Ukraine updates: Explosions rock western city of Lviv

This live blog is now closed. For the latest DW coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war, click here. 

This live blog is now closed. For the latest DW coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war, click here

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy said during a press conference in Prague that the counteroffensive was "not fast, that's a fact."

"But nevertheless, we are advancing, not retreating, like Russians," he added.

"We now have the initiative," the Ukrainian leader said, standing alongside Czech President Petr Pavel.

Zelenskyy also called on NATO to give it a "clear signal" for membership in the world's largest security organization.

"Ukraine does not have an invitation in one form or another," he said adding, that Kyiv was looking for "clear signal, some concrete things in the direction of an invitation." 

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg recenty said that NATO would be ready to accept Ukraine subsquently as a member of the organization.

However, an official invitation to join the alliance is not on the table at the annual summit next week.

 

After his visit to Bulgaria, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the Czech capital, Prague, for talks with Czech leader Petr Pavel and other officials.

"The focus will be on defense support, European and Euro-Atlantic integration of and the Vilnius Summit, the situation around the ZNPP, the implementation of the peace formula, and the rebuilding of Ukraine," Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Turkey's state news agency Anadolu reported that Zelenskyy will visit Turkey on Friday and meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul. Neither Zelenskyy nor the Ukrainian government immediately confirmed the travel plans.

According to Anadolu, Zelenskyy and Erdogan will discuss Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine and an agreement between Russia and Ukraine to allow grain exports across the Black Sea. The grain deal is set to expire on July 17.

UNESCO condemned the bombing of a historic building in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv and expressed "its sincere condolences" to the families of five victims.

"This attack, the first to take place in an area protected by the World Heritage Convention since the outbreak of the war on 24 February 2022, is a violation of this Convention," the UN cultural agency said.

It added that the Russian strike also violated "the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict."

UNESCO said the historic building hit by the strike was located in "the buffer zone of the World Heritage Site of 'Lviv - the Ensemble of the Historic Centre'."

At least five people were killed in a rocket attack on a residential area of Lviv overnight and at least 50 people were injured, according to Ukrainian officials.

Ukrainian authorities have blocked monks from accessing parts of Kyiv's Monastery of the Caves as part of an ongoing dispute over control of the world-renowned religious complex.

Three buildings, including the residence of the leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, have been sealed by museum authorities, Ukrainian Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko announced on Thursday in a Telegram post.

The monastery complex, which dates to the 11th century, is among the most important religious cites in Ukraine and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has close historic ties to Moscow and was formally a branch of the Russian Orthodox Church but severed official ties with Moscow in the wake of Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Kyiv Monastery of the Caves is owned by the Ukrainian state but has been managed by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church since the late 1980s. A contract to use the upper part of the complex, which is located in the hills along the Dnipro River, expired at the beginning of the year and was not renewed.

Another contract for use of the medieval lower portion of the complex was terminated prematurely by the Ukrainian government in March. The monks have been ordered to vacate the monastery, but refused eviction.

The Russian embassy in Berlin said German customs have confiscated several vehicles with Russian registration plates when they were being imported to Germany.

The embassy said Russians were therefore strongly advised against importing cars to Germany. German customs confirmed that the import of cars bought in Russia was prohibited.

According to the Russian embassy, German customs followed a European Union regulation from 2014, which restricts the export of certain goods and technologies —  including passenger cars — from Russia.

Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president's office, said that 45 Ukrainian servicemen and two children had been returned from Russian captivity.

"Defenders of Mariupol and Azovstal are among them. Some soldiers are wounded," he wrote on Twitter.

Yermak also said that two Ukrainian children illegally deported to Russia were also brought home. "Their mother, a combat medic, was released in a major exchange in October 2022. She and her husband have long been waiting for the return of their children," he added.

Meanwhile, Russian Defense Ministry said that 45 Russian servicemen had been returned from Ukrainian custody.

Russia and Ukraine have periodically exchanged groups of prisoners in the course of the war now in its 17th month. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country and Bulgaria had agreed on more active cooperation in the defence sector, and that he had invited Sofia to take part in Ukraine's reconstruction.

"We discussed the military aid which Bulgaria gives to our country. We count on the continuation of the co-operation which has already saved many lives," he told a press conference. 

In Sofia, Zelenskyy met Prime Minister of Bulgaria Nikolai Denkov. "The main focus of our talks is, of course, the security of our countries and our entire Europe, defense support and defense cooperation. The fundamental priority is energy. And strengthening our unity in Europe," he wrote on Twitter.

Zelenskyy also met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev.

Ukraine plans to abandon conscription and move to a professional army after the war with Russia to bring Kyiv closer to NATO standards, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

After a meeting with top defense and security officials at which reforms known as "the Ukrainian shield" were discussed, Shmyhal said the government would also continue to focus on supporting a further increase in domestic weapons production.

"After the end of the war, Ukraine will abandon the draft as it existed before the war. The foundation of our defense will be a professional army," Shmyhal said.

After Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine announced a national mobilization. It now has about 1 million people in its defense forces, officials have said.

Before Russia's invasion last year, Ukraine relied on a system of mandatory military service for young men. Ukrainian women also serve in the army but the service is not obligatory for them.

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi has said there will be two days of official mourning for people killed in a Russian missile attack on the western Ukrainian city.

At least five people were killed in a strike on an apartment building and several others injured.

Sadovyi said some 60 apartments and 50 cars were damaged.

The youngest victim was 21 years old and the oldest was 95, according to Maksym Kozytskyi, the head of the Regional Military Administration.

Ukraine's air force said it had intercepted seven of the 10 Kalibr cruise missiles that Russia fired from Black Sea toward the Lviv region and the city itself.

The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, described the attack as "vicious."

"Russia's repeated attacks on civilians are absolutely horrifying," she tweeted.

Russia has always denied targeting civilian infrastructure during its invasion of its neighbor.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has said it is shutting down Finland's consulate in St. Petersburg and expelling nine Finnish diplomats in response to a "confrontational anti-Russian policy" adopted by Helsinki.

"Nine employees of the Finnish Embassy in the Russian Federation and the Finnish Consulate General in Saint Petersburg were declared persona non grata," the ministry said in a statement, adding that Finland's representative office in St. Petersburg would also be closed down as of October 1.

Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, expelled nine diplomats working at the Russian Embassy in Helsinki earlier this month amid allegations that they were spying for Moscow.

In response to Russia's tit-for-tat move on Thursday, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told reporters in Helsinki that his country would have to "start preparing for similar measures."

Finland has become the latest member of the western military alliance NATO amid security concerns prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

 

Ukraine's Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety has developed two possible scenarios in case of a nuclear accident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Kyiv has warned that Russia might be planning detonations at the facility

DW looks at what could happen if Russia goes ahead with these plans.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia, on Thursday for an official visit.

Zelenskyy said items on his agenda include "defense support, Euro-Atlantic integration, the NATO Summit, security guarantees, and the implementation of the Peace Formula."

Bulgaria is a major ammunition producer and its newly-elected, pro-Western government has become a vocal supporter of Ukraine.

"A joint declaration on the Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine and a memorandum of cooperation in the field of energy will be signed," the Bulgarian government said in a statement on Thursday.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that the leader of the Russia mercenary Wagner Group was no longer in Belarus.

On June 27, Lukashenko had said that Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus as part of a deal he had brokered to end what appeared to be an armed mutiny by the Wagner Group.

But he told reporters on Thursday: "As for Prigozhin, he's in St. Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus."

Lukashenko said an offer for Wagner to station some of its fighters in Belarus still stands.

The prospect of the group having a base in Belarus has alarmed some neighboring countries, but Lukashenko said he did not see this as a risk to his country and was convinced that Wagner fighters would not prejudice its security.