Live blog: Zelenskyy orders tighter security at Ukraine-Belarus border

Friday, June 30, 2023

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered security to be beefed up at his country's border with Belarus, where fighters from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner have been offered exile.

Zelenskyy said he had been informed of the situation in Belarus by the Ukrainian intelligence service GUR, foreign intelligence services and border guards.

"By the decision of the Stavka (chief of staff), Commander-in-Chief (Valery) Zaluzhny and General (Sergey) Nayev were instructed to strengthen the northern direction in order to guarantee peace. There are appropriate deadlines," the Ukraine leader said in a video posted on Telegram.

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1742 GMT — Deadly strike on school in Ukraine's Donetsk region

A Russian missile attack on a village school near the frontline in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region has killed two women, including a teacher, and injured six, Ukrainian police said.

The 56-year-old primary school teacher and a chief accountant, 44, died in the strike on the village of Serhiivka, Ukrainian police said on Friday.

"Russian troops, in a direct hit, destroyed a school where civilians were located," Ukraine's national police said in a statement.

The Donetsk region prosecutor's office said four men aged 54 to 69 and two women aged 24 and 34 were injured and taken to hospital, and that it had launched an investigation into the attack.

1535 GMT — Indian PM Modi tells Putin diplomacy needed to resolve Ukraine conflict

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeated his country's call for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, an Indian statement said.

President Putin and Modi discussed the situation in Ukraine and the Indian leader "reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy", an Indian government statement issued late Friday said.

Stopping short of directly criticising India's long-time ally and its biggest arms supplier, Modi had earlier told Putin that this was "not the time for war".

1416 GMT — EU eyes over $3B a year for Ukraine from Russian asset tax

The European Union could raise three billion euros a year for Ukraine's reconstruction by taxing the interest earned by Russian central bank assets frozen in the bloc, Belgium's prime minister has said.

"We are working on a windfall tax on profits," Alexander De Croo said after a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels.

"The estimate is that three billion euros ($3.3 billion) per year could be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine," he said.

1402 GMT — Ukraine's top general urges more arms for offensive: media

Ukraine's counteroffensive plans have been hobbled by the lack of adequate firepower, from modern fighter jets to artillery ammunition, the country's military commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny said in an interview.

Zaluzhny told the Washington Post he is frustrated by the slow deliveries of promised weaponry from the West.

It "pisses me off" that some in the West complain about the slow start and progress to the long-awaited push against Russian forces in the country's south, he said.

"I do not need 120 planes. I'm not going to threaten the whole world. A very limited number would be enough."

1050 GMT — Kazakhstan warns of efforts to recruit citizens for Ukraine fight

Kazakhstan has announced it had uncovered online efforts to recruit its citizens in the Central Asian country to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.

Prosecutors in the northern Kostanay region, which borders Russia and is home to a large Russian minority, warned residents not to "succumb" to attempts on social media to enlist men into Moscow's forces.

"On the territory of our region, attempts were made to recruit the local population to the territory of the Russian Federation in order to participate in the armed conflict in Ukraine," the region's prosecutor's office said in a statement.

"In order to ensure public security, protect the rights and freedoms of citizens, and prevent the destabilisation of the socio-political situation, we urge you not to succumb to such provocative statements and appeals in the media and social networks," their statement said.

0900 GMT — Russia will be 'stronger' in wake of Wagner mutiny: Lavrov

Lavrov has said that Moscow will emerge from the aftermath of a recent armed insurrection by the Wagner mercenary group "stronger" than before.

"Russia has always overcome all its problems ... it comes out stronger and stronger. It will be the same this time, too. This process has already begun," Lavrov told journalists during a briefing in Moscow, after the rebels marched on the capital last week to oust the country's military leadership.

Lavrov added that he believed the West wanted to somehow freeze the conflict in Ukraine in order to buy time in order to pump more weapons into that country.

He accused Western countries of taking a "schizophrenic" approach to the conflict.

He said the West first wanted to see Russia lose on the battlefield and for its leaders to go on trial - and only then to press for peace in Ukraine.

0744 GMT — Ukraine to receive $1.5B from World Bank to support reconstruction

Ukraine will receive $1.5 billion from the World Bank to support reconstruction and recovery, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Friday.

The funds will be provided with guarantees from the Japanese government and channeled to support social security and economic development, Shmyhal, whose country has been invaded by Russia, said on the Telegram messaging app.

0645 GMT — Poland detains Russian hockey player suspected of spying for Moscow

Poland has arrested a Russian hockey player suspected of having spied for Moscow while playing for a club in the EU country, the government said.

"The detained man is a professional athlete from a first division hockey club," said a government statement, adding that the Russian national, living in Poland since 2021, was charged with espionage and remanded in custody for three months.

"On the territory of Poland, he carried out tasks for foreign intelligence, including identification of critical infrastructure in several regions," the statement added.

0400 GMT — Human Rights Watch finds evidence of Ukraine using banned mines

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said that it uncovered new evidence of the indiscriminate use by Ukrainian forces of banned anti-personnel landmines against Russian troops who assaulted Ukraine in 2022.

The group called on Ukraine's government to follow through with a commitment made earlier this month not to employ such weapons, investigate their suspected use and hold accountable those responsible.

"The Ukrainian government’s pledge to investigate its military’s apparent use of banned anti-personnel mines is an important recognition of its duty to protect civilians," Steve Goose, Human Rights Watch's arms director, said in a statement.

HRW said it shared its findings with the Ukrainian government in a May letter to which it received no response.

0414 GMT — EU, NATO recommit to support Ukraine amid mutiny in Russia

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took centre stage at a European Union summit, underscoring the importance the 27 EU leaders attach to protecting their eastern flank from Russian aggression and beefing up Ukraine’s defence capabilities.

In a statement issued after the meeting ended, the leaders reaffirmed their willingness “to provide sustainable military support to Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

Zelenskyy addressed the gathering by video link and Stoltenberg attended an early lunch for leaders. But the biggest seat at the table was reserved for something that’s not officially on the agenda: the fallout from the stunning weekend mutiny in Russia and the impact it has on the rule of President Vladimir Putin.

Officials from several member states and EU institutions said the chaos and instability created by the rebellion would not only force the EU to double down on its support for Ukraine with commitments for more ammunition but also to ensure fighting and violence does not spill over into the bloc itself.

For our live updates from Thursday (June 29), click here.