Russian and Chinese naval forces have begun joint military exercises at a port in southern China, despite growing criticism from Nato that Beijing is acting as a “decisive enabler” of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The opening ceremony of the drills was held in Zhanjiang city, with the two countries’ forces expected to carry out various battle simulation and tactical coordination exercises.
It comes after China staged joint drills close to the border of Nato member Poland with Belarus, a close Russia ally that helped enable Putin’s invasion. China’s defence ministry claims its drills have nothing to do with the wider international security landscape.
On the battlefield, Russia launched over 1,000 drones across the frontline in 24 hours, according to Ukraine officials.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s army said Vladimir Putin’s forces attacked their troops with three missile strikes.
A post on their Facebook page said: “According to information, over the past 24 hours, the enemy launched three missile strikes at the positions of our troops and settlements, with the use of four missiles, 64 air strikes (total 97 KAB), launched 1168 kamikaze drones to impress, launched 4758 shells, 79 of them - from salp-fire jet systems.”
Key Points
- Sino-Russian naval drills begin today despite Nato backlash
- Putin lost more than 70,000 troops in just 60 days, says British intelligence
- Russian forces say they control Ukraine’s Urozhaine village in Donetsk
Why China and Russia are holding joint naval drills
13:03
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
China and Russia are conducting joint naval exercises in a military port in southern China, in another sign the two sides are deepening their strategic “partnership.”
China’s defence ministry said that Russian vessels arrived in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, for the “Joint Sea-2024” exercises in the waters and airspace around the city throughout this week.
Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has increasingly turned towards China for support as the West has ramped up sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022. China’s Xi Jinping is seeking to set Beijing up as a global mediator, but the bigger pull in working with Russia is likely wanting to create alliances as a bulwark against the US and the West.
Mr Xi will also see the exercises as a show of strength in the face of a number of US allies across the local region.
Zelensky says he aims to be ready for second peace summit in November
12:32
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday he had set a goal to have all the elements of a peace plan ready so he could hold a follow-up summit on his vision for peace in November.
Zelensky made the remark at a news conference in Kyiv.
Ukraine held a summit in Switzerland last month that was attended by representatives of 92 countries, but not Russia. Kyiv has said it could invite representatives from Russia to the next one.
Putin’s forces launch 1,000 drones across frontline
12:20
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia launched over 1,000 drones across the frontline in 24 hours, according to Ukraine officials.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s army said Vladimir Putin’s forces attacked their troops with three missile strikes.
A post on their Facebook page said: “According to information, over the past 24 hours, the enemy launched three missile strikes at the positions of our troops and settlements, with the use of four missiles, 64 air strikes (total 97 KAB), launched 1168 kamikaze drones to impress, launched 4758 shells, 79 of them - from salp-fire jet systems.”
One of Ukraine’s biggest war challenges is being tackled on the streets of Kyiv
11:51
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Seeing the military patrol handing out call-up papers on the outskirts of Kyiv, one man slipped into a nearby store. Another refused to even stop for the officers. Others, however, quietly obliged.
While men may be coming round to Ukraine‘s ramped-up mobilisation drive to replenish troop numbers more than 28 months since Russia’s invasion, they are less eager to fight than before, said a draft officer, who uses the call sign “Fantomas”.
“Now, as far as I know, most of the queues (at draft offices) are people who want to obtain some sort of exemption (from fighting),” said the 36-year-old, who was accompanied by Reuters on a recent draft patrol in the Ukrainian capital.
US special advisor on disability rights hails The Independent’s Ukraine investigation: ‘Not an acceptable loss’
11:28
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
An 18-month investigation by The Independent uncovering fresh evidence of potential war crimes committed by Russia against Ukrainians with disabilities is a “really important” part of “creating more awareness, more visibility” of the devastating impact of the invasion on the disability community, a special advisor to the Biden administration has said.
Read more from Bel Trew here:
Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas steps down to become EU's top diplomat
10:50
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has stepped down as the leader of the Baltic country to become the foreign policy chief of the European Union later this year.
Kallas, Estonia’s first female prime minister, handed in her formal resignation to President Alar Karis during a brief meeting at the Presidential Palace in the capital, Tallinn, on Monday.
Estonia under Kallas has been one of Europe’s most vocal backers of Ukraine following the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.
She replaces Josep Borrell of Spain, who has served as the EU foreign policy chief since 2019.
Summing up Kallas’ 3 1/2 years at the helm of the nation of 1.3 million, Karis was quoted as saying by the Baltic News Service that “it has been a time full of crises, the milestones (such as) the coronavirus, the economic recession and the war in Europe, when Russia destroyed our previous security picture with its aggression in Ukraine“.
The prime minister’s move automatically triggered the resignation of Kallas’ three-party Cabinet, made up of her center-right Reform Party, the Social Democratic Party and the liberal Estonia 200 party. It will continue as a caretaker government until the new Cabinet has been sworn in, most likely the end of July or early August.
UK prime minister to discuss Ukraine-Russia war as he hosts European leaders next week
10:08
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
More than 45 European leaders will converge on Oxfordshire next week to discuss some of the most pressing generational issues facing Europe.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Europe is at the forefront of some of the greatest challenges of our time.
“Russia‘s barbaric war continues to reverberate across our continent, while vile smuggling gangs traffic innocent people on perilous journeys that too often end in tragedy.
“We cannot be spectators in this chapter of history. We must do more and go further, not just for the courageous Ukrainians on the frontlines, or those being trafficked from country-to-country, but so our future generations look back with pride at what our continent achieved together.
“I said I would change the way the UK engages with our European partners, working collaboratively to drive forward progress on these generational challenges, and that work starts at the European Political Community meeting on Thursday.”
What to know about the growing number of treason and espionage cases in today's Russia under Putin
09:36
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Treason cases were rare in Russia 30 years ago, with only a handful brought annually. In the past decade and especially since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, however, the number has soared, along with espionage prosecutions.
They are ensnaring citizens and foreigners alike. Recent victims range from Kremlin critics and independent journalists to veteran scientists working with countries that Moscow considers friendly.
One rights group counted over 100 known treason cases in 2023, with probably another 100 that nobody knows about.
Ukraine urges ICC to investigate strike on Kyiv children’s hospital as crime against humanity
09:01
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
In case you missed it...
Ukraine’s top prosecutor has urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Russia over a missile strike on a children’s hospital that killed or wounded dozens of doctors and civilians.
Prosecutor general Andriy Kostin, who was in The Hague where the ICC is based, for meetings with legal officials, said the strike was worth “lifting” to the court in part because Kyiv seeks to demonstrate the systematic nature of Russia’s attack on civilians.
“For the sake of international justice, cases like the intentional attack on the biggest child hospital in Kyiv (are) worth lifting to the ICC,” he said.
Scientists, a journalist and even a bakery worker are among those convicted of treason in Russia
08:33
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Over the past decade, Russia has seen a sharp increase in treason and espionage cases.
Lawyers and experts say prosecutions for these high crimes started to grow after 2014 – the year when Russia illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula. That’s also when Moscow backed a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
The number of these cases in Russia spiked significantly after the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, urged the security services to “harshly suppress the actions of foreign intelligence services [and] promptly identify traitors, spies and saboteurs”. The crackdown has ensnared scientists and journalists, as well as ordinary citizens.
China, Russia start joint naval drills, days after NATO allies called Beijing a Ukraine war enabler
08:06
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
China and Russia‘s naval forces on Sunday kicked off a joint exercise at a military port in southern China on Sunday, official news agency Xinhua reported, days after NATO allies called Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war in Ukraine.
The Chinese defense ministry said in a brief statement forces from both sides recently patrolled the western and northern Pacific Ocean and that the operation had nothing to do with international and regional situations and didn’t target any third party.
The exercise, which began in Guangdong province on Sunday and is expected to last until mid-July, aimed to demonstrate the capabilities of the navies in addressing security threats and preserving peace and stability globally and regionally, state broadcaster CCTV reported Saturday, adding it would include anti-missile exercises, sea strikes and air defense.
From basement to battlefield: Ukrainian startups create low-cost robots to fight Russia
07:45
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Struggling with manpower shortages, overwhelming odds and uneven international assistance, Ukraine hopes to find a strategic edge against Russia in an abandoned warehouse or a factory basement.
An ecosystem of laboratories in hundreds of secret workshops is leveraging innovation to create a robot army that Ukraine hopes will kill Russian troops and save its own wounded soldiers and civilians.
Defense startups across Ukraine — about 250 according to industry estimates — are creating the killing machines at secret locations that typically look like rural car repair shops.
Complaints in Moscow over poor security amid successful Ukrainian attacks
07:27
Arpan Rai
Officials and military bloggers in Russia are complaining about poor security around critical infrastructure in areas away from the war frontline, just days after a Ukrainian drone strike successfully hit an oil depot, the Institute for the Study of War said.
It cited footage from Russian sources over the weekend of two security guards armed with anti-drone guns seemingly watching a Ukrainian drone strike the oil depot without attempting to shoot down the drone and criticised the security guards for not defending the depot, the Washington-based think tank said in its latest assessment.
This has sparked Russian officials to draw comparisons with a robust defence system from Ukraine against Russia’s Shahed drone strikes.
“Russian sources alleged that Russian authorities have attempted to absolve themselves of responsibility for Ukrainian drone strikes by ordering Russian facilities to hire their own security and questioned why the Russian government has not organised mobile fire groups similar to Ukraine’s mobile fire groups that defend against Russian Shahed-136/131 drone strikes,” it said.
The ISW added that Russian milbloggers have routinely complained about the Russian government’s inability to address and repel Ukrainian strikes against Russian infrastructure.
Ukraine starts new PR drive to bring in more recruits for army
07:10
Arpan Rai
Ukraine has launched a new drive to boost recruitment to its armed forces, unveiling a set of billboards telling potential soldiers it offers an opportunity to “be yourself”.
One of the billboards reads, “Summer, UAV,” showing a soldier operating a drone from a beach chair as his boots rest on the sand. Another from the Khartia Brigade promises: “We guarantee 60 days of preparation,” reported The Guardian.
Manpower has long been an issue for Kyiv’s military as it fights a much larger and better-equipped foe. The problem has grown more acute in recent months, prompting authorities to introduce stricter measures for draft evaders.
In May this year, president Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law allowing some convicts to join the armed forces as it battles to hold the line against Russian offensives in Ukraine’s northeast, east and south.
Ukraine has already lowered the draft mobilisation age from 27 to 25. The upper limit is 60.
Ukrainian military says ‘hottest situation’ around Pokrovsk
06:30
Arpan Rai
Ukraine has said its forces are facing the “hottest situation” along the frontline in the Pokrovsk area in eastern Donetsk region.
Intense Russian attacks have surged in the area, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
“The enemy has already attacked our positions 35 times today in the areas of Novooleksandrivka, Vozdvizhenka, Progress, Lozuvatskyi, Novoselivka Pershoya and Yasnobrodivka … The situation remains tense near Novooleksandrivka, Novoselivka Persha and Progress, where six clashes are still ongoing. Our defenders restrain the enemy,” it said.
Russian forces continued offensive operations near Chasiv Yar yesterday but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline, said The Institute for the Study of War.
Putin’s aide says Kremlin ‘not surprised' by attempt on Trump’s life
06:21
Arpan Rai
The Kremlin says it is “not surprised” by the assassination attempt on US presidential candidate Donald Trump and said it was “obvious” that his life was in danger.
“After numerous attempts to remove candidate Trump from the political arena – using first legal tools, trials, prosecutors, attempts to politically discredit him – it was obvious to all outside observers that his life was in danger,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, reported Russian news agency TASS.
Peskov also pointed to the “atmosphere that has been created” around Mr Trump.
Trump’s campaign said the presumptive Republican nominee was doing "fine" after being whisked off the stage though the shooting pierced the upper part of his right ear.
Scientists, a journalist and even a bakery worker are among those convicted of treason in Russia
05:46
Arpan Rai
Over the past decade, Russia has seen a sharp increase in treason and espionage cases.
Lawyers and experts say prosecutions for these high crimes started to grow after 2014 – the year when Russia illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula. That’s also when Moscow backed a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
The number of these cases in Russia spiked significantly after the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, urged the security services to “harshly suppress the actions of foreign intelligence services [and] promptly identify traitors, spies and saboteurs”. The crackdown has ensnared scientists and journalists, as well as ordinary citizens.
The following are some treason cases prosecuted in Russia in recent years:
Russian forces say they control Ukraine’s Urozhaine village in Donetsk
05:33
Arpan Rai
Russian forces claim they have taken control of Urozhaine village in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region even as Ukraine’s military said fighting was still underway.
"As a result of successful actions, the ‘east’ group of forces has taken control of the locality of Urozhaine in Donetsk region...and are carrying out mopping-up and demining operations," the Russian defence ministry said on its official Telegram channel.
According to the Ukrainian bloggers, Kyiv’s forces had relinquished control of the village, southwest of the Russian-held city of Donetsk. Ukraine‘s military said fighting was still going on in the area.
The General Staff of Ukraine‘s armed forces, in yesterday morning’s report, said only that Russia had launched 18 attacks on Urozhaine and other nearby localities. It made no mention of the village in a late afternoon report.
The village came under Russian control early in the February 2022 invasion, but Ukraine retook the settlement near the Mokri Yaly river in July 2023.
Putin lost more than 70,000 troops in just 60 days, says British intelligence
05:01
Arpan Rai
Russia lost more than 70,000 troops in the past two months in its bid to capture Kharkiv, according to the latest estimates from the MoD.
British intelligence suggests average daily Russian casualties (killed and wounded) in Ukraine throughout May and June 2024 increased to conflict highs of 1,262 and 1,163 respectively, the MoD said on Friday.
“In total, Russia likely lost (killed and wounded) in excess of 70,000 personnel over the past two months,” the MoD said. The losses for Vladimir Putin’s troops coincide with Russian attempts to open up a new front along the battlefield in the Kharkiv region.
It added that Russia’s casualty rate will likely continue to average above 1,000 a day over the next two months as Russia continues to try to overmatch Ukrainian positions with mass.
“The uptick in losses reflects Russia’s opening of the new front in the Kharkiv region, while maintaining the same rate of offensive operations along the remainder of the front,” the MoD said in its assessment.
Volodymyr Zelensky said last month that the ratio of losses in Kharkiv has been one Ukrainian soldier to six Russians.
Sino-Russian naval drills begin today despite Nato backlash
04:37
Arpan Rai
The naval forces of China and Russia have begun joint military exercises at a port in southern China despite mounting criticism of Beijing from Nato, which accused the Asian giant of acting as a “decisive enabler” of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The opening ceremony of the drills was held in Zhanjiang city, with the two countries’ forces expected to carry out various battle simulation and tactical coordination exercises.
They are aimed at demonstrating the capabilities of the navies in addressing security threats and preserving peace and stability globally and regionally, state broadcaster CCTV reported Saturday, adding it would include anti-missile exercises, sea strikes and air defence.
China’s defence ministry claims its drills have nothing to do with the wider international security landscape.
The ministry added that the two naval forces recently jointly patrolled the western and northern Pacific Ocean. The drills come after China staged joint drills close to the border of Nato member Poland with Belarus, a close Russia ally that helped enable Putin’s invasion.
04:12
Arpan Rai
Good morning, welcome to our coverage of the Ukraine war on Monday, 15 July.