Ukraine strikes Russian-occupied area

• Ukraine launches counterattack on Russian-occupied territory
• Russia claims Ukrainian shelling killed 6 
• Ukrainian President Zelenskyy slams transfer of Siemens' turbines from Canada as 'unacceptable exception' to sanctions on Moscow
• Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko claims the West is planning to attack Russia
• White House says Iran to give Russia drones

This live updates article is closed. 

For our latest, from July 13, click here.

Ukraine grain exports could be increased by 500,000 tons — Infrastructure Ministry

Ukraine's infrastructure ministry said that monthly grain exports could be increased by 500,000 tons if its backlog is cleared through the Bystre rivermouth of the Danube-Black Sea waterway.

The ministry said that 16 ships passed through the newly reopened rivermouth in the past 4 days. It added that passage of commercial ships became possible after Kyiv recaptured Snake Island from Russian forces, and that this was an important step toward speeding up grain exports.

ESA terminated cooperation with Roscosmos on ExoMars

ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher announced the official termination of the currently suspended cooperation with the Russian space agency Roscosmos on the ExoMars Rover and Surface Platform mission.

According to Aschbauer, ESA Council acknowledged that "circumstances which led to the suspension of the cooperation with Roscosmos — the war in Ukraine and the resulting sanctions — continue to prevail."

"New insights on the way forward with other partners will come at a media briefing on 20 July, details to come," he wrote on Twitter.

The goals of ExoMars mission are to search for signs of past life on Mars.

The death toll from missile strike on Chasiv Yar rises to 45

The death toll of a collapsed apartment block in the Donetsk region town of Chasiv Yar climbed to 45, with rescue work still not over four days after the building was hit by Russian rocket fire, Ukrainian emergency services said.

Over 420 tons of rubble had been cleared and 9 people rescued from under the ruins, the regional emergency services directorate wrote on Facebook.

Russia launches criminal probe against opposition activist Yashin

Russian authorities have launched a criminal case against opposition politician Ilya Yashin over allegedly spreading false information about the Russian army, his lawyer Vadim Prokhorov said.

According to Prokhorov, Yashin's house is now being searched.

In June, Yashin was sentenced to 15 days jail. He was set to be released in the early hours of Wednesday.

Yashin is one of the few opposition politicians who remain in Russia and openly oppose the war with Ukraine.

US announces additional $1.7 billion aid to Ukraine

The United States Treasury announced it will send an additional $1.7 billion (€1.7 billion) in economic aid to Ukraine to help continue funding the country's "essential services," such as paying the healthcare workers' salaries.

"This latest contribution of economic assistance for Ukraine is part of President Biden's commitment to support the Government of Ukraine as it defends Ukraine's democracy against Russia's unprovoked and unjustifiable war," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

The payment, part of the $7.5 billion (€7.5 billion) aid package signed by President Joe Biden in May, is set to be made through the World Bank.

Ukrainian and German defense ministers discussed arms deliveries

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that he held "fruitful" talks with German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht.

"We discussed the provision of German armament to Ukraine that will strengthen our defense capabilities. Thanks to our German partners for the steadfast commitment to support Ukraine," he wrote on Twitter.

Reznikov also added that Ukrainian authorities are waiting for good news from Germany soon.

UN chief Guterres plays down Ukraine grain optimism

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that "there is still a way to go" in talks to try and resume Ukraine Black Sea grain exports.

"Many people are talking about it, we prefer to try and do it," UN Secretary-General Guterres told reporters.

Guterres' comments come after Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said earlier on Tuesday that military delegations from Turkey, Russia and Ukraine will meet with UN officials in Istanbul on Wednesday to "hold talks on the safe shipment to international markets of grain waiting in Ukrainian ports."

Ahead of Wednesday's four-way talks, Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko told Reuters: "We are grateful to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his active efforts to find a solution that will guarantee the security of the southern regions of our country."

UN: Civilian death toll in Ukraine conflict surpasses 5,000

The United Nations said Tuesday that more than 5,000 civilians had been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24, adding that the actual figure was probably much higher.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in its weekly update that 5,024 civilians had been killed and 6,520 injured.

The OHCHR has dozens of human rights monitors across Ukraine.

Lego halts Russian operations

Lego, the world's largest toymaker, said Tuesday it would "indefinitely cease commercial operations in Russia," ending the employment of its Moscow staff and a partnership with a company operating 81 stores across the country.

The Danish firm had already halted deliveries to Russia in March, shortly after its invasion of Ukraine.

Sanctions push gold mining firm Petropavlovsk into administration

London-based mining firm Petropavlovsk is to file for administration after sanctions on Gazprombank, its main lender and the sole purchaser of its gold, rendered it unable to repay loans and placed it among the first listed companies to face collapse due to the Ukraine war.

Petropavlovsk will seek a hearing on the administration application at the High Court in London in the coming days, it said.

Lukashenko says West plans Russia attack, Moscow says 'collision would carry nuclear risk'

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko claimed on Tuesday that the West was developing "strategic plans for an attack against Russia," adding the plan was to carry out an operation "through Ukraine and through Belarus."

Speaking to military graduates and officers, Lukashenko said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday about the alleged plot.

Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24 and has been using Belarus as a staging ground for military exercises.

Lukashenko highlighted NATO's continued expansion, saying the "newly-minted crusaders" were "forming an armored fist" to attack.

"The events unfolding today around Belarus and Russia call for our utmost vigilance and concentration," Lukashenko said.

He accused the West of risking a "major war."

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova echoed Lukashenko's sentiments on Tuesday. 

In a statement, she accused the United States and its allies of causing the Ukraine crisis and increasing the possibility of "an open military confrontation with our country. Obviously, such a collision would carry a risk of nuclear escalation."

Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and UN to meet over grain exports, says minister

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has revealed that military delegations from Turkey, Russia and Ukraine will meet with UN diplomats to discuss the safe passage of Ukrainian grain.

The meeting will take place tomorrow, July 13, in Istanbul, Akar confirmed.

Council of the EU adopts additional €1 billion assistance to Ukraine

The Council of the European Union said in a statement on Tuesday it would "provide €1 billion ($1 billion) of additional macro-financial assistance (MFA) to Ukraine, as a matter of urgency."

"Together with the emergency MFA of €1.2 billion disbursed earlier this year, the total macro-financial support from the EU to Ukraine since the start of the war now reaches €2.2 billion and it is expected to increase further in the coming months. This financial assistance complements other EU support to Ukraine in the humanitarian, development, customs and defense fields."

Meanwhile, the European Union has frozen Russian assets to the total value of $13.8 billion since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders told reporters in Prague on Tuesday.

At least 12 wounded by shelling in Mykolaiv, says Ukraine official

At least 12 people have been injured in overnight shelling in Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv, according to the regional governor.

Rockets landed on two medical facilities and residential buildings, Vitaly Kim said.

Donetsk separatists: Decisions on UK, Morocco fighters to come within a month

Decisions regarding the appeals of British and Moroccan fighters sentenced to death by the Moscow-backed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine will be taken within a month, Russian news agency Interfax has quoted a separatist official as saying.

Two Britons and one Moroccan citizen captured while fighting for the Ukrainian army were sentenced to death as mercenaries last month. All three have appealed.

Ukraine and Western countries have argued that the men are prisoners of war, thus entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions.

Russia 'regrouping for further offensives' says UK Defense Ministry

The latest update from the UK Ministry of Defense indicated Tuesday that Russian troops are "likely maintaining military pressure on Ukrainian forces whilst regrouping and reconstituting for further offensives in the near future."

Commenting on developments elsewhere in Ukraine, the ministry said on Twitter that "Russian troops continue to make small incremental territorial gains in Donetsk oblast with Russia claiming to have seized control of the town of Hryhorivka."

Personnel shortages may be forcing Russia to turn to "non-traditional recruitment," according to the UK intelligence update. "This includes recruiting personnel from Russian prisons for the Wagner Private Military Company. If true, this move likely indicates difficulties in replacing the significant numbers of Russian casualties."

Russia, Belarus athletes may be banned from Paris Olympics

Russian and Belarusian athletes may not be allowed to compete at the Paris 2024 Games because of Moscow's continued aggression against Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Tuesday.

Belarus has been used as a staging ground for Russia's invasion, with Moscow conducting regular military exercises there in recent months, and the IOC issued guidance to sports governing bodies in February to exclude the two countries' athletes from competition.

"A decision is going to have to be taken on what happens to each of these two countries, and my guess is that the general feeling would be that they should not qualify," senior IOC member Craig Reedie said.

"Most people are struggling with how we could achieve some degree of representation, but at the moment, there is no clear way to do it. Therefore, you maintain the status quo."

Several killed in counterattack on Kherson region, Russia reports

A Ukrainian strike killed at least six people and injured dozens more in the Russian-held Ukrainian town of Novy Kakhovka, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Ukrainian officials, however, said their forces destroyed an ammunition depot, howitzer and other Russian military technology in the town. In a Facebook post, the Ukrainian military's southern command said the attack killed 50 Russian soldiers. 

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in February, Kyiv and Moscow have repeatedly blamed each other for the war's civilian casualties.

Signs Russia could 'intensify combat operations' in the east — Ukraine military

Ukraine's military warned that Russian troops were likely planning to launch some of their heaviest attacks yet in the eastern Donetsk region.

"There are signs of enemy units preparing to intensify combat operations in the direction of Kramatorsk and Bakhmut," it said.

Kramatorsk and Bakhmut are the two major cities in the region that remain under Kyiv's control.

Earlier, Russian rocket strikes hit a "shopping center and civilian residences" in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov said. Kharkiv prosecutors said "six civilians were killed, including a 17-year-old and his father, who were driving past," according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

Ukraine's Zelenskyy slams Canada turbines as 'unacceptable exception' to sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed what he called an "unacceptable exception" to sanctions on Moscow after Canada agreed to deliver a repaired turbine to Germany, needed to maintain the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.

The turbine was undergoing maintenance at a Canadian site owned by German industrial giant Siemens. Moscow said the absence of the turbine caused cuts to gas deliveries to Germany.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to summon Canada's envoy to our country due to an absolutely unacceptable exception to the sanctions regime against Russia," Zelenskyy said during his nightly address.

Ukraine's president added that the decision "will be perceived by Moscow exclusively as a manifestation of weakness."

"There can be no doubt that Russia will try not only to limit as much as possible, but also to completely stop the supply of gas to Europe at the most acute moment," he said.

Russian Finance Minister Siluanov backs rubles-for-gas scheme

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov endorsed a proposal by energy giant Gazprom to include liquefied natural gas (LNG) in its rubles-for-gas plan.

In an interview for Russian daily Vedomosti, Siluanov said, "We support [the plan] in every way."

In March, President Vladimir Putin said that " unfriendly countries"  would have to pay for Russian gas in rubles, which led to a number of European clients being cut off for refusing to cooperate with the plan.

Putin expands fast-track Russian citizenship procedure for Ukrainians

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expanded a fast-track procedure for Russian citizenship to all Ukrainians.

Previously, only residents of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions were eligible to apply for Russian citizenship through the procedure. The four regions are under the control of Moscow or Russian-backed separatist forces.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the expansion of the procedure was evidence of "predatory appetites."

"Russia is using the simplified procedure for issuing passports to tighten the noose around the necks of residents of the temporarily occupied territories of our state, forcing them to participate in the criminal activities of the occupying administrations and the Russian army of aggression," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Since 2019, more than 720,000 people living in separatist-held areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions have received Russian passports.

White House says Iran to provide Russia with drones — White House

The White House said it believes Iran will provide Russia with hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including weapons-capable drones.

"Our information indicates that the Iranian government is preparing to provide Russia with up to several hundred UAVs, including weapons-capable UAVs on an expedited timeline," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters.

The official argued that the procurement shows that Russia's offensive in Ukraine is "coming at a cost to the sustainment of its own weapons."

Sullivan said it was unclear whether Russia had already received the drones.

What happened Monday in Russia's war against Ukraine

Ukrainian Sports Minister Vadym Gutsait announced that despite the ongoing war, Ukraine will kick off a new football season in August.

The pro-Russian head of a village occupied by Moscow's troops near Kharkiv in Ukraine died after his car was blown up by a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group. Meanwhile, Andrei Siguta, the Russian-installed district head of Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia, escaped an attempt on his life.

Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine's richest person, announced he will give up his vast media business because of pending plans to have all oligarchs listed in a state register.

The death toll from a Russian missile strike on a five-story building in the eastern city of Chasiv Yar rose to 31.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned the war in Ukraine may last longer than hoped.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the phone that it was time to follow a United Nations proposal to create a corridor for Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea.

The number of Ukrainians entering the European Union has returned to pre-invasion levels, EU's Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said.

Click here for more details on Monday's events in Russia's war against Ukraine.

jsi, sdi/kb (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)