Ukraine war briefing: Russia can defend itself, says Putin, as North Korea sends more soldiers
Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he was ready to meet with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy but only during a 'final phase' of negotiations 'so as not to sit there and divide things up endlessly, but to put an end to it'. Putin made his customary false accusation that Zelenskyy is not Ukraine's legitimate president.
In a round-table interview in St Petersburg with international news agencies, Putin said on Nato: 'We do not consider any Nato rearmament to be a threat to the Russian Federation, because we are self-sufficient in terms of ensuring our security.' Russia has brought in thousands of North Korean soldiers to help defend Kursk; and has relied on a flood of arms and ammunition from North Korea as well as Iranian drones and missiles to wage war on Ukraine; while also receiving suspected help from China to continue arming a 'special military operation' that Putin thought would be over in three days. The potential collapse of the Iranian regime would be a serious blow to Putin, Russian affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer writes.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to attend the Nato summit in The Hague on 24-25 June, a source in the Ukrainian presidency told the AFP news agency on Wednesday. 'The decision will be made on the eve of the summit. This is just the schedule,' the source said, describing the meeting as 'an opportunity to maintain support and promote a ceasefire'. Nato leaders want to keep the summit brief so as not to aggravate Donald Trump and his short attention span, the Times has reported (£).
Senior Ukrainian officials at the G7 summit in Canada discussed with US counterparts the possibility of supporting defence projects in Ukraine under a joint investment fund set up in May, Kyiv's first deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, said on Wednesday. The talks included the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, Svyrydenko said.
The death toll from Tuesday's Russian attack on Kyiv stood at 28, with more than 130 injured, as the recovery of bodies continued at destroyed apartment blocks.
Russia's defence ministry claimed its forces hit a Ukrainian troop position in the Sumy region with an Iskander missile. The Reuters news agency said it could not independently confirm the battlefield report, or determine exactly when it took place. Ukrainian authorities on Monday reported an Iskander missile strike on Konotop damaged flats in multi-storey buildings with no casualties. Ukraine is trying to drive Russian forces from the Sumy region where border areas are gripped by heavy fighting.
Slovak police have detained eight people, including defence ministry officials, in an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office into possible misuse of €7.4m for military aid to Ukraine at the start of the war in February 2022. Jaroslav Nad, who was Slovakia's defence minister at the time, has called the police action 'theatre'. Slovakia's pro-Russia current prime minister, Robert Fico, has taken sharp policy turns since taking power in 2023 – stopping military aid to Ukraine and making a trip to Moscow that fuelled large and widespread protests in opposition to his stance on Ukraine.
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The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: Russia can defend itself, says Putin, as North Korea sends more soldiers
Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he was ready to meet with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy but only during a 'final phase' of negotiations 'so as not to sit there and divide things up endlessly, but to put an end to it'. Putin made his customary false accusation that Zelenskyy is not Ukraine's legitimate president. In a round-table interview in St Petersburg with international news agencies, Putin said on Nato: 'We do not consider any Nato rearmament to be a threat to the Russian Federation, because we are self-sufficient in terms of ensuring our security.' Russia has brought in thousands of North Korean soldiers to help defend Kursk; and has relied on a flood of arms and ammunition from North Korea as well as Iranian drones and missiles to wage war on Ukraine; while also receiving suspected help from China to continue arming a 'special military operation' that Putin thought would be over in three days. The potential collapse of the Iranian regime would be a serious blow to Putin, Russian affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer writes. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to attend the Nato summit in The Hague on 24-25 June, a source in the Ukrainian presidency told the AFP news agency on Wednesday. 'The decision will be made on the eve of the summit. This is just the schedule,' the source said, describing the meeting as 'an opportunity to maintain support and promote a ceasefire'. Nato leaders want to keep the summit brief so as not to aggravate Donald Trump and his short attention span, the Times has reported (£). Senior Ukrainian officials at the G7 summit in Canada discussed with US counterparts the possibility of supporting defence projects in Ukraine under a joint investment fund set up in May, Kyiv's first deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, said on Wednesday. The talks included the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, Svyrydenko said. The death toll from Tuesday's Russian attack on Kyiv stood at 28, with more than 130 injured, as the recovery of bodies continued at destroyed apartment blocks. Russia's defence ministry claimed its forces hit a Ukrainian troop position in the Sumy region with an Iskander missile. The Reuters news agency said it could not independently confirm the battlefield report, or determine exactly when it took place. Ukrainian authorities on Monday reported an Iskander missile strike on Konotop damaged flats in multi-storey buildings with no casualties. Ukraine is trying to drive Russian forces from the Sumy region where border areas are gripped by heavy fighting. Slovak police have detained eight people, including defence ministry officials, in an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office into possible misuse of €7.4m for military aid to Ukraine at the start of the war in February 2022. Jaroslav Nad, who was Slovakia's defence minister at the time, has called the police action 'theatre'. Slovakia's pro-Russia current prime minister, Robert Fico, has taken sharp policy turns since taking power in 2023 – stopping military aid to Ukraine and making a trip to Moscow that fuelled large and widespread protests in opposition to his stance on Ukraine.
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Putin cautions Germany over any Taurus missile supplies to Ukraine
ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 19 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday cautioned Germany that Moscow would consider it to be directly involved in the war in Ukraine if Berlin supplied Kyiv with Taurus cruise missiles, but said he was ready to speak to Chancellor Friedrich Merz. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said earlier this month that Germany is not considering delivering Taurus cruise missiles, which have a range in excess of 300 miles (480 km), to Ukraine despite Kyiv's repeated requests. Putin said that to fire the Taurus missiles, Ukraine would need Western satellite intelligence and German officers to take care of targeting which, if they were fired at Russia, would mean German officers striking Russian territory. "What is this, if not the involvement of the Federal Republic in a direct armed conflict with the Russian Federation? It can't be called anything else," Putin told senior news agency editors in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg. Putin added that even if Germany did supply the missiles, it would have no impact on the ultimate course of the war, adding that Russian troops were advancing in all directions. Asked if he was willing to speak to Merz, Putin, a fluent German speaker who served as a KGB spy in former East Germany, said he was ready to. "If the Federal Chancellor wants to call and talk, I have already said this many times - we do not refuse any contacts. And we are always open to this," Putin said. Putin added, though, that he did not consider that Germany was a neutral mediator when it came to the war in Ukraine given the presence of German tanks on the battlefield. "We consider the Federal Republic, just like many other European countries, not a neutral state, but as a party supporting Ukraine, and in some cases, perhaps, as accomplices in these hostilities," Putin said.
Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Hunt for 'spy' who jumped from moving ‘sealed train' in NATO state
The 'spy', known only as 21-year-old Daniil M, jumped off a high-security train while in transit from his home nation in search for what his father said was a 'better life' Police have launched a frantic manhunt for a potential " Russian spy" after he leaped out of a "sealed train" and into a NATO state after travelling from Russia. The man, named only as 21-year-old Daniil M, went missing as the long distance train crossed between authoritarian Belarus and Russian region Kaliningrad. Local authorities launched an immediate searched aided by a police helicopter and dog teams, but were unable to find even a trace of the Russian national. Lithuania 's state security service chief said that, while the man was "legally in transit" he appeared to disappear when border guards arrived to check the train. The incident comes amid high tension between the West and Russia over the war in Ukraine, and fears of sabotage operations by Vladimir Putin's secret services in NATO states. Giedrius Mišutis, of Lithuania's state security service, said that the only sign of the man's presence was an opened train door discovered by the conductor. He said: "The train arrived via Kena [on the Belarus border], this Russian citizen had all the necessary documents, he was legally in transit. "As soon as the Lithuanian border guards showed up, the conductor reported that she had found an open door. The border guards checked the train, but did not find the fugitive. This was reported to the police." Pro-Kremlin Baltnews immediately leapt to attack NATO member Lithuania, laying the blame on the country's state security services. The outlet reported: "Lithuania has been unable to catch a 'Russian spy' for 24 hours. "It is very difficult to find other reasons for the failure of all Lithuanian state services to detect a 21-year-old Russian citizen on the territory of the republic after such a long time. 'Otherwise, they demonstrate complete incompetence.' Trains are permitted to carry Russian passengers on the route under an agreement dating to 2003, but they are sealed and kept under close security, and usually not allowed on or off in Lithuania. The man went missing when the train slowed near Kybartai as the train - originally from Adler on the Russian Black Sea coast - approached Kaliningrad region. Police said 25 minutes before the train was due to reach Kybartai railway station, an attendant noticed an open door and a missing man and the alarm was raised. The fugitive's father said he was looking for a 'good place to live'. The incident comes as Belarus - a close Putin ally - has permitted and even encouraged illegal migrants to cross into EU state Lithuania. Lithuanian Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic said: 'There were no special stops when the incident occurred last night, but trains naturally slow down in certain places and the person most likely took the opportunity to jump off.'
