Russia-Ukraine latest news: Long-range weapons shipments risk deeper invasion into Ukraine, Kremlin warns West

The Kremlin has warned the West that any supplies of long-range weapons to Ukraine, including from Britain, would force them to increase efforts to push back Ukrainian troops further from Russia’s border.

“The longer the range of the systems that will be delivered, the further we will move back the Nazis from the line from which threats to Russian-speakers and the Russian Federation may come,” Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said.

The move from Russia could potentially increase Ukraine’s territorial losses.

Although Nato members have ruled out sending forces to Ukraine, several member states have supplied its army with military weapons.

Britain has supplied the country with M270 multiple-launch systems, while the US has sent M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).

Vladimir Putin warned the US on Sunday that Russia would strike new targets if the West supplied longer-range missiles for use in high-precision mobile rocket systems.

​​Follow the latest updates below.

01:09 PM

Neither side prepared to withdraw from Severodonetsk, Ukraine says

Ukraine has gathered enough forces in Severodonetsk to repel Russian attacks – but neither side is prepared to withdraw, the city’s mayor has said.

Oleksandr Stryuk said that Ukraine had “focused enough forces and resources there to beat back attacks” by Russia, but he added that fighting still rages on in the city’s streets.

Meanwhile, defence ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said Russia was not sparing troops or equipment in its efforts to capture Severodonetsk, the largest remaining Ukrainian-controlled city in the Luhansk region.

12:51 PM

Story continues

Civilians evacuate as ‘fiercest’ fighting intensifies in Severodonetsk

Ukrainian civilians are evacuating from the Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk region at an increasing rate as casualties are occurring “almost every day”, the top regional official said on Monday.

“People who didn’t try, and didn’t want, to leave in the beginning when it was safer are leaving now,” Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, said.

“We evacuate them both from frontline settlements and from the cities of Bakhmut, Soledar, and Slovyansk. Now the pace has increased,” he said.

Mr Kyrylenko said that the evacuations are “extremely dangerous” and that “almost every day we have civilian casualties”.

It comes as Serhiy Hayday, the Luhansk regional governor, warned that the “fiercest battles continue” in the eastern city of Severodonetsk, after Ukrainian forces reclaimed territory from Russia over the weekend.

“Our defenders managed to counterattack for awhile – they liberated almost half of the city. However, now the situation has worsened for us again,” he said.

12:34 PM

Ukraine’s FM urges countries not to trust Putin’s trade promises

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has urged countries not to trust Vladimir Putin’s “empty” promises that Russia would not use trade routes to attack Odesa.

Putin has said that Ukraine could use the ports of Mykolayiv and Odesa for food exports, and insisted that Russia would not use the mine clearance situation to launch “some attacks from the sea”.

However, Kuleba tweeted that countries “can not trust Putin, his words are empty”.

12:08 PM

UN nuclear watchdog plans to send experts to Russian-held Zaporizhzhia

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog has said the body is “developing the modalities” for an international mission of experts it hopes to send to Zaporizhzhia, the Russian-held nuclear power plant in south-east Ukraine.

In a statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors, who represent 35 different nations, Rafael Grossi said: “We are developing the modalities to dispatch such a mission; other considerations should not prevent this essential international mission from taking place.”

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is Europe’s largest, and was occupied by Russian forces shortly after their invasion.

However, although Russian troops continue to hold the plant, it is still operated by Ukrainian technicians.

11:39 AM

Number of Russian shellings in Lysychansk ‘increase tenfold’

Artillery strikes have intensified in Lysychansk, a city which neighbours Severodonetsk, with the regional leader saying Russian attacks were causing damage comparable to that seen in Mariupol.

Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk, said that “the number of shellings in Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk increased tenfold. In the Luhansk region there are many cities with a situation comparable to Mariupol: now the Russians are levelling Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.”

Lysychansk was among areas visited on Sunday by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who “got himself acquainted with the operational situation on the front line of defence”, his office said.

11:04 AM

Zelensky discusses defence package with Johnson, as PM’s own party battle intensifies

10:23 AM

Car sales in Russia drop by 83.5 per cent as Western sanctions hit

New car sales in Russia sank by 83.5 percent year-on-year in May, industry data showed on Monday, as the effects of unprecedented Western sanctions hit the country’s economy and consumers.

Only 24,268 cars and light commercial vehicles were sold in Russia in May, said the Association of European Businesses in Moscow.

The collapse is sales in May came after a 78.5 percent drop in April.

Sales of the country’s most popular and affordable brand, Lada, whose AvtoVAZ manufacturer was majority-owned by the Nissan-Renault group, fell 84 percent to 6,000 units year-on-year.

08:54 AM

Boris Johnson will speak to President Zelensky this morning

Boris Johnson is talking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this morning, The Daily Telegraph understands.

The call will go ahead despite the Prime Minister facing a vote on his leadership after Tory rebels submitted enough no confidence letters to trigger a ballot.

It will likely be used by Mr Johnson’s allies to hammer home their argument that the Prime Minister is busy governing and should not be toppled.

08:27 AM

Russia should not close US embassy as ‘world’s two biggest nuclear powers must talk’

Russia should not close the US embassy despite the crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine because the world’s two biggest nuclear powers must continue to talk, the US ambassador to Moscow said.

In a clear attempt to send a message to the Kremlin, John J. Sullivan, the US ambassador appointed by President Donald Trump, told Russia’s state TASS news agency that Washington and Moscow should not simply break off diplomatic relations.

“We must preserve the ability to speak to each other,” Sullivan told TASS in an interview.

“As I understand it, the Russian government has mentioned the variant of severing diplomatic relations,” he said. “We can’t just break off diplomatic relations and stop talking to each other.”

07:26 AM

Russian Minister forced to cancel Serbia visit after countries stop plane travelling through their airspace

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was forced to cancel a visit to Serbia on Monday after several of its neighbours prevented his plane from passing through their airspace, officials said.

Lavrov had been to due to hold talks with top officials in Belgrade, one of Moscow’s few remaining allies in Europe.

Serbian daily Vecernje Novosti reported that Bulgaria, Macedonia and Montenegro had refused access to their airspace.

A Russian diplomatic source told news agency Interfax there had been no choice but to cancel the visit. “Russian diplomacy has not yet learned how to teleport,” the source said.

Lavrov had been due to meet President Aleksandar Vucic, his counterpart Nikola Selakovic and Serbian Patriarch Porfirije.

While Serbia has condemned Russia’s military action in Ukraine, it has not joined the European Union in imposing sanctions in Moscow, despite its bid to join the EU.

07:04 AM

Ukrainian forces in Severodonetsk face ‘worsening situation’ amid intense street fighting

The position of Ukrainian forces fighting in the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk has “worsened a little”, the regional governor said today.

“Our defenders managed to undertake a counter-attack for a certain time; they liberated almost half of the city. But now the situation has worsened a little for us again,” Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Gaidai told national television.

He added that “intense street fighting” was raging across the city but Ukrainian forces were holding positions in the city’s industrial zone.

06:14 AM

262 children killed and 467 injured since Russia invaded Ukraine

A total of 262 children have been killed and 467 have been injured since Russia invaded Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office.

05:43 AM

Snake Island likely home to multiple air defence assets

Russian forces have likely moved multiple air defence assets to Snake Island in the western Black Sea, including SA-15 and SA-22 systems, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said.

It follows the loss of Russia’s Moskva cruiser, which sunk in April.

“It is likely these weapons are intended to provide air defence for Russian naval vessels operating around Snake Island,” the ministry said on Twitter.

“Russia’s activity on Snake Island contributes to its blockade of the Ukrainian coast and hinders the resumption of maritime trade, including exports of Ukrainian grain.”

05:31 AM

Putin warns West against sending arms

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a warning to the West against sending longer-range rocket systems to Ukraine as Britain pledged to supply Ukraine with the M270 missile system.

“All this fuss around additional deliveries of weapons, in my opinion, has only one goal: to drag out the armed conflict as much as possible,” Putin said in a TV interview that aired on Sunday.

He insisted such supplies were unlikely to change the military situation for Ukraine’s government, which he claimed was merely making up for losses of similar rockets.

Putin said if Kyiv received longer-range rockets, Moscow will “draw appropriate conclusions and use our means of destruction, which we have plenty of, in order to strike at those objects that we haven’t yet struck.”

03:54 AM

Kyiv destruction after Russian missile strike

Russia’s missile attack on Kyiv was Moscow’s first big strike on the capital since late April, when a missile killed a journalist.

Ukraine said the strike hit a rail car repair factory on Sunday, while Moscow said it destroyed tanks sent by Eastern European countries to Ukraine.

Russia carried out the strike using long-range air-launched missiles fired from heavy bombers as far away as the Caspian Sea.

Oleksandr Kamyshin, head of the Ukrainian railway, confirmed four missiles had smashed into the Darnytsia rail car repair facility in eastern Kyiv, but said there was no military hardware at the site.

One person was hospitalised following the attack, however there were no immediate reports of deaths.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter the strikes had “only one goal – kill as many as possible”.

03:08 AM

Russian ministry website appeared to be hacked

Russia’s Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities website appeared to have been hacked on Sunday, with an internet search for the site leading to a “Glory to Ukraine” sign in Ukrainian.

Russia’s state news agency RIA late on Sunday quoted a ministry representative as saying that the site was down but users’ personal data were protected.

Other media reported that hackers were demanding a ransom to prevent the public disclosure of users’ data.

Many Russian state-owned companies and news organisations have suffered sporadic hacking attempts since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began.

02:30 AM

Australian army veteran praises Zelensky’s bravery

Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to the battlefield gave him an important firsthand view of military operations and was a morale booster for his front-line troops, former Australian army general Mick Ryan said.

It also demonstrated “he has total trust in his army” and served to heighten the contrast between his leadership style and that of his Russian opponent Vladimir Putin.

“An important characteristic demonstrated by Zelensky is his willingness to take personal risk to visit soldiers in the field, and get his own sense of how military operations are unfolding,” Mr Ryan tweeted on Monday.

“This is an important way that Zelensky differentiates himself from his adversary.

“I am pretty sure that Putin will not be accepting invitations to visit the poorly fed and led – but well-armed – Russian troops in Ukraine at any point in the near future.”

01:52 AM

Zelensky congratulates the Queen on her reign

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has congratulated the Queen on her Platinum Jubilee.

“I wish Her Majesty wellbeing, and peace and prosperity to (the UK),” he said on Twitter.

01:32 AM

In pictures: Smiles as Zelensky visits Ukrainians in Zaporizhzhia

01:06 AM

Britain’s pledge of advanced missiles triggers threats from Putin

Britain has promised to send its first long-range missiles to Ukraine after a similar US pledge which on Sunday triggered Vladimir Putin to threaten to strike new targets.

The M270 missile system is the Army’s most advanced rocket system and has a range of 50 miles, a longer reach than any missile technology currently being used on Ukraine’s battlefields.

“As Russia’s tactics change, so must our support to Ukraine,” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said.

“These highly capable multiple-launch rocket systems will enable our Ukrainian friends to better protect themselves against the brutal use of long-range artillery, which Putin’s forces have used indiscriminately to flatten cities.”

Read the full story here

01:05 AM

Zelensky promises displaced Ukrainians will be rehoused

President Zelensky has pledged that all displaced Ukrainians would be properly rehoused after visiting a medical facility in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia.

He spoke with people forced to leave their homes, including those from Mariupol, which is now under Russian control.

“We will truly help you tackle this issue,” the president’s office quoted him as saying

The governor claims that 60 per cent of the region is under Russian occupation.

12:32 AM

Today’s top stories

• Britain has promised to send its first long-range missiles to Ukraine after a similar US pledge which on Sunday triggered Vladimir Putin to threaten to strike new targets

• President Volodymyr Zelensky said he visited two cities very close to some of the most intense fighting between his country’s troops and Russian forces

• A barrage of Russian missiles struck Ukraine’s capital on Sunday, hitting unspecified “infrastructure” targets, Kyiv’s mayor said

• A Ukrainian counter-attack is “blunting” the “operational momentum” of Russian forces in the contested city of Severodonetsk, the UK Ministry of Defence said

• Pope Francis renewed calls for “real negotiations” to end what he called the “increasingly dangerous escalation” of the conflict in Ukraine

• Ukraine’s state-run nuclear power operator Energoatom said a Russian cruise missile flew “critically low” over a major nuclear power plant

• Grain silos in the Black Sea port city of Mykolaiv were struck on Sunday by Russian missiles, Ukraine’s southern operational command said, amid a looming global food crisis