President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said about 20 people were also injured after Russia shelled the town with multiple rocket launchers on Sunday.
- Ukraine has withdrawn its forces from the city of Lysychansk in the Luhansk region, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says fighting is still on the outskirts of the city.
- Russia has claim full control of the Luhansk region.
- According to Zelenskyy’s estimates, at least six people were killed and 20 wounded after the eastern town was hit by Russian shells from multiple rocket launchers.
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Kyiv and criticized the “terrible devastation” in the vibrant suburb of Irpin.
Here are the latest updates:
Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey said that Russian ship carrying Ukrainian grain was seized by Turkish customs
Turkish customs authorities have seized a Russian cargo ship carrying grain that Ukraine says is stolen, Ukraine’s ambassador to Turkey has said.
“We have full cooperation. The ship is currently standing at the entrance to the port, it has been detained by the Turkish customs authorities,” Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar said on Ukrainian state television on Sunday.
Bodnar said that the fate of the ship will be decided by a meeting of investigators on Monday.
Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing grain from territories that Russian forces have occupied since their invasion began in late February. The Kremlin has denied that Russia has stolen any grain from Ukraine.
With brooms, nail guns and shovels, the people of Kharkiv clean up after the attack: Reuters
Armed with brooms, nail guns and shovels, residents of Kharkiv gathered to clean up after several Russian rockets struck at 4 a.m. (01:00 GMT), the head of the military junta Kharkiv region, Oleh Synyehubov, said Sunday.
One of the rockets hit the yard between a school and several private homes. Residents were seen shoveling dirt back into a large crater created by the attack, while others were sweeping broken window glass from floors inside the school and surrounding homes. On Sunday morning, locals were busy repairing roofs and sweeping soot from the school district’s facades.
“The explosion (missile explosion) happened very early in the morning and in 15 minutes everyone was here.” Vita Kuzub, a principal of the school, told Reuters news agency.
The airstrikes that began on Tuesday, June 21, are the worst in weeks in an area where normal life has returned since Ukraine pushed back Moscow’s forces in May.
Russia shelling Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Kharkiv Sunday: Zelenskyy
The Russian military shelled the eastern towns of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, as well as the city of Kharkiv, with multiple rocket launchers and Soviet Smerch missiles, Zelenskyy said. that Russia has enough weapons to destroy every city in Ukraine. .
“In Sloviansk alone, there are six people on the death list and about 20 injured. A dead girl, her name is Yeva. She will turn 10 years old in August of this year,” Zelenskyy said in her nightly speech.
“Russia has enough Smerch, Uragan and Grad systems to destroy city after city in Ukraine. They have now accumulated their greatest firepower in the Donbas,” he added.
The capture of Lysychansk would give the Russians more territory from which to intensify their attacks on Donetsk. In recent weeks, Russian forces are believed to have held about half of Donetsk, but it is unclear where everything is now.
Fighting still on the outskirts of Lysychansk: Zelenskyy
Kyiv’s forces are still fighting Russian troops on the outskirts of the city of Lysychansk “in a very difficult and dangerous situation”, Zelenskyy said after Ukraine withdrew its forces from Lysychansk and the Russian Defense Ministry. declares its army captured Luhansk region.
“We cannot give you a final verdict. Lysychansk is still being fought for,” Zelenskyy told a news conference in Kyiv with the visiting prime minister. He noted that territory can move quickly from side to side.
He acknowledged that Russian forces maintain an advantage in the region and called this a “weakness” of the Ukrainian military.
Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s ongoing coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Read all updates from Sunday, July 3. here.
