Ukraine war latest: Putin to hold talks with Xi Jinping and Erdogan tomorrow - report (2024)

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has said Washington will soon announce an additional £1.8bn in security assistance for Ukraine.

The package will include anti-tank weapons, interceptors and munitions for Patriot and other air defence systems.

It marks a strong response to pleas from Kyiv for help in battling Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk region.

On Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had dropped more than 800 powerful glide bombs in Ukraine in the last week alone.

He urged national leaders to relax restrictions on the use of Western weapons to strike military targets inside Russia, adding that Ukraine needed the "necessary means to destroy the carriers of these bombs, including Russian combat aircraft, wherever they are".

Vladimir Putin will hold meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tomorrow during a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, Russian state news agency TASS reports.

Mr Putin last met Mr Xi in May when he visited China on his first foreign trip after being inaugurated for a fifth term as Russian president.

The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defence organisation established by China and Russia in 2001.

The other full members are India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Turkey, though not a member, often takes part in its meetings as a "dialogue partner".

Ukraine is expected to get "good news" in its quest for more air defence systems at a NATO summit in Washington next week, a senior US state department official has said.

The official told Reuters: "We hope we'll be able to get to the summit and make some new announcements on air defence.

"You've heard that the Ukrainians are keen to secure additional Patriots or similar systems. And I think we'll have some additional good news for them on that front."

The official did not provide any further details.

For context: Ukrainian officials have been urging their allies for months to supply more air defence systems to defend against frequent missile and drone attacks from Russian forces.

The upcoming NATO summit in Washington, which will be held from 9-11 July, is intended in part to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the military alliance.

Four settlements in the Russian region of Belgorod have been attacked by Ukrainian drones, the region's governor has said.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, reporting the news on his Telegram channel, said there were no civilian casualties according to preliminary data.

"In the Graivoron urban district, in the city of Graivoron, as a result of a drone crash with subsequent detonation, a parked passenger car caught fire," he wrote.

"Fire crews quickly extinguished the source of the fire. In the village of Bezymeno, five private houses were destroyed after several attacks."

Ukraine carried out a "destructive strike" on a Russian ammunition depot in Crimea yesterday, according to the country's air force commander.

It comes following Russia's claims that they managed to destroy five Ukrainian SU-27 fighter jets today on an airfield in the Poltava region.

Ukraine's air force commander, MykolaOleshchuk, said on Telegram: "Once again, Ukrainian aircraft 'destroyed' by enemypropaganda continue to successfully perform combat missions."

Mr Oleshchuk did not specify the exact location of the ammunition depot targeted, but posted avideo from a local Ukraine-linked Telegram channel allegedly showing the strike on Balaklava, nearSevastopol.

The video's authenticity has not been independently verified by Sky News.

The Kremlin has said that an upcoming visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Moscow was "very important".

The final details of the visit are being worked out, though Mr Modi, who recently won a third term in office, is expected to visit between 8-9 July.

Regional and global security are likely to be on the agenda for discussions, as will the trade partnership between the two countries.

India is the world's third-largest crude consumer and a major buyer of Russian oil, increasing its purchase more than 20 times compared with 2021 as Russia discounts its barrels amid Western energy restrictions.

"I can only confirm once again that the visit is in thefinal stage of preparation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskovtold reporters.

"A very important visit."

Mr Peskov added that both Mr Modi and Vladimir Putin had a "very trusting" relationship and said that regional security and global securityissues were always high on the agenda of such meetings.

"In addition, our trade and economic cooperation is alsoone of the main issues that is being discussed, the most diverseareas of cooperation that we intend to develop, for which thereis mutual political will," he said.

Russia can't comment on Donald Trump's idea of ending the conflict in Ukraine as it has not seen any proposals, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

The former president said last week that if he won the upcoming US election, he would have the war settled before he took office in January 2025.

"This is not Trump's first statement on this, and he hasmade statements along these lines before," Mr Peskov said.

"Without knowing theessence of what this is about, we cannot comment on it."

During last week's debate with US President Joe Biden, Trump claimed that if he won the upcoming election he would have the war settled before he took office.

"As far as Russia and Ukraine, if we had a real president, a president... that was respected by Putin... he would have never invaded Ukraine," Trump said.

Mr Biden responded: "Go ahead, let Putin go in and control Ukraine, and then move on to Poland and other places. See what happens then. He has no idea what the hell he's talking about."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has told Volodymyr Zelenskyy that a ceasefire in Ukraine could help speed up peace negotiations with Russia.

The Hungarian PM - who is one of the most supportive European leaders of Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia - is in Kyiv today for talks with Mr Zelenskyy.

At a joint media briefing, Mr Orban suggested to Ukraine's president that a quick ceasefire in Ukraine could accelerate peace talks with Russia.

Mr Orban also said that Hungary would like to have much better bilateral relations with Ukraine and his country was ready to take part in the modernisation of Ukraine's economy.

He said that Hungary would be at Ukraine's disposal in its current role as rotating president of the EU Council, stressing that peace was important for all of Europe.

For context:Vladimir Putin set out what he said were Russia's preconditions for starting peace talks with Ukraine last month.

He said Russia would be ready for such talks "tomorrow" if Ukrainian troops withdraw from the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions and if Ukraine gave up its plans to join NATO.

If Ukraine agreed to those conditions, he said Russia would cease fire and start negotiations.

Mr Zelenskyy dismissed the ceasefire offer as "nothing new" and likened it to Adolf Hitler's promises before the Second World War.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been welcomed in Kyiv by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Mr Orban is visiting Ukraine for the first time since the full-scale invasion of Russia began in February 2022.

The main topic of the meeting will be the opportunity for building peace as Ukraine fights off Russia's invasion, according to Mr Orban's press chief.

Hungary is among the most supportive European nations of Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia.

Mr Orban has consistently opposed sanctions and frustrated the European Union and NATO over aid for Ukraine and the accession of the country and other neighbours to the alliance.

Read more on Mr Orban's visit to Ukraine in our 10.12am post.

Ukrainian President VolodymyrZelenskyy has congratulated outgoing Dutch Prime MinisterMark Rutte on his appointment as secretary general of NATO.

Speaking to the former Dutch leader in a call on Tuesday, Mr Zelenskyy also thanked Mr Rutte for his support of Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion.

In a post on Telegram, Mr Zelenskyy said: "I sincerely thanked him for everything that he personally, his government and the people of the Netherlands have done for Ukraine.

"All timely and large-scale defence, humanitarian and political support. We will continue to stay in touch with the new secretary general of NATO."