Ukraine war latest: Kyiv warns Belarus of 500 targets if Lukashenko joins war

Russian President Vladimir Putin will oversee ⁠the signing of a deal outlining ⁠parameters for ​Russian ⁠development of a ⁠nuclear energy ​plant ⁠and a ‌Russian state mortgage when he ‌visits Kazakhstan this ‌week, the Kremlin ⁠mentioned on Tuesday.

He may even focus on a rise in transshipment of Russian oil ‌to China ​through ‌Kazakhstan, Kremlin ⁠aide Yury ⁠Ushakov advised reporters.

The Czech Republic’s ammunition initiative for Ukraine has secured contracts to ship round a million large-calibre rounds in 2026, the defence ministry mentioned.

The scheme equipped about 1.5 million rounds in 2024 and 1.8 million in 2025, regardless of fears it might be scrapped after prime minister Andrej Babis took workplace with anti-Ukrainian coalition companions.

The Czech president, Petr Pavel, has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine and its defence towards Russian aggression.

Backed by nations together with Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, the initiative matches donor funding with Czech arms merchants sourcing ammunition globally.

Prague mentioned practically €1bn in financing has already been secured this 12 months, together with funds from earnings generated by frozen Russian property.

Over 50 nations have joined in condemning Russia’s large-scale assault on Ukraine on Saturday on the UN, saying Moscow had reached “a brand new and appalling stage of aggression” by intensifying strikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure.

In a joint assertion delivered on Tuesday by Ukraine’s everlasting consultant to the United Nations, ambassador Andrii Melnyk, the nations warned that Russia’s repeated use of nuclear-capable missiles constituted an “unacceptable escalation”.

The signatories included the European Union and a broad group of allied states, together with the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, Germany, France, Poland and the Baltic states.

“For the town of Kyiv, this was some of the devastating assaults recorded up to now,” the assertion mentioned, referring to the in a single day barrage on 23–24 Might, when Russian forces launched a whole bunch of aerial weapons, together with ballistic and cruise missiles in addition to drones, towards Ukrainian cities and areas.

Russia mentioned on Monday it had launched a marketing campaign of “systematic” strikes on Kyiv concentrating on the Ukrainian capital’s “decision-making centres”.

It urged overseas residents, diplomats and residents to keep away from public buildings and go away the town “as quickly as doable”.

Ukraine mentioned the threats by Russia had been “nothing in need of shameless blackmail” and urged allies to disregard it – a name they’ve largely heeded.

With its warning to overseas nationals, Moscow is “successfully admitting that its shelling is aimed, amongst different issues, at intimidating the overseas diplomatic corps”, it mentioned.

The Russian authorities is asking its prime banks to shoot down Ukrainian drones themselves, as Moscow struggles to defend key websites from assaults.

The Russian parliament has handed a brand new regulation permitting banks, together with its largest, Sberbank, and different monetary establishments to function defence techniques, Reuters reported.

It additionally asks banks to arm employees towards drones with out particular forces involvement.

Anatoly Aksakov, the pinnacle of the State Duma’s monetary committee, mentioned the establishments will deal with the fee themselves

Alexander Shokhin, the pinnacle of Russia’s most influential enterprise foyer, advised Vladimir Putin on Monday that corporations had been prepared to buy heavier weapons and digital warfare techniques to guard themselves from drone assaults.

Russia has handed Kazakhstan ​4 Amur tigers, two of them cubs, to assist the nation restore its numbers of the animals, president Vladimir Putin mentioned in an article ⁠issued forward of his go to to the Central Asian nation this week.

Wealthy in vitality assets and significant minerals, Kazakhstan shares a border with Russia and is a detailed ally of Moscow in a area the place China and america are additionally increasing their affect.

The 4 animals captured ⁠in Russia’s far japanese area of Khabarovsk had been flown ​to ⁠Kazakhstan, Putin mentioned on ‌the Kremlin’s web site on Tuesday, and are quickly to be launched into the wild.

Putin isn’t any stranger to utilizing animals to advance diplomatic efforts.

In 2022, Russia despatched 30 gray thoroughbred horses to North Korea, and the 2 nations have steadily boosted ties because the invasion of Ukraine that 12 months.

North Korean chief Kim Jong Un is a eager horseman.

Kazakhstan, which is making an attempt to revive the tiger inhabitants in Central Asia, sees the Amur tiger as a detailed relative of the extinct Caspian tiger.

The Russian gesture boosts the nation’s tally of the animals beforehand despatched by the Netherlands.

On his go to, Putin will oversee ‌the signing of a ⁠deal for a nuclear energy challenge in Kazakhstan, ⁠which at the moment has no nuclear energy technology, and can focus on efforts ‌to spice up the ​transit of Russian oil to ‌China by way of the nation, ​the Kremlin has mentioned.

There have been no bulletins of diplomatic departures from Kyiv as of Tuesday afternoon.

The European Union, French and Polish delegations publicly mentioned that they might not go away.

The extent of safety threats posed by Russia to Kyiv and different Ukrainian cities “stays the identical as in earlier years and months,” Ukraine’s overseas ministry mentioned in a press release late final night time.

Russia had urged overseas residents, together with members of diplomatic missions, to go away the Ukrainian capital as shortly as doable and advised residents to keep away from army and authorities amenities.

It mentioned that “systemic strikes” on Kyiv had been being ready.

Russia has repeatedly launched missile and drone assaults on the capital for greater than 4 years, it identified, including that Ukraine was ready to help diplomatic missions looking for further safety measures.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky met with the Belarusian opposition chief Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya as we speak and the 2 leaders mentioned Russia’s makes an attempt to attract Belarus deeper into the battle towards Ukraine.

“Ukraine has ‌by no means been a menace to ‌Belarus. And ‌we’re grateful to these Belarusians ⁠who stand with Ukraine – now, when the destiny of each our independence and ‌the independence of ​each nation ‌that borders ⁠Russia is ⁠being determined,” Zelensky ‌mentioned ​on X after ‌the assembly.

Zelensky mentioned Ukraine helps the “aspiration of the Belarusian individuals to free themselves from Russian interference”.

“We worth each expression of assist from Belarusians for a free Ukraine, and we all know that the day will come when there’ll as soon as once more be good-neighborly relations between our states – primarily based on the true independence of each Ukraine and Belarus from Moscow,” he mentioned, sharing a video of their assembly.

Russian corporations are able to finance the acquisition of heavier weapons and digital techniques to defend their vegetation from drone assaults, Alexander Shokhin, head ⁠of Russia’s strongest enterprise ​foyer, ⁠has advised President Vladimir Putin in a gathering.

In accordance with remarks posted on the Kremlin’s official web site, Shokhin mentioned the businesses wanted “not solely ⁠gentle weapons of seven.62 caliber, but in addition bigger ones, together with numerous digital warfare techniques, laser installations and different calibers”.

“Companies are able to finance all this work, however a mechanism is required the place financing schemes are clear. This might be a fund of some kind or one other type of focused financing,” Shokhin – head ‌of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs – was ​quoted saying.