the small town of Bucha was at the epicentre, more than 1,000 civilians were killed.
Kyiv regional police chief, Andrii Niebytov, told the BBC: “The Russian army has crossed the line of how war is conducted….The soldiers could not have executed anyone without the commander’s knowledge.”
Their bodies were discovered in the region, many hastily buried in shallow graves.
One of the scenes now being investigated by Ukrainians to evidence Russian war crimes is a children’s summer camp, Camp Radiant.
Among the dead is Volodymyr Boichenko, a civilian who wanted to stay and help when the region was under siege.
His sister Aliona Mykytiuk told the BBC that his body was discovered beneath Camp Radiant on April 4.
“I hate them with every cell of my being,” she said about Volodymyr’s killers. “I know that’s wrong to say about people, but they are not human. There was not one patch on those men’s bodies that was not beaten.”
08:44 AM
Watch: Ukrainian army say they pushed back Russian forces over the border near Kharkiv
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08:19 AM
Austria says EU will find agreement on Russia sanctions in the next days
Austria expects the European Union to agree on a sixth sanctions package on Russia in the coming days, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said on Monday.
“I am confident that we will manage to get the sixth sanctions package done in the next days,” Schallenberg told reporters as he arrived for a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels.
“It is clear that there still is a certain need for discussion but I believe we should aim to have these discussions where they belong, at the council, in order not give an image of disaccord in public. Russia is watching us.”
08:01 AM
EU needs more time to agree on next Russia sanctions, Luxembourg says
The European Union will impose a sixth sanctions package on Russia, but the bloc will need more time to find agreement, Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said on Monday.
“There really is no excuse not to get the package done,” Asselborn told reporters as he arrived for a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels.
07:15 AM
Kyiv ‘can win this war’, says Nato chief
Russia attacked positions in eastern Ukraine as it tries to encircle Ukrainian forces in the Donbas and fend off a counteroffensive around the city of Izium.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia’s offensive in Donbas had stalled and Ukraine could win the war, an outcome few military analysts predicted at the outset of the conflict.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine is not going as Moscow had planned,” Mr Stoltenberg told reporters on Sunday.
“They failed to take Kyiv. They are pulling back from around Kharkiv. Their major offensive in Donbas has stalled.
“Russia is not achieving its strategic objectives.
“Ukraine can win this war.”
In a strategic blow for Russia, which has long opposed NATO expansion, Finland on Sunday confirmed it would apply to join the Atlantic military alliance.
07:07 AM
Pictured: Ukrainian resident looks at destroyed Russian tank
06:57 AM
Russia calls Finland and Sweden joining NATO mistake with ‘far-reaching consequences’
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Monday that Finland and Sweden choosing to join the NATO military alliance was a mistake that would have far-reaching consequences and see the global situation change radically, news agencies reported.
Ryabkov said Finland and Sweden should have no illusions that Russia will simply put up with their decision, Interfax reported.
06:29 AM
Sweden and Finland NATO membership would increase Baltic security, says Estonia
Sweden and Finland joining NATO would increase the security of the Baltic region, Estonian Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets said.
“When we see that in our neighbourhood also other democratic countries belong to NATO, it would mean that we could have broader joint exercises and also … more defence cooperation,” Liimets said in Berlin, where she joined a meeting with other NATO counterparts on Saturday.
Liimets said she hoped Sweden, Finland and Turkey would overcome differences on the Nordic states joining the alliance, adding that the Berlin meeting atmosphere was very supportive.
“We have seen some differences, but we have also seen a willingness of those countries to overcome the differences,” she said.
05:58 AM
Western sanctions block $16-$18 billion worth of Belarusian exports to EU, US, prime minister says
Sanctions that have been imposed on Belarus have blocked $16-$18 billion worth of its annual exports to the West, the Belta news agency cited Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko as saying late on Sunday.
“Because of the sanctions, almost all of Belarus’s exports to the countries of the European Union and North America have been blocked,” Mr Golovchenko said.
“This … comes to about $16 billion to $18 billion a year,” he added. President Alexander Lukashenko has insisted that Belarus must be involved in negotiations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, saying also that Belarus had been unfairly labelled “an accomplice of the aggressor”.
Belarus was also heavily sanctioned last year following the interception of the Ryanair plane flying between Athens and Vilnius and the arrest of a dissident journalist and his girlfriend after the plane landed.
05:43 AM
Renault sells its stake in Russia’s Avtovaz, option to buy it back
Renault said on Monday it would sell its majority stake in carmaker Avtovaz to a Russian science institute, adding the agreement provided a six-year option for the French carmaker to buy back this interest.
“The closing of these transactions is not subject to any conditions, and all required approvals have been obtained”, Renault said.
04:32 AM
Flood saves Ukrainian village from Russian occupation
The intentional flooding of a small village north of Kyiv that created a quagmire and submerged cellars and fields, but prevented a Russian attack on the capital, was worth all the sacrifice, residents said.
Ukrainian forces opened a dam early in the war in Demydiv, causing the Irpin River to flood the village and thousands of acres around.
The move has since been credited with stopping Russian soldiers and tanks from breaking through Ukraine’s lines.
“Of course, it was good,” said Volodymyr Artemchuk, a 60-year-old resident of Demydiv.
“What would have happened if they (Russian forces) …. were able to cross the little river and then went onto Kyiv?”
03:20 AM
McConnell sees Wednesday US Senate vote on $40 billion Ukraine aid bill
US Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he expected the Senate to vote on Wednesday to approve about $40 billion in proposed aid to help Ukraine resist Russia’s invasion after holding a related procedural vote on Monday.
“We expect to invoke cloture – hopefully by a significant margin – on the motion to proceed on Monday, which would set us up to approve the supplemental on Wednesday,” McConnell said after visiting the Ukrainian capital on Saturday.
He was referring to a procedural “cloture” vote that caps further debate on a matter at 30 hours.
02:33 AM
Gas taps turned on after damage to pipeline
Ukraine’s gas transit system operator said over the weekend that it had resumed operations at two distribution stations in the Kharkiv region and restarted gas supply to more than 3,000 consumers.
“Both stations were shut down due to damage to the main gas pipeline in the Kharkiv region as a result of hostilities,” the operator said in a statement, adding that the damages have now been repaired.
Some 54 gas distribution stations in seven regions of Ukraine remain shut down, the operator added.
02:21 AM
Kalush residents overjoyed at band’s Eurovision win
Residents of Kalush said they were in “seventh heaven,” jumping and rejoicing after a band from the western Ukrainian city won the Eurovision Song Contest over the weekend.
The Kalush Orchestra won Eurovision with their entry “Stefania”, surfing a wave of public support to claim an emotional victory that was welcomed by the country’s president.
“With all my soul, all my love, I love my Kalush. My wife and I have been watching until 1 a.m. And we were happy to win. I was jumping. I was in seventh heaven,” said Petro Yugan, a 74-year-old resident of Kalush.
“But I also want us to end the war as fast as possible, and it would be an even bigger victory.”
02:12 AM
Today’s Top Stories
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Ukraine accused Russia on Sunday of dropping “phosphorus bombs” on the Azovstal steelworks as a large evacuation convoy managed to escape the besieged port city of Mariupol
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Sweden on Sunday night joined Finland in announcing its intention to join Nato, demonstrating to Russia that “aggression does not pay”, the chief of the alliance has said.
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The frontman of Ukraine’s Eurovision winners Kalush Orchestra has returned home to join the defence of his country.
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Kharkiv is beginning to look like Ukraine’s second major victory in the war after the defence of Kyiv. It could have dramatic implications for the further progress of the conflict.
