Ukraine war briefing: Russia can defend itself, says Putin, as North Korea sends more soldiers

Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he was ready to meet with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy but only during a 'final phase' of negotiations 'so as not to sit there and divide things up endlessly, but to put an end to it'. Putin made his customary false accusation that Zelenskyy is not Ukraine's legitimate president.
In a round-table interview in St Petersburg with international news agencies, Putin said on Nato: 'We do not consider any Nato rearmament to be a threat to the Russian Federation, because we are self-sufficient in terms of ensuring our security.' Russia has brought in thousands of North Korean soldiers to help defend Kursk; and has relied on a flood of arms and ammunition from North Korea as well as Iranian drones and missiles to wage war on Ukraine; while also receiving suspected help from China to continue arming a 'special military operation' that Putin thought would be over in three days. The potential collapse of the Iranian regime would be a serious blow to Putin, Russian affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer writes.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to attend the Nato summit in The Hague on 24-25 June, a source in the Ukrainian presidency told the AFP news agency on Wednesday. 'The decision will be made on the eve of the summit. This is just the schedule,' the source said, describing the meeting as 'an opportunity to maintain support and promote a ceasefire'. Nato leaders want to keep the summit brief so as not to aggravate Donald Trump and his short attention span, the Times has reported (£).
Senior Ukrainian officials at the G7 summit in Canada discussed with US counterparts the possibility of supporting defence projects in Ukraine under a joint investment fund set up in May, Kyiv's first deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, said on Wednesday. The talks included the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, Svyrydenko said.
The death toll from Tuesday's Russian attack on Kyiv stood at 28, with more than 130 injured, as the recovery of bodies continued at destroyed apartment blocks.
Russia's defence ministry claimed its forces hit a Ukrainian troop position in the Sumy region with an Iskander missile. The Reuters news agency said it could not independently confirm the battlefield report, or determine exactly when it took place. Ukrainian authorities on Monday reported an Iskander missile strike on Konotop damaged flats in multi-storey buildings with no casualties. Ukraine is trying to drive Russian forces from the Sumy region where border areas are gripped by heavy fighting.
Slovak police have detained eight people, including defence ministry officials, in an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office into possible misuse of €7.4m for military aid to Ukraine at the start of the war in February 2022. Jaroslav Nad, who was Slovakia's defence minister at the time, has called the police action 'theatre'. Slovakia's pro-Russia current prime minister, Robert Fico, has taken sharp policy turns since taking power in 2023 – stopping military aid to Ukraine and making a trip to Moscow that fuelled large and widespread protests in opposition to his stance on Ukraine.

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Ukraine-Russia war latest: One dead and fourteen injured after Moscow launches overnight drone strike on Odesa

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Reuters

34 minutes ago

• Reuters

Russia sentences activist who helped Ukrainians flee war to 22 years in prison

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Reuters

an hour ago

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Indonesia expects to sign free trade deal with Russia-led union this year, minister says

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