Live blog: War crimes investigators complete mission to Ukraine for ICC

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Dutch and Czech investigators have completed a six-week mission to Ukraine for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to gather evidence of damage caused to critical and civilian infrastructure, the group's leader said.

Russia conducted a winter campaign of air strikes on Ukrainian energy and utilities infrastructure, damaging up to 50 percent of the energy system. Kiev said this was a war crime, while Moscow said the targets were legitimate.

Speaking in a Reuters interview on Wednesday, Lieutenant Colonel Maud Droogh, who led the mission, declined to provide details of what exactly the team investigated, but said they had visited facilities in Ukraine's east and south.

She said the team comprised 45 investigators, including mostly Royal Netherlands Marechaussee military police and several experts from the Czech Republic.

Moscow does not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC and on May 19 said it had issued an arrest warrant for the court prosecutor who prepared an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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1455 GMT - Two wounded after drone hits Russian city near Ukraine: governor

Two people have been wounded after a drone hit Russia's southwestern city of Belgorod near Ukraine, regional officials said.

"An unknown device exploded in Belgorod," regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram, adding that preliminary data showed "a UAV fell onto a road," referring to an unmanned aerial vehicle.

The governor said two men were injured and one of them was hospitalised with a suspected concussion. He added that at least eight civilians were also injured during the overnight shelling by Ukrainian forces

Belgorod Mayor Valentin Demidov said the explosion went off near a petrol station, adding the blast took place "not far from the ground."

Earlier, the defence ministry in Moscow said that Russia used jets and artillery to thwart an attempt by Ukrainian troops to "invade" the region of Belgorod.

1424 GMT - Zelenskyy pushes for Ukraine support at European leaders' summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has taken his quest for more arms and support to a sprawling summit of some 50 European leaders in Moldova, becoming the focal point of an event that seeks to quell regional conflicts and shore up unity in the face of Russia’s offensive.

Zelenskyy told reporters on arrival to the meeting that Kiev had not fixed a date for a summit that would set parameters to end the conflict because Kiev was working to bring as many nations as possible to the table.

Ukraine has proposed a peace summit for several months, but it has so far not materialised given it would not include Russia and aims at attracting countries beyond Kiev's allies.

1353 GMT - Russian FM set for BRICS meet in South Africa with Ukraine on agenda

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is meeting in South Africa with counterparts from the BRICS economic bloc of developing nations for discussions that will start with “an exchange of views” on major geopolitical issues, including the war in Ukraine, South Africa's ambassador to the bloc said.

Most of the BRICS countries differ sharply from the position of the US and its Western allies on the conflict. Speaking ahead of the meeting, the South African ambassador, Anil Sooklal, referred to the West's military aid to Ukraine as one of the things that “fuels the conflict.”

“Any endeavour that fuels the conflict does not solve the problem," Sooklal said when asked for his reaction to Western “attempts” to transfer weapons to Ukraine.

1241 GMT - Ukraine: Russia again blocking Black Sea grain export deal

Ukraine's Ministry of Renovation and Infrastructure has said the Black Sea grain export deal had been halted again because Russia had blocked the registration of ships to all Ukrainian ports.

The Türkiye brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative between Moscow and Kiev last July to help tackle a global food crisis aggravated by Russia's offensive in Ukraine, a leading global grain exporter.

Russia agreed in May to a two-month extension of the deal but has said the initiative will cease unless an agreement aimed at overcoming obstacles to Russian grain and fertiliser exports is fulfilled.

1204 GMT - Taiwan donates $5M towards rebuilding Ukraine with Lithuania

Taiwan has donated five million dollars towards Lithuanian-led reconstruction projects in Ukraine, a Lithuanian government investment agency said.

The funds will be spent towards rebuilding a school in Borodianka and a kindergarten in Irpin, Central Project Management Agency said in a statement.

The Lithuanian government has spent $9.2 million (9.8 million euros) towards the rebuilding and the Taiwanese contribution will be used to purchase educational equipment.

0805 GMT - NATO debates 'security guarantees' for Ukraine

NATO foreign ministers meeting in Oslo have debated providing security guarantees to Ukraine after its war with Russia ends, as the alliance looks to narrow divisions over Kiev's push to join the bloc.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, backed by NATO countries in eastern Europe, is calling for a "clear message" at the July summit that Kiev will join once the war with Russia ends.

But diplomats from NATO countries say its dominant military power, the United States, is reluctant to go further than a 2008 vow that Ukraine would one day become a member.

0756 GMT - Air raid sirens wail in Kiev after Russian strikes kill three

At least three people have been killed and 12 others injured in overnight Russian missile strikes on Ukraine's capital Kiev, with children among the dead, according to local officials.

"The first day of summer. Children's Day... This attack is connected with the use by the aggressor of operational-tactical ground-based missile systems," Serhiy Popko, the head of Kiev City Military Administration, said on Telegram.

Popko said all of the incoming missiles were destroyed by Ukrainian air defence systems before they hit their targets, but that falling debris caused the casualties and damage.

"In the Desnianskyi district of the capital, debris fell on a polyclinic and an adjacent multi-story building. As a result, previously, three people died, and up to 10 others were injured. The worst thing is that two children were among the dead," Popko said.

Popko said debris also fell on the Dniproskyi district, damaging a residential building, and added in a later statement that this injured two people.

0631 GMT - Russia says it repels new Belgorod border incursion attempt

Russia said it had repelled an attempted incursion along its border with Ukraine by what it casts as pro-Ukrainian militants, while heavy shelling prompted a partial evacuation of civilians from the area.

Ahead of an expected Ukrainian counter-offensive in the 15-month war, Russia has come under repeated attack in recent days, with a major cross-border incursion and, earlier this week, the biggest ever drone attack on Moscow.

Settlements in the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, were briefly seized by pro-Ukrainian forces last week during the incursion.

Russia's defence ministry said it had repelled three cross-border attacks near the town of Shebekino and it accused Ukraine of using what it cast as "terrorist formations" to carry out attempted attacks on Russian civilians.

Ukraine says the incursions into Belgorod have nothing to do with its military and are conducted by Russian volunteer fighters.

2300 GMT - Russia criticises Berlin over consulate closures

Russia has condemned Berlin's decision to order it to close four out of its five consulates general in Germany, saying it could jeopardise relations between the two countries.

The move came after Moscow set a limit for the number of staff at the German embassy and related bodies in Russia.

In a statement on its website, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it assessed Germany's demand to close the Russian consulates general in Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Frankfurt-on-Mein by December 31 this year as "another unfriendly step aimed at further destruction" of bilateral ties.

The ministry said it was Germany that initiated the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats from the country "under far-fetched pretexts" and introduced limits for a number of categories of employees of foreign missions.

"The Russian side categorically rejects any attempts by Berlin to absolve itself of blame for the escalation it is constantly forcing. We once again call on the German authorities to stop," it said.

2200 GMT - Russia's Lavrov scolds US envoy to South Africa over arms supply allegations

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said US Ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety — who alleged that South Africa provided arms to Russia — should mind his own business, according to Russian news agency TASS.

Asked to comment on allegations by the US diplomat that the Lady R, a cargo ship, was transporting weapons from South Africa to Russia, Lavrov said, "South Africa is a sovereign nation. Russia is a sovereign nation, too. And we build our relations in full compliance with the norms and principles of international law that exist in this sphere."

"If an American or any other foreign ambassador from across the ocean suspects something, he or she had better mind their own business," Lavrov said.

As for weapons deliveries, Russia "never violates international norms, unlike our Western counterparts who do so, while declaring their neutrality on the developments in Ukraine, as they pump that country with large amounts of the latest long-range and generally unsafe weapons, including for those who use them," he added, referring to depleted uranium shells.

The West has been sending weapons to the Kiev regime, "whose officials have voiced threats to kill all Russians," Lavrov emphasised. "Therefore, US ambassadors had better take care of their own image in the eyes of the foreign public," he concluded.

For our live updates from Wednesday (May 31), click here.