Live blog: Ukraine rejects calls to 'freeze' conflict

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said that talks about resolving the conflict with Russia could not start with a mere cessation of hostilities.

"If anyone thinks they should freeze the conflict and then see how to solve it, they don’t understand it," he said in an online briefing aimed at African journalists, following a tour of African countries.

More than 100 rounds of consultation and attempts at a ceasefire since Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 only led to the full-scale offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, he said.

A delegation of African heads of state is expected to visit Ukraine and Russia in the next few days hoping to persuade them to cease hostilities, a spokesperson for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said last month.

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1813 GMT - Ukraine, Russia say almost 6,000 evacuated from dam flooding

Almost 6,000 people have been evacuated on both sides of the Dnipro River after flooding caused by the destruction of the Russian-occupied Kakhovka dam in Ukraine, officials said.

The destruction of the dam near the frontline in Ukraine flooded dozens of villages and parts of a nearby city, sparking fears of a humanitarian disaster.

Officials have said thousands will have to leave their homes and many are already doing so under their own steam.

"The evacuation of the population continues in the Kherson region. Our rescuers, police and volunteers have already evacuated 1,894 citizens," Ukraine's Interior Minister Oleg Klymenko said on television.

He said 30 settlements had been flooded, 10 of which are under Russian control.

"So far, more than 4,000 people have been evacuated," in the part of the Kherson region occupied by Russia, the Moscow-backed head of the region Vladimir Saldo said on Telegram.

1802 GMT - France to send aid to Ukraine in 'next hours': Macron

President Emmanuel Macron has said France would send aid to Ukraine "within the next few hours" after the destruction of the dam triggered flooding and fears of a humanitarian disaster.

"France condemns this atrocious act, which is endangering populations. Within the next few hours, we will send aid to meet immediate needs," Macron wrote on Twitter.

1759 GMT - Ukraine dam's destruction increases mines threat: Red Cross

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam will have a catastrophic effect on locating landmines in the affected region, the Red Cross has warned.

"We knew where the hazards were," said Erik Tollefsen, head of the Weapon Contamination Unit at the International Committee of the Red Cross. "Now we don't know.

"All we know is that they are somewhere downstream."

"This is a major concern because it will affect not just the population, but also all of those that are coming in to help," he added.

1741 GMT - Britain boosts funds to UN nuclear watchdog for Ukraine safety work

Britain has said it would increase funding to the United Nations atomic watchdog by $932,475 (750,000 pounds) to support nuclear safety work in Ukraine.

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest, gets its cooling water from the reservoir of the Kakhovka dam.

Britain said it had now provided 5 million pounds in total to support the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Ukraine since Russia's February 2022 offensive.

1730 GMT - UN team assesses effect of Ukraine dam attack

A team from various UN agencies has assessed the effects of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam and said the disaster will likely get worse in the coming hours, according to a spokesperson.

Representatives from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as well as five UN agencies and NGOs, were in Kherson on Wednesday, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Dujarric said water levels are still rising and villages and towns are being flooded.

''This will impact people’s access to essential services and raises serious health risks,'' he said.

1631 GMT - UK says awaiting 'all available facts' on Ukraine dam

Britain is unwilling to apportion blame at this stage for the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine and is awaiting "all available facts", Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said.

"We're not going to say anything until we are completely armed with all the available facts. So we're going to err on the side of caution on this one," Cleverly said in an interview on the sidelines of a meeting at the OECD in Paris.

He said that Russia bore ultimate responsibility for all events and destruction in the conflict, however, having initiated the conflict with its offensive in February last year.

1559 GMT - Putin accuses Kiev of destroying Kakhovka dam at behest of West

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of destroying the Kakhovka dam at the suggestion of the West, in what he called a "barbaric" war crime that escalated the conflict with Moscow.

The vast Soviet-era Kakhovka dam, under Russian control, was breached in the early hours of Tuesday, unleashing floodwaters across a swathe of the battleground in southern Ukraine.

Ukraine blamed Russia for blowing it up. Russia said Ukraine sabotaged the dam to constrict water supplies to Crimea which was annexed by Russia and to distract from a faltering offensive.

"Vladimir Putin stated that the Kiev authorities, at the suggestion of their Western curators, are still making a dangerous bet on the escalation of hostilities, committing war crimes, openly using terrorist methods, and organising sabotage on Russian territory," the Kremlin quoted Putin as saying.

"A clear example of this is the barbaric action to destroy the Kakhovka hydro-electric power plant in the Kherson region which led to a large–scale environmental and humanitarian catastrophe," Putin was quoted as saying.

The Kremlin said the remarks were made during a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It made no reference to any evidence to back Putin's allegation.

1517 GMT - Moscow-backed official says Russian army gains advantage from dam breach

A top Moscow-backed official in a part of Ukraine controlled by Russia has said that the collapse of the giant Nova Kakhovka dam had handed the Russian military a tactical advantage.

Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the dam's destruction, which has sent floodwaters across a conflict zone and forced thousands to flee. Some experts say the dam may have collapsed due to earlier damage and intense pressure on it.

Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-backed governor of part of Ukraine's southern Kherson region controlled by Moscow, said he believed Kiev was to blame for the disaster, but that the tragedy had handed an advantage to the Russian military.

He said the dam's destruction and resulting floodwaters would make it easier for Russia to defend against any Ukrainian counter-offensive in the area.

1507 GMT - Ukraine rushes drinking water to areas impacted by dam breach

Authorities have rushed supplies of drinking water to flooded areas impacted by the major breach of the Nova Kakhovka Dam as officials weighed where they might have to resettle thousands of residents who relied on the reservoir on the Dnieper River that forms part of the front line in the 15-month conflict.

About 3,000 people have been evacuated from flooded areas on both the Russian and Ukrainian-controlled sides of the river, officials said, but it was not clear whether the true scale of the disaster had yet emerged in an affected area that was home to more than 60,000 people.

Russian-appointed authorities in the occupied parts of the Kherson region reported 15,000 homes were flooded.

The Kakhovka hydroelectric dam and reservoir, essential for drinking water and irrigation for a huge area of southern Ukraine, lies in a part of the Kherson region held by Moscow’s forces for the past year.

It is also critical for water supplies to the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

1445 GMT - German arms maker guns for rapid production

Leading arms manufacturer Rheinmetall is racing to meet the demand for weapons and ammunition to supply Kiev, as well as Germany and other NATO countries which are bolstering their defences after draining stockpiles.

In March, as intense fighting continued around Bakhmut, NATO's chief said "we need to ramp up production" warning Ukraine's usage is outstripping allies' production capacity.

"We are pulling out all the stops when it comes to production of ammunition for tanks," said Harald Weismueller, head of the factory in Unterluess, Lower Saxony state.

The European Union has agreed on a plan to spend $2.1 billion (two billion euros) on artillery shells for Ukraine to try to get a million rounds of artillery ammunition to the country over twelve months.

1443 GMT - Russia's Putin discusses Ukraine in call with South Africa's Ramaphosa

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a phone call with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa, the Kremlin said.

The two leaders discussed "issues related to the well-known African initiative to find a solution to the Ukrainian conflict," it added.

According to the statement, Putin will receive a delegation of several African heads of state in the near future.

"Preparations for the second Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg at the end of July and the upcoming BRICS summit in Johannesburg in August were also discussed," the Kremlin said.

1411 GMT - Kakhovka dam burst causing ecological catastrophe: NATO chief

NATO chief has called the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine "outrageous which is displacing thousands of people and causing an ecological catastrophe in Ukraine."

Jens Stoltenberg, on Twitter, said he spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba over the destruction of the dam, adding that Kuleba will virtually join allied ambassadors in a NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting which he will chair on Thursday.

An emergency was announced on both sides of the dam after the burst – one side is controlled by Russia, another by Ukraine.

Moscow has accused Ukraine of attempting to cut Crimea off the freshwater it receives from the Kakhovka Reservoir, formed by the dam, while Kiev claimed that Russia tries to slow an expected counteroffensive.

1411 GMT - ICC informed about Kakhovka dam blast: Ukraine’s prosecutor general

Ukraine has informed the head of the International Criminal Court (ICC) about the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in the country’s Kherson region, the Ukrainian prosecutor general said.

“I signed and sent the document by which we provide the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC with all available official information,” Andriy Kostin said in a statement on Twitter.

Calling the incident a “war crime,” Kostin claimed that Russian forces carried out the explosion.

“We are open to co-operation with the ICC and are ready to provide all the necessary evidence that prosecutors collect and process to identify and punish all those involved in this crime,” he said.

1401 GMT - 'Anything' can happen in conflict, China tells UN over on Ukraine dam blast

Following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, China has said that the incident "reminds us reminds us that anything can happen in a conflict situation."

"China is concerned about the protraction and even further escalation of the crisis in Ukraine. What has just happened reminds us once again that anything can happen in a conflict situation," Ambassador Zhang Jun, China's top diplomat at the UN, told an emergency Security Council meeting.

Zhang warned that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war risked causing "greater suffering and more disasters, creating more risks that are grave and impossible to predict," urging all sides to abide by international law, according to a transcript of his remarks.

1358 GMT - Kiev reports gains near Bakmhut, denies broad counter-offensive

Ukrainian troops have advanced up to 1,100 metres near the eastern city of Bakhmut in the past 24 hours, Kiev has said, the first gains it has reported since Russia said Ukraine had started a counter-offensive.

Moscow said this week Kiev had launched a series of assaults in its partially occupied region of Donetsk, which it said it thwarted, and described them as the start of the planned Ukrainian counter-offensive.

Ukrainian officials have said little directly in response to the Russian assertions although a senior security official has denied the broad counter-offensive had begun.

"We have made advances of from 200 to 1,100 metres (220-1,200 yards) on various sections (of the front line) in the Bakhmut direction over the past day," Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on Telegram messenger, without providing further details.

1313 GMT - Full investigation needed into Kakhovka dam explosion: Turkish president

A comprehensive investigation into the Kakhovka dam explosion in Ukraine leaving no room for doubt is important, Turkish President Erdogan has said.

In a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Erdogan said a commission could be established with the participation of Russian and Ukrainian experts, the UN and the international community, including Türkiye, according to the Türkiye's Communications Directorate.

1236 GMT - Russia and Ukraine say ammonia pipeline was damaged

A pipeline used to transport ammonia fertilizer from Russia via Ukraine which may be central to the future of the Black Sea grain deal has been damaged, according to both Kiev and Moscow, potentially complicating talks around the accord.

Russia's defence ministry said a "Ukrainian sabotage group" had blown up a section of the pipeline on Monday night near the village of Masyutivka in Kharkiv region. The village is on the frontline between Russian and Ukrainian troops.

"As a result of this terrorist act, there were civilian casualties. They have been provided with necessary medical assistance," the Russian ministry said in a statement.

"At present ammonia residues are being blown out of the damaged sections of the pipeline from Ukrainian territory. There are no casualties among Russian servicemen."

Oleh Sinehubov, the governor of Ukraine's Kharkiv region gave a different version of events. He said in a statement posted on Telegram that Russian troops had shelled the pipeline.

1141 GMT - Swiss parliament allows arms re-export to Ukraine

Switzerland's Council of States, the upper house of parliament, has allowed arms re-export to Ukraine amid opposition that it may contradict the country's neutrality.

"Countries that purchase Swiss war material should be allowed, subject to conditions, to re-export it to countries involved in armed conflicts," the council said in a statement.

It noted that the decision is taken by 22 in favour and 17 against votes, with four abstentions.

According to the statement, the new provision would be retroactive and re-exports would be only permitted to "destination countries that do not violate human rights and do not use arms against the civilian population."

Also, the Federal Council will no longer have to take decisions on a case-by-case basis in the future.

1109 GMT - Ukraine warns of floating mines and disease after dam collapse

A senior Ukrainian official has warned of the danger posed by floating mines unearthed by flooding and the spread of disease and hazardous chemicals as he inspected damage caused by the collapse of the Kakhovka dam.

Visiting the city of Kherson on the Dnipro river, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said over 80 settlements had been affected in the disaster.

Although it denies blowing up the dam, Moscow has engaged in a campaign of air strikes against Ukraine’s energy system in which Kiev says the infrastructure of other dams has been damaged.

0912 GMT - Moscow accuses Ukraine, West of wanting to wipe out Russia

Russian Security Council’s deputy head Dmitry Medvedev has accused the West and Ukraine, whom he referred to as the "enemy," of being ready to "do anything to wipe Russia off the face of the earth."

In a statement on Telegram, Medvedev said Ukraine's counteroffensive began because it "had no choice," blaming the West, which he called Kiev's " masters," for providing money and weapons to launch it.

Medvedev, who served as the Russian president from 2008 to 2012, claimed that US intelligence agents, the “de facto” head of the Security Service of Ukraine, and several of their reports may cost President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team "not only their posts but also their lives."

In case of "disappointment," the US Central Intelligence Agency headquarters may use radicals to kill Zelenskyy, using high treason as a pretext, the senior Russian official alleged in the statement.

0906 GMT - Ukraine, Russia say over 2,700 evacuated from dam flooding

More than 2,700 people have been evacuated on both sides of the Dnipro River from flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.

A spokesperson for Ukraine's emergency services, Oleksandr Khorunzhyi, said on television that "more than 1,450 people have been evacuated".

"Currently there is no information about the dead or injured," he said, adding that the water level in the city of Kherson had risen by five metres.

The Moscow-backed deputy governor for Kherson region, Tatyana Kuzmich, said 1,274 were evacuated on the Russian-controlled side of the river.

0841 GMT - Ukraine nuke plant safe for now after dam break: IAEA

Ukraine's dam break is posing "no short-term risk" to Europe's biggest atomic plant, despite falling water levels in a reservoir used to cool its reactors, according to the UN nuclear watchdog agency.

The Kakhovka dam sits on the Dnipro river, which feeds a reservoir providing cooling water for the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Europe's largest, some 150 kilometres upstream.

Though the reservoir's water level is falling, the facility has "back-up options available", the IAEA said in a statement.

0809 GMT - Russian-installed official accuses Ukraine of shelling region affected by flooding

The Russian-installed governor of part of Ukraine's Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, has said that Ukrainian forces were still shelling it despite widespread flooding.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the claim by Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor. There was no immediate response to the allegation from Ukraine.

"Ukrainian armed forces continue shelling. The shelling is more chaotic than targeted. Sometimes infrastructure is damaged," Saldo told Russia's Rossiya 24 state TV channel.

He said Russia should respond by "maximising the destruction" of Ukrainian military hardware deployed on the right (west) bank of the Dnipro river, which Ukraine controls.

0807 GMT - Russia to boost security at nuclear plant during Grossi visit: TASS

Russia will take extensive security measures at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeast Ukraine during a visit by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi next week, the TASS news agency said on Wednesday.

"Comprehensive measures are always taken on our part to guarantee the safety and security of all members of the IAEA delegation," TASS reported, citing Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the head of Russian nuclear plant operator Rosenergoatom.

0801 GMT - China expresses 'serious concern' over Ukraine dam destruction

China has expressed "serious concern" over the destruction of the dam, saying it feared the "humanitarian, economic and ecological impacts" of the incident.

"We express serious concern over the damage to the dam at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant," foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, adding Beijing was "deeply concerned about the resulting humanitarian, economic and ecological impacts".

Meanwhile, the country's defence ministry said it completed a second day of joint air patrols with Russia over the Western Pacific on Wednesday.

0741 GMT - Russian drone attack kills two civilians in Ukraine's Sumy region: Kiev

A Russian drone attack has killed two civilians and wounded one in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, the head of the president's office, said.

Yermak said on the Telegram messaging app that an Iranian-made "Shahed" drone destroyed a private house and caused a fire.

The president's office said in a statement that Russia shelled the border region in the northeast several times at overnight and on Wednesday morning.

0704 GMT - Russia detains resident on suspicion of spying for Ukraine

Russia has detained a resident in its far east on suspicion of spying for Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported, citing the Federal Security Service (FSB).

The suspect was accused of gathering information about law enforcement facilities and the region's military infrastructure, the RIA news agency reported.

Reports said the suspect was a resident of the Primorsky Krai region, without providing further detail.

0641 GMT - State of emergency as waters swell after Ukraine dam collapse

Residents of southern Ukraine have braced for a second day of swelling floodwaters as authorities warned that a Dnipro River dam breach would continue to unleash pent-up waters from a giant reservoir.

A state of emergency was imposed in Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine's Kherson region following the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam, Russia's TASS state news agency reported on Wednesday.

The agency, citing emergency services, said about 2,700 houses were flooded and almost 1,300 people had been evacuated. At least seven people were missing, Moscow-backed officials said.

Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the collapse of the massive dam, which sent floodwaters across a swathe of the war zone and forced thousands to flee.

0603 GMT - Two Russian towns lose power

Two towns in Russia's western Kursk region have lost electricity and a man has been wounded after Ukraine dropped explosives on an electricity substation near the border overnight, the region's governor said.

"One of the workers received shrapnel wounds while restoring power supply. He is in the central district hospital and doctors are giving him all necessary treatment," Governor Roman Starovoyt said.

0330 GMT - Zelenskyy awaits final agreements on F-16 fighter jets

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he received "a serious, powerful" offer from leaders of countries ready to provide Kiev with F-16 fighter jets and is awaiting final agreements with key allies.

"Our partners know how many aircraft we need," Zelenskyy was quoted as saying in a statement on his website. "I have already received an understanding of the number from some of our European partners ... It is a serious, powerful offer."

Kiev now awaits a final agreement with its allies, including "a joint agreement with the United States," Zelenskyy said.

It is still unclear which Kiev's allies are ready to send the jets to Ukraine.

For our live updates from Tuesday (June 6), click here.