Russia-Ukraine war live: ‘No plan B’ if Kyiv falls, says Estonian PM

The US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, has tried to refocus attention on China’s threat in the Asia-Pacific, seeking to alleviate concerns that conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have distracted from America’s security commitments in the region.

Mr Austin, who was speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, met his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, on Friday in a bid to cool friction over issues from Taiwan to China’s military activity in the South China Sea.

There has been increasing concern that Washington’s focus on helping Ukraine counter Russia’s invasion and support for Israel’s war in Gaza, while trying to ensure that the conflict does not spread, has taken away attention from the Indo-Pacific.

“Despite these historic clashes in Europe and the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific has remained our priority theatre of operations,” Mr Austin said in his speech, which appeared aimed at underlining the administration’s legacy in the region as President Joe Biden’s first term in office nears its end.

Mr Biden is running for re-election in November against former President Donald Trump.

“Let me be clear: The United States can be secure only if Asia is secure,” Austin said. “That’s why the United States has long maintained our presence in this region.”

Ukrainian air defence shot down 35 of 53 Russian missiles and 46 of 47 Russian drones during the latest attacks across the country, the air force commander has said. As air raid alerts were issued across Ukraine, Poland said its own and other allies’ warplanes were scrambled due to “intense long-range aviation activity of the Russian Federation tonight, related to air and missile strikes on objects located in the territory of Ukraine. All necessary procedures to ensure the safety of Polish airspace have been launched.”

Russia has launched a barrage of missiles and drones on Saturday, damaging energy facilities in five regions across Ukraine, officials said.

Ukraine’s national grid operator Ukrenergo said the attack damaged energy facilities in the eastern Donetsk, southeastern Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, central Kyrovohrad region, and Ivano-Frankivsk region in the west.

“The Russians launched another strike on Ukrainian energy facilities. Since March it is already the sixth massive, complex, missile and drone attack against the civilian energy infrastructure,” Ukrenergo said.

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Since March, Russia has stepped up its bombardments of the Ukrainian power infrastructure, knocking out the bulk of the thermal and hydropower generation, causing blackouts, and pushing electricity imports to record highs.

The European Union has slapped more sanctions on North Korea over its continued efforts to develop ballistic and nuclear missiles and its support for Russia.

The EU Council yesterday said that nine additional individuals and entities will be hit by asset freezes and travel bans. No names were provided.

The move brings the number of North Koreans hit by EU sanctions to 77 and the number of entities, which are often companies or organisations, to 20.

China said it would be “’hard to meet” calls for discussions on the Russia-Ukraine war, citing problems with arrangements that appear to point to Beijing’s strongly pro-Moscow stance.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that “China’s hopes appear to be hard to meet at the meeting.

“There is still a clear gap between the arrangements for the meeting and the demands of the Chinese side, as well as the general expectations of the international community,” Mr Mao said.

A fake news report that appeared on Poland’s national news agency saying that prime minister Donald Tusk was mobilising 200,000 men starting on 1 July was probably the work of Russia-sponsored hackers and was designed to interfere with the upcoming European Parliament election, authorities said.

“Everything indicates that we are dealing with a cyberattack directed from the Russian side,” said Krzysztof Gawkowski, a deputy prime minister who also holds the digital affairs portfolio. “The goal is disinformation ahead of (European Parliament) elections and a paralysis of the society.”

Mr Tusk said on X that it was “Another very dangerous hacker attack which well illustrates Russia’s destabilization strategy on the eve of the European elections. … It is increasingly clear how important these elections are for us.”

Shelling by the Ukrainian military killed five civilians and wounded several others in different districts of the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine yesterday, the Russia-installed leader of the region said.

Denis Pushilin, leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic, proclaimed long before Moscow’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, said on the Telegram messaging app that three people died in the city’s Kirov district.

Two more were killed in the village of Luhanske just outside Donetsk. The assertions could not be independently verified.

Estonia has called upon fellow Nato members to pledge one per cent of their GDP to supporting Ukraine in its war effort, as it raised concerns of an existential threat from Russia if Kyiv falls.

“If every Nato country did this,” Estonia’s prime minister Kaja Kallas told the BBC, “Ukraine would win.

“We have no Plan B for a Russian victory,” she said, “because then we would stop focussing on Plan A.

“We should not give in to pessimism. Victory in Ukraine is not just about territory. If Ukraine joins Nato, even without some territory, then that’s a victory because it will be placed under the Nato umbrella.”

Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war on Friday, each sending back 75 POWs in the first such swap in the past three months, officials said. A few hours earlier and at the same location, the two sides also handed over bodies of their fallen soldiers.

The Ukrainian POWs, including four civilians, were returned on several buses that drove into the northern Sumy region. As they disembarked, they shouted joyfully and called their families to tell them they were home. Some knelt and kissed the ground while many wrapped themselves in yellow-blue flags and hugged one another, breaking into tears. Many appeared emaciated and poorly dressed.

The exchange of the 150 POWs in all was the fourth swap this year and the 52nd since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The United Arab Emirates said it helped negotiate this latest exchange.

The two sides have traded blame for what they say is a slowdown in the swaps.

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin tried to refocus attention on China’s threat in the Pacific, seeking to alleviate concerns that conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have distracted from America’s security commitments in Asia.

Mr Austin, who was speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, met his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, yesterday in a bid to cool friction over issues from Taiwan to China’s military activity in the South China Sea.

There has been increasing concern that Washington’s focus on helping Ukraine counter Russia’s invasion and support for Israel’s war in Gaza, while trying to ensure that the conflict does not spread, has taken away attention from the Indo-Pacific.

“Despite these historic clashes in Europe and the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific has remained our priority theatre of operations,” Mr Austin said in his speech, which appeared aimed at making the administration’s legacy in the region clear as president Joe Biden’s first term in office nears its end.

Mr Biden is running for re-election in November against former president Donald Trump.

“Let me be clear: The United States can be secure only if Asia is secure. That’s why the United States has long maintained our presence in this region.”

Mr Austin underscored the importance of alliances in the region.

“And … peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue and not coercion or conflict. And certainly not through so-called punishment,” Mr Austin said, taking a shot at China.