Key points
- No reason for West to worry about Russian warships in Cuba, Kremlin insists
- Russia practises electronic missile launches during tactical nuclear drills
- Sunak to set out £240m Ukraine aid package as G7 to focus on Russia
- NATO to crack down on Russian spies after sabotage
- Big picture:Everything you need to know about the war right now
- Your questions answered:Are there any signs of an underground resistance in Russia?
- Live reporting by Ollie Cooperand Katie Williams
Russia slowing down in Kharkiv area after lifting of arms restrictions, says Austin
Russia's advance in the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv area is slowing and the frontline stabilising after a number of frinedly countries lifted restrictions on Kyiv's use of donated weapons on Russian territory, the American defence secretary has said.
Here's the current battlefield situation in the region:
"What I see is a slowing of the Russians' advance and a
stabilising of that particular piece of the front," Lloyd Austin said on the sidelines of a NATO defence ministers' meeting in Belgium
"Now, I think we'll see incremental gains - and we'll see puts and takes -going forward," he added.
"But again, a couple of weeks ago, there was concern that we would see a significant breakthrough on the part of the Russians, I don't think we'll see that going forward."
A reminder of the wider battlefield situation:
Russia warns France it is getting too deeply involved in conflict
France is raising the risk of a direct clash with Russia by becoming more deeply involved in the Ukraine war, the Russian foreign ministry has said.
Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said French citizens needed to be aware of what they were being pulled into.
"France is becoming deeply involved in the armed conflict in Ukraine, consistently shifting any notion of assistance towards undermining the situation, and, of course, bringing closer the possibility of a direct confrontation with our country. And this is fraught with unpredictable consequences for security not only in Europe but also in the world," she said.
France has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine throughout the conflict.
President Emmanuel Macron recently pledged to supply Kyiv with French Mirage fighter jets. He also caused a stir several months ago when he suggested that the prospect of Western boots on the ground in Ukraine should not be ruled out.
Ms Zakharova warned in the same briefing that the West as a whole was escalating the conflict by allowing Kyiv to strike deep inside Russia.
Gershkovich to stand trial in Russia 'for spying for the CIA'
Russian prosecutors have finally sent the case of detained US reporter Evan Gershkovich to court - concluding that he collected information for the CIA about a Russian tank factory.
He has seen his pre-trial detention in Moscow extended multiple times since his arrest in March last year.
A statement from Russia's general prosecutor said it had approved the indictment and that Gershkovich's criminal case would be heard by a court in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg - where the Wall Street Journal reporter was originally in March last year.
Mr Gershkovich, the WSJ and the US government all vehemently deny the charges against him.
"The investigation has established and confirmed with documentary evidence that Gershkovich, an American journalist for the Wall Street Journal, on the instructions of the CIA, collected secret information in the Sverdlovsk region in March 2023 about the activities of the defence plant NPK Uralvagonzavod JSC on the production and repair of military equipment," the prosecutors' statement said.
"Gershkovich carried out the illegal actions using painstaking conspiratorial methods," it added.
Zelenskyy arrives at G7 summit - as it opens with deal to use frozen Russian assets for Kyiv
Volodymyr Zelenskyy received a warm welcome from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as he arrived at the G7 summit in Italy'sBorgo Egnazia this afternoon.
World leaders are gathering to discuss a range of issues - with the war in Ukraine set to feature prominently during the three-day event.
The summit opened today with an agreement reached on a US proposal to support a $50bn (£39.1bn) loan to Kyiv using frozen Russian assets as collateral.
It's among a series of arrangement the Ukrainian leader wants established during the summit. He is due to sign a separate bilateral security agreement with Joe Biden later.
No reason for West to worry about Russian warships in Cuba, Kremlin insists
The Kremlin has insisted that Russian warships which have arrived in Cuba for an exercise are no threat.
It comes as the Russian foreign ministry confirms the two countries' foreign ministers will hold talks later today.
A Russian navy frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine sailed into Havana harbour yesterday under the watchful eye of the US - which says they do not pose a threat but point to a show of force by Moscow.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said yesterday that there was no indication that Russia was using the ships to transfer missiles to Cuba.
Kremlinspokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that naval exercises were common.
"This is a normal practice for all states, includingsuch a large maritime power as Russia," he told reporters."So we don't see any reason to worry in this case."
Pope Francis and Zelenskyy to meet tomorrow
Pope Francis is set to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the G7 summit in Italy tomorrow.
The pope will also meet other world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his visit to Borgo Egnazia.
He will be also become the first pope in history to address a G7 summit.
Pope Francis and Mr Zelenskyy have met previously - but the Catholic Church head sparked criticism from Kyiv earlier in the year when he said Ukraine should have the "courage of the white flag" to negotiate an end to the war with Russia.
The Ukrainian president dismissed the comments as "virtual mediation" and the Vatican backtracked days later, calling Moscow's invasion "unjust".
Starmer pledges continued British support for Ukraine
The candidate considered most likely to be Britain's next prime minister has promised to uphold the UK's commitment to funding Ukraine.
In his party's manifesto released today, Labour's Sir Keir Starmer said: "With Labour, the UK's military, financial, diplomatic and political support for Ukraine will remain steadfast.
"Labour will support efforts to hold Putin's Russia to account for its illegal war, backing calls for a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression.
"We will work with our allies to enable the seizure and repurposing of frozen Russian state assets to support Ukraine.
"And we will play a leading role in providing Ukraine with a clear path to NATO membership."
UK issues 50 new sanctions on Russia
The UK has announced 50 new sanctions against Russia, aimed at degrading Moscow's war machine.
New targets include ships in Vladimir Putin's shadow fleet, institutions at the heart of Russia’s financial system and suppliers supporting Moscow's military production.
"Today's sanctions aim to disrupt and increase the costs of Russia’s efforts to bypass UK and G7 sanctions through its shadow fleet," a statement from Number 10 read, referencing Russia's capability to still sell its crude oil despite previous bans.
"These new sanctions also target suppliers of munitions, machine tools, microelectronics, and logistics to Russia’s military, including entities based in China, Israel, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey, along with ships which transport military goods from North Korea to Russia."
Watch: Russia practises electronic missile launch
Earlier today we reported on how Russia were practising the electronic launch of missiles during tactical nuclear drills.
Vladimir Putin ordered the drills after what Russia said were threats from the West, including suggestions from officials that Ukraine would be allowed to strike deep into Russian territory with Western-supplied weapons.
Footage released by the defence ministry showed Russian sailors focusing on a dummy target and then counting down to launch, including pressing the "launch" button.
China lobbying for alternative Ukraine peace plan
China is lobbying developing nations to join its alternative peace plan for Ukraine ahead of this weekend's peace summit in Switzerland.
As many as 90 states and organisations have registered to take part in this weekend's summit in Lucerne, which Russia was not invited to.
China, which has close ties to Russia, says it will not attend the conference because it does not meet Beijing's requirements, including the participation of Russia.
Bejing-based diplomats told Reuters that China had not overtly criticised the Swiss summit or directly asked countries to abstain.
One diplomat reportedly said Beijing had told developing nations the meeting would prolong the war, while two diplomats with direct knowledge of the matter said China had been telling Western nations that many developing countries were aligned with its views on the conference.
Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said last week: "China sincerely hopes that a peace conference will not turn into a platform used to create bloc confrontation. Not attending it does not mean not supporting peace."
