Live blog: Spanish PM vows $60M in additional aid to Ukraine on Kiev visit

Saturday, July 1, 2023

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has pledged the EU's "unequivocal" support for Ukraine in Kiev as Spain assumed presidency of the bloc, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hit out at foot-dragging over pilot training by "some" western nations.

"In the next few months, we will make progress on issues that are essential for the future of the European Union, yet Ukraine is going to be at the centre of all our debates," Sánchez told reporters during a joint news conference.

"Today, Spain decided to allocate an additional €55 million ($60 million), including €51 million ($55.7 million) through the World Bank Group, to finance small and medium-sized enterprises of Ukraine, as well as €4 million ($4.37 million) through the United Nations Development Programme to provide schools in Ukraine with environmentally friendly and sustainable energy systems," Sánchez added.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy accused "some" Western partners of dragging their feet over plans to train Kiev pilots to fly fighter jets.

"Do they have an understanding of when Ukraine can get the F-16? There is no schedule of training missions. I believe that some partners are dragging their feet. Why are they doing it? I don't know," Zelenskyy said.

More updates 👇

1549 GMT — Russian attacks in Ukraine leave several killed, more than a dozen wounded

Ukrainian officials have reported that at least three civilians were killed and at least 17 more wounded by Russian shelling on Friday and overnight.

Three people died and 10 more suffered wounds on Friday in the front-line eastern Donetsk region, where fierce battles are raging, Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Saturday.

1543 GMT — Armed mutiny shows damage Putin has done to Russia: CIA's Burns

US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns has said that the armed mutiny by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had shown the corrosive effect on Russia's offensive in Ukraine.

"It is striking that Prigozhin preceded his actions with a scathing indictment of the Kremlin's mendacious rationale for the invasion of Ukraine and of the Russian military leadership's conduct of the war," Burns, a former US ambassador to Moscow, said in a lecture to Britain's Ditchley Foundation in Oxfordshire, England.

"The impact of those words and those actions will play out for some time — a vivid reminder of the corrosive effect of Putin's war on his own society and his own regime."

Burns cast the mutiny as an "armed challenge to the Russian state" but said it was an "internal Russian affair in which the United States has had and will have no part."

1535 GMT — Russian media watchdog blacklists outlets linked to Wagner mercenary chief

Russia's media watchdog has blacklisted at least five media outlets affiliated with Wagner mercenary chief Prigozhin and blocked their websites in Russia.

The move came after Wagner fighters took control of a Russian military headquarters and advanced on Moscow in what appears to have been an attempted insurrection.

As of Saturday, websites of the RIA FAN news agency and four online news portals controlled by Prigozhin's Patriot media holding company “People’s News”, “Neva News”, “Politics Today” and “Economy Today” — were listed on a register of blacklisted sites maintained by the communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor.

1204 GMT — Zelenskyy praises Spanish PM's 'extremely symbolic' Ukraine visit

Zelenskyy thanked Sánchez for visiting Kiev as Spain kicked off its presidency of the European Union.

"Thank you for your important visit and support of our people!" Zelenskyy said on social media. "It is extremely symbolic that this visit takes place on the very first day of the Spanish presidency of the EU."

0810 GMT — Spain PM Sánchez visits Kiev, underlines EU support for Ukraine

Sánchez has started Spain's six-month presidency of the European Union with a lightning visit to Kiev to underline the bloc’s support of Ukraine in the face of Russia's offensive.

Sánchez arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train from Poland.

The Spanish government said he would address Ukraine's parliament at 0830 GMT (4:30 am EDT) and then meet with Zelenskyy. The two will give a news conference around 1030 GMT (6:30 am EDT).

Zelenskyy announced the visit on Thursday in an address to European leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels. He said that it was the moment to begin negotiations for Ukraine’s entry into the EU.

0505 GMT — CIA called Kremlin 'to assure' US had no role in Wagner revolt

Burns called Russian spy chief Sergei Naryshkin after last week's aborted mutiny in Russia to assure the Kremlin that the United States had no role in it, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have reported.

Burns' phone call with Naryshkin, the head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, took place this week and was the highest-level contact between the two governments since the attempted mutiny, the Wall Street Journal said.

The boss of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, Prigozhin, shocked the world by leading last week's armed revolt, only to abruptly call it off as his fighters approached Moscow.

President Joe Biden said on Monday the brief uprising by Russian mercenaries against the Kremlin was part of a struggle within the Russian system and that the United States and its allies were not involved in it.

For our live updates from Friday (June 30), click here.