Live blog: US says reports of Russia stealing Ukraine grain 'credible'

Monday, June 6, 2022

Blinken: Reports Russia is 'pilfering' Ukrainian grain for profit are credible

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said there are "credible reports" that Russia is "pilfering" Ukraine's grain exports to sell for profit.

Speaking during a virtual roundtable with philanthropies, non-governmental organisations and private sector entities, Blinken said the alleged theft was part of broader Russian actions during its offensive in Ukraine that have hit Ukraine's ability to export its wheat crop and worsened a global food security crisis.

"There are credible reports, as we saw in one of our leading newspapers today, that Russia is pilfering Ukraine’s grain exports… to sell for its own profit," Blinken said, an apparent reference to a New York Times story that said Washington last month warned 14 countries, mostly in Africa, that Russia was trying to ship stolen Ukrainian grain to buyers overseas. Moscow denies allegations of grain theft.

Ukraine president says ‘outnumbered’ in strategic city Sievierodonetsk

Ukrainian troops have suffered setbacks after retaking parts of flashpoint eastern city Sievierodonetsk, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned his forces were outnumbered by a "stronger" Russian side.

"We're holding out" in the key city but "there are more of them and they are stronger," Zelenskyy told journalists in Kiev, adding that Sievierodonetsk and neighbouring Lysychansk were both "dead cities now".

With Russia bringing the weight of its artillery to bear around Sievierodonetsk - the largest city in the Luhansk region not under Russian control - more help was promised from abroad.

In phone call, Turkish, Ukrainian defence ministers discuss Ukraine conflict

In a phone call, Turkish national defence minister and his Ukrainian counterpart discussed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Türkiye’s Hulusi Akar and Oleksii Reznikov exchanged views on the safe transportation of Turkish commercial ships waiting at Ukrainian ports and A400M Turkish aircrafts stranded in Ukraine, according to a National Defence Ministry statement.

During the conversation, Akar stressed the need for an urgent cease-fire, reducing tensions, and delivering humanitarian aid to the war-torn country, the statement said. Akar told Reznikov that Türkiye will continue to do its part in promoting peace in Ukraine and send humanitarian aid, it added.

Zelenskyy says 75M tonnes of grain could be stuck in Ukraine by autumn

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said there could be as much as 75 million tonnes of grain stuck in Ukraine by this autumn and that Kiev wants anti-ship weapons that could secure the safe passage of its exports.

Ukraine, Zelenskyy told a briefing in Kiev, has been discussing with Britain and Türkiye the idea of a third country's navy guaranteeing the passage of Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea.

The strongest guarantee of their safe passage though would be Ukrainian weaponry, he told reporters.

Ukraine partially repels Russian Black Sea fleet: army

The Ukrainian army has said that it had pushed the Russian fleet back more than a hundred kilometres from Ukraine's Black Sea coast, where Moscow's ships have been carrying out a naval blockade for weeks.

"As a result of our active actions aimed at defeating enemy naval forces, the group of ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was pushed back from the Ukrainian shores at a distance of more than a hundred kilometres," Ukraine's defence ministry said on Telegram.

According to the ministry, the Russian forces had to deploy coastal defence missile systems in annexed Crimea and in the Ukraine's southern Kherson region which is now occupied by them.

US media face Russian visa denial due to US restrictions

Russia's foreign ministry has called US news media to a meeting to warn that their accreditations and visas could be withdrawn if the United States does not rescind measures limiting Russian journalists there.

The Kremlin-funded TV channel RT was dropped by US cable and satellite operators, state-run TV stations have been targeted by US sanctions and YouTube has blocked many official Russian channels, including feeds of Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova's weekly briefings.

Zakharova also said Russian journalists have been denied US visas or extensions of them and that some have been detained for lengthy interrogations at airports.

US orders seizure of two aircraft of Russian oligarch Abramovich

The US Justice Department has ordered the seizure of two aircraft owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, saying they were used in violation of sanctions on Russia imposed over its offensive in Ukraine.

The department said in court filings that the two aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and Gulfstream G650ER executive jet, had been flown into Russian territory in earlier this year in violation of US export controls.

Putin orders $81,500 payment to families of National Guard

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree ordering the payment of $81,500 (5 million roubles) to the families of each member of Russia's National Guard who died in Ukraine and Syria, state news agency TASS has reported.

Ukraine recovers bodies from steel-plant siege

Russia has begun turning over the bodies of Ukrainian fighters killed at the Azovstal steelworks, the fortress-like plant in the destroyed city of Mariupol where their last-ditch stand became a symbol of resistance against Moscow’s onslaught.

Dozens of fighters’ bodies recovered from the bombed-out mill’s now Russian-occupied ruins have been transferred to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, where DNA testing is underway to identify the remains, said Maksym Zhorin, a military commander and former leader of the Azov Regiment.

The Azov Regiment was among the Ukrainian units that defended the factory for nearly three months before surrendering.

Ukrainian officials' phones targeted by hackers: cyber watchdog

The phones of Ukrainian officials have been targeted by hackers as Russia pursues its offensive in Ukraine, a senior cybersecurity official has said.

Victor Zhora, the deputy head of Ukraine's State Special Communications Service, said that phones being used by the country's public servants had come under sustained targeting.

"We see a lot of attempts to hack Ukrainian officials' phones, mainly with the spreading of malware," Zhora told journalists at an online news conference meant to mark the 100 days since Russian forces poured across the border.

US broadcaster Radio Liberty fined in Russia for 'fake news': Interfax

The US-backed broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has been fined $325,000 (20 million roubles) in Russia for failing to delete what Moscow calls "fake" news about its military operation in Ukraine, the Interfax news agency has reported.

According to Interfax, Radio Liberty refused to delete reports that included a tally of deaths among civilians and Russian service personnel "as well as extremist statements about Russians". 

Russia says ban on Lavrov's plane a 'hostile action'

Moscow has denounced the "hostile" actions of several European countries after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was forced to cancel a visit to Serbia over airspace closures.

Bulgaria, Macedonia and Montenegro refused a request from Russia for Lavrov's plane to pass through their airspaces on the way to Serbia because of sanctions imposed over Moscow's military action in Ukraine.

"Such hostile actions against our country can cause certain problems", Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, while insisting that Russia and Serbia would continue contacts.

Russia's Lavrov blasts 'unthinkable' airspace closures

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has blasted European countries for blocking his plane from travelling to Serbia, saying: "The unthinkable has happened".

"This was a deprivation of a sovereign state of the right to carry out foreign policy", Lavrov told an online press conference in Moscow.

Italy summons Russian ambassador over media spat

Italy has summoned Russia's ambassador after Moscow alleged the Italian media have been waging an anti-Russian propaganda campaign through its coverage of the conflict in Ukraine.

The foreign ministry in Rome said it called in ambassador Sergey Razov to reject "insinuations regarding the alleged involvement of our country's media in an anti-Russian campaign".

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio has insisted the media were "saying what happens, that Russia has used over 2,000 missiles against Ukraine, that 200 children have died".

Russian FM warns West over long-range rockets

Russia's foreign minister has warned the West that if it provides Ukraine with long-range rockets, Moscow will respond by taking over larger areas of Ukraine.

Speaking during an online news conference, Sergey Lavrov said that “the longer the range of weapons you supply, the farther away the line from where neo-Nazis could threaten the Russian Federation will be pushed”.

The US and Britain have announced they will provide Ukraine with multiple rocket-launchers capable of striking targets up to 80 kilometres away. 

Ukraine seeking Soviet-era weapons from Bulgaria: Envoy

Ukraine has asked Bulgaria for Soviet-era weapons to help in its ongoing fight against Russian forces, according to a Ukrainian diplomat.

Vitaly Moskalenko, Kiev’s ambassador to Bulgaria, said he sent a formal request to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry last Friday.

“We need weapons. We are talking about howitzers and missile systems from the Soviet era, old weapons that we can handle”, he told Bulgarian news channel bTV.

32 journalists killed in Ukraine since conflict began: minister

At least 32 journalists have been killed in Russia’s ongoing offensive in Ukraine, the Ukrainian culture and information policy minister has said.

As Ukraine marks its annual Journalists Day, Oleksandr Tkachenko hailed all journalists working in the country as “heroes”.

“Eternal memory to our fighters of information front. All journalists today who work 24/7 are heroes. Our information front is strong thanks to all of you”, he said on Twitter.

Ukraine forces can beat back Russian attacks on Sievierodonetsk: mayor

Ukraine has concentrated enough forces to repel Russian attacks in the frontline eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, but neither side is preparing to withdraw and street fighting rages, mayor Oleksandr Stryuk has told Ukrainian television.

"(We) have focused enough forces and resources there to beat back attacks on the city", Stryuk said.

In separate comments, Defence Ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told a briefing that Russia was not sparing troops or equipment in its push to capture Sievierodonetsk, the largest remaining Ukrainian-controlled city in Luhansk region.

Ukraine's position has 'worsened a little' in Sievierodonetsk fighting

Ukraine's position "worsened a little" in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, but Kiev's forces defended their positions against Russia in an industrial zone as heavy fighting raged, a regional governor has said.

"The fiercest fighting is in Sievierodonetsk. Fast-moving fighting is happening right now," Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Gaidai told national television.

"Our defenders managed to undertake a counter-attack for a certain time; they liberated almost half of the city. But now the situation has worsened a little for us again," he said.

Russia struck rail infrastructure in Kiev: UK

Britain's defence ministry has said that Russian air-launched cruise missiles struck rail infrastructure in Ukraine capital Kiev.

Heavy fighting continues in the city of Sievierodonetsk and Russian forces are pushing towards Sloviansk, Britain's Ministry of Defence said in a Twitter update.

In Sievierodonetsk, the main battlefield in the east, where Russia has concentrated its forces recently, Ukraine officials said a counterattack had retaken half of the city.

UK to give Ukraine long-range missile systems

Britain has said it will mirror the United States and send long-range missile systems to Ukraine, defying warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin against supplying Kiev with the advanced weapons.

The UK Ministry of Defence said London had coordinated closely with Washington over its gift of the multiple-launch rocket systems, known as MLRS, to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression.

The M270 launchers, which can strike targets up to 80 kilometres away with precision-guided rockets, will "offer a significant boost in capability for the Ukrainian forces," the ministry added.

Zelenskyy visits two towns near front in eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he had visited two towns near the front of battles against the Russian army after meeting troops in Zaporizhzhya region.

"After that I went with the head of (my) office to the east. We were in Lysychansk and Soledar," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video.

"I am proud of everybody I met, everyone I shook hands with, everyone with whom I connected with and had expressed my support," he said, adding, "we brought something for the military. I will not elaborate in detail on this. And there's something we brought from them to you. This is important – we brought you confidence.''

Lysychansk is in the Luhansk region and Soledar is in the Donetsk region –– making up the Donbass, the focus of Russia's advances in eastern Ukraine.

For live updates from Sunday (June 5), click here