Russia’s FSB arrests man, 64, on suspicion of killing Stanislav Rzhitsky, who was accused by Ukraine of deadly strikes in war
A senior Russian draft officer and former submarine commander accused by Ukraine of deadly strikes on its territory has been shot dead while jogging in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar.
Stanislav Rzhitsky, 42, was killed on Monday by an unidentified gunman during a morning run in a park near the Olimp sports centre, local police said.
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It will be easier for women to medically terminate pregnancies up to 63 days of gestation, now that the Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved an application from MS Health to amend restrictions on the prescribing of MS-2 Step (Mifepristone and Misoprostol).
MS-2 Step was only able to be prescribed by a doctor certified to prescribe the medicine, and then dispensed by a pharmacist who was a registered dispenser.
We’re investing in the care economy, we’re investing in manufacturing and we’re investing in critical infrastructure to create secure, well-paid jobs for Australian workers.
While we know that slowing global growth, higher prices and higher interest rates will impact our economy and labour market and continue to strain household budgets over the coming months, Australia is in a better position than nearly anyone else to face the challenges ahead.
Continue reading...Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg says alliance will issue invitation after ‘conditions are met’. This live blog is now closed
Jen Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general, has had some words for the media this morning. Reuters quotes him saying that Ukraine has come much closer to Nato, and that should be reflected in all Nato decision-making.
He said the wording of the final communique from the summit was being worked upon, and he was confident it would send a positive message on Ukraine’s path to membership.
Continue reading...Russia kills seven in attack on humanitarian aid distribution point; Turkey agrees to Sweden Nato membership
Continue reading...Ukraine looks likely to be offered closer integration rather than clear pre-conditions as war with Russia continues
Nato members are not expected to set clear pre-conditions for Ukraine’s eventual membership to the military alliance in the face of caution from the US and Germany while the war with Russia continues.
Ukraine wants clarity on when and how it can join the alliance after the war with Russia ends, believing that western military protection is the only way it can remain unthreatened by its neighbour. However, it looks instead likely to be offered closer integration with Nato and a stronger political declaration in favour of its membership in principle.
Continue reading...No 10 spokesperson says UK ‘certainly’ wants to support Ukraine on the pathway to joining Nato after reports of rift
Joe Biden has arrived at Downing Street for his first time as president ahead of tomorrow’s Nato summit in Lithuania.
After stepping out of US presidential vehicle “the Beast”, he shared a warm handshake with Rishi Sunak on the doorstep and smiled to press before disappearing behind the door to Number 10.
Continue reading...General secretary Jens Stoltenberg comments made at press conference in Vilnius ahead of Nato summit
Russia’s ministry of defence has published an image of Valery Gerasimov for the first time since the failed Wagner uprising of 24 June. Gerasimov was one of the military leaders that Yevgeney Prigozhin had been railing against for weeks before ordering his mercenaries to march on Moscow.
In a video clip posted to the ministry’s official social media channels, Gerasimov is seen receiving reports about claimed attempts by Ukrainian forces to strike targets in Crimea, Rostov and other regions.
This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.
Continue reading...Erdoğan throws another obstacle in way of agreement by insisting Turkish EU membership be back on table
Joe Biden will try to nail down a four-country deal that would lead to Turkey allowing Sweden into Nato in return for the sale of US F-16 jets to Ankara, on the condition they are not used to threaten Greece.
But Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threw a surprise obstacle in the way of Biden’s plan by announcing he wanted Turkey’s stalled application to join the EU to be included in the package. Speaking at the airport before departing for the Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, the Turkish president said: “First, let’s pave the way for Turkey in the European Union, and then we will pave the way for Sweden just as we did for Finland.”
Continue reading...Russian president’s spokesperson says Yevgeny Prigozhin among 35 of group’s commanders invited to Moscow
The Kremlin has said the Wagner group head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, met Vladimir Putin on 29 June, five days after his mercenary fighters marched towards Moscow in an aborted rebellion.
The Russian president’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that Putin invited 35 senior Wagner commanders including Prigozhin to the Kremlin, adding that the meeting lasted three hours.
Continue reading...Anthony Albanese says an E-7A Wedgetail plane will be dispatched as part of an effort to monitor logistics hubs
The Australian government will send a surveillance aircraft to Germany to help monitor the flow of military and humanitarian supplies into Ukraine.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced the deployment after talks with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in Berlin on Monday, a day before attending a Nato summit in Lithuania where the war in Ukraine will dominate discussions.
Continue reading...Ukrainian forces claim to have registered ‘a definite advance’ on the southern flank of Bakhmut; an investigation suggests Russia has lost 47,000 troops in Ukraine so far
Continue reading...Berlin to buy 100 Boxer heavy weapon carriers made in Brisbane by German manufacturer Rheinmetall
The prime minister has touched down in Europe, confirming a deal worth more than $1bn to sell Australian-made armoured vehicles to Germany before talks at a Nato summit.
Anthony Albanese landed in Berlin on Sunday night, German time, before a scheduled meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday.
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Continue reading...The US and Germany are unwilling to support Ukraine’s membership while the conflict with Russia is ongoing
Ukraine is increasingly pessimistic about taking a significant step forward in joining Nato as leaders of the western military alliance are set to assemble on Tuesday in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.
Kyiv is expected to be offered a package of last-minute “enabling security guarantees” at the two day summit – an assurance from countries such as the US, UK, France and Germany that military aid and training will continue in the long term.
Continue reading...Meeting between US president and UK PM carries more significance than previous visits in light of recent disagreements
Joe Biden’s meeting in Downing Street on Monday with Rishi Sunak – their fifth in the past five months and the sixth since Sunak become prime minister – probably carries more significance than any other.
Never mind that it is essentially a stopover on the way to the Nato summit in Vilnius and being squeezed between tea with King Charles at Windsor Castle and a speech on climate finance.
Continue reading...Meeting partially overshadowed by US president’s decision to send to Ukraine cluster munitions banned in Britain
Joe Biden will meet King Charles for the first time since the coronation, in a fleeting UK visit that will be used by Rishi Sunak and the US president as a “pre-meeting” ahead of joint efforts at this week’s Nato summit.
However, what will be the sixth meeting between Biden and Sunak since Sunak took office in October has been partly overshadowed by the US president’s decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, weapons that are prohibited by 100 countries including the UK, which currently holds the presidency of a convention banning them.
Continue reading...US leader’s three-country tour aims to ‘showcase the president’s leadership on the world stage’ at a key time for the war in Ukraine
Joe Biden heads to Europe on Sunday for a swift tour dominated by the war in Ukraine, with membership of the expanding Nato military alliance and the US approval of cluster munitions likely to be key talking points. His national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the trip would “showcase the president’s leadership on the world stage”.
The US president will arrive at night in London, ahead of meetings with the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and King Charles, and then head to a key Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, before travelling to Helsinki to welcome Nato’s newest member, Finland.
Continue reading...Volodymyr Zelenskiy announces return of Mariupol commanders from Turkey and Rishi Sunak reiterates UK’s ban on cluster munitions
Continue reading...President Zelenskiy flies men back to Ukraine as Russia says Turkey has violated terms
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has returned from a visit to Turkey, bringing home five former commanders of Ukraine’s garrison in Mariupol despite a prisoner exchange last year under which the men were meant to remain in Turkey.
Russia immediately denounced the release of the men. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Turkey had violated the prisoner exchange terms and had failed to inform Moscow.
Continue reading...Prime minister rules out following controversial US move but says he will urge allies to increase other aid
Rishi Sunak has ruled out supplying Ukraine with cluster bombs, saying the UK will not follow the Biden administration’s controversial move and will instead press countries to boost their aid to Kyiv “in other ways”.
On Friday, Joe Biden defended what he said was a “difficult decision” to send widely banned cluster munitions to Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government. Human rights groups criticised the White House and there was unease among some Democrats, with one calling it “unnecessary and a terrible mistake”.
Continue reading...Moscow says men’s return to Ukraine is a ‘direct violation’ of prisoner swap agreement
From a distance of about 3 miles (5km) the drone camera zoomed in on a group of Russian soldiers. Three of them got out of a vehicle, strolled over to a cottage, and disappeared inside. “We won’t hit them yet.
“It’s better to observe,” the drone’s Ukrainian operator – call-sign “Garry” – said. “Once we’ve destroyed them, we’ll move on to the next target.”
Today we are on Snake Island, which will never be conquered by the occupiers, like the whole of Ukraine, because we are the country of the brave.
I want to thank, from here, from this place of victory, each of our soldiers for these 500 days.
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