Ukraine war latest: Ukraine to let murderers into army as prisoners offered freedom (2024)

Russian state media outlets claimed yesterday that American rapper Kanye West visited Moscow.

Mr West, who goes by "Ye", arrived in the Russian capital on a private visit, Tass citedthe brand team for Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy.

Mr Rubchinskiy is the head of design for the rapper's hyper-successful fashion brand Yeezy.

Mr West himself allegedly posted on the Russian social media website VK on last night, saying: "Hi, Moscow", according to state media RIA Novosti.

His account on VK is not verified and his visit has not been confirmed by Sky News.

The Ukrainian military has noted further fierce fighting near Donetsk villages claimed by Russia.

The Russian defence ministry said yesterday that Spirne and Novooleksandrivka had been captured by troops (see our 6.22am post for more detail).

The eastern Pokrovsk front, which includes Novooleksandrivka, remained the site of the fiercest fighting, with 42 assaults repelled out of a total of 142 battles over the past day, the Ukrainian military said.

It is not clear whether the Ukrainian military is denying that the villages have fallen into Russian hands, however.

Spirne is located in the east of the Donetsk region, near the border with Ukraine's Luhansk region, while Novooleksandrivka lies some 130km further west.

Ukrainian convicts are being offered their freedom in exchange for their service in the war against Russian invaders - including murderers.

Those convicted of rape, sexual assault, murdering two or more people, or crimes against Ukraine's national security aren't eligible.

Journalists from the Associated Press visited a rural penal colony in southeast Ukraine.

They watched as several convicts assembled next to a barbed wire fence to hear an army recruiter offer them a shot at parole.

"You can put an end to this and start a new life," said the recruiter.

"The main thing is your will, because you are going to defend the motherland. You won't succeed at 50%, you have to give 100% of yourself, even 150%."

This comes as Ukraine expands its military draft criteria to cope with mounting losses, battlefield shortages and the need for rest for frontline troops.

And its recruiting efforts have turned, for the first time, to the country's prison population.

Prisoners are able to qualify for their conditional release after an interview, medical exam, and a review of their conviction.

Once screened, paroled inmates are rushed to basic training at camps where they learn how to handle weapons and other combat fundamentals, before joining their units.

More than 3,000 prisoners already have been released on parole and assigned to military units after such recruitment was approved by parliament in a controversial mobilisation bill last month, Ukrainian deputy justice minister Olena Vysotska told AP.

Some 27,000 more inmates could potentially be eligible for the new programme, according to justice ministry estimates.

"A lot of the motivation comes from [inmates] wanting to return home a hero, and not to return home from prison," Ms Vysotska said.

However, Ukrainian officials are keen to draw a distinction between the Russian version of this programme - which saw thousands of convicts join the infamous Wagner mercenary group.

Those convicts-turned-troops were sent to the most brutal battles en masse, but the Ukrainian programme aims to integrate the inmates into regular frontline units.

The country has a prison population of some 42,000, according to figures forwarded by the government to the EU.

These images show members of Ukraine's 110th Colonel-General Marko Bezruchko Separate Mechanised Brigade firing a "vampire" rocket system at Russian troops in Donetsk.

The "Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment", or vampire, is a compact and palletised rocket launching platform.

It's capable of converting a standard pickup truck into a launcher.

Several vampire systems where reported to have been included in the latest US aid package for Ukraine.

In our 6.22am post, we reported that Russia claimed to have captured two more villages in the region over the weekend, although this has not been independently verified.

A Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine's Dnipro has injured seven people, including a 15-year-old boy, according to officials.

Serhiy Lisak, governor of the wider Dnipropetrovsk region, said scores of residential buildings had been damaged and one of those injured had been hospitalised.

Mr Lisak added that a separate Russian drone and artillery attack on the Nikopol district last night damaged five residential buildings, power and gas lines and other infrastructure.

Around seven weeks ago, Russia opened a new front in its war on Ukraine by launching an incursion into the northeastern Kharkiv region.

After reports of stunning early progress amid faltering defences, gains appear to have slowed.

What's the latest?

Much of the recent fighting has centred around the Vovchansk aggregate plant, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

You can see Vovchansk highlighted alongside Lypsti (which we'll be discussing below), in this map...

The US-based thinktank said reports indicate that Ukrainian forces have "encircled Russian forces of unknown strength" at the aggregate plant.

Ukrainian forces are not conducting assaults directly on the plant because it would lead to unnecessary casualties, according to a Ukrainian journalist on the ground.

It's thought at least some element of the Russian 83rd Airborne Brigade is being pinned down inside the plant.

However, "geolocated footage published on 30 June (yesterday) indicates that Russian forces recently advanced within central Vovchansk along Soborna Street", ISW said, suggesting Moscow's troops are still progressing in some respects.

"The combat situation in Vovchansk is dynamic... and it is unclear if Ukrainian forces would currently be able to consistently prevent Russian forces from leaving or reaching positions at the aggregate plant."

Elsewhere, Russian forces recently advanced north of Kharkiv City near Lypsti amid continued fighting in the area yesterday, it added.

Separately, we heard from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday, who claimed that Russian forces were suffering six casualties for every one Ukrainian casualty in Kharkiv.

Russia's air bombardment of the region continues, with emergency servicemembers working to tackle a blaze and treat wounded after a guided bomb attack killed at least one person yesterday.

Ukraine sent scores of drones into Russian border territories in overnight attacks, according to the defence ministry in Moscow.

In a series of morning updates, the ministry saidRussia's air defence systems had destroyed 36 drones atBryansk,Kursk and Belgorod.

Ukraine has not commented.

The governors of the Bryansk and Kursk regions said that there were no injuries or extensive damage caused, although Russian officials rarely share the true extent of Ukrainian attacks.

Moscow claims its forces have seized two further villages east of the city of Donetsk.

In a statement released yesterday, the Russian defence ministry said Spirne and Novooleksandrivka had been captured by troops on the ground.

Ukraine's General Staff noted "heavy fighting" was taking place near the villages, but did not admit to any territorial losses.

Spirne is located in the east of the Donetsk region, near the border with Ukraine's Luhansk region, while Novooleksandrivka lies some 130km further west.

Russia has steadily advanced east of Avdiivka in recent months after capturing the city in February following a bitter stalemate.

Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

We'll be bringing you the latest updates throughout the day, but here's a quick reminder of the key things you need to know as we enter a new week.

Arrest warrants issued

Last Tuesday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russia's former defence minister and its military chief of staff for allegedly attacking civilian targets in Ukraine.

The court accused Sergei Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov of war crimes and the crime against humanity of inhumane acts.

It brought the total number of warrants against senior Russian officials to eight since the start of the war - with Vladimir Putin among them.

Though Kyiv hailed the move, there's no immediate prospect either man will be arrested as Russia is not a member of the ICC, meaning it has no jurisdiction there.

In theory, they'll only face arrest if they choose to set foot in one of the ICC's 124 signatory states.

EU begins membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova

The EU officially launched membership talks with Ukraine last week in what Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as a "historic day" for his country.

There are several stages ahead in Ukraine's years-long effort to join the bloc. Negotiations themselves are also unlikely to begin for several months.

But the launching of official talks sends a message of solidarity to Ukraine beyond the financial support provided by EU nations so far.

Later in the week, the European Union signed a security agreement with Ukraine.

The deal entrenches the EU's commitment to help Ukraine in nine areas of security and defence policy - including arms deliveries, military training, defence industry cooperation and demining.

NATO appoints new chief

NATO appointed Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as its next secretary-eneral.

The outgoing leader of the Netherlands will take charge of the world's biggest security organisation at a critical time for European security.

Putin calls for banned weapons to be produced

Vladimir Putin called for Russia to resume production of intermediate-range missiles that were banned under a now-scrapped treaty with the US.

The Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty was regarded as an arms control landmark when then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US president Ronald Reagan signed it in the 1980s.

It banned ground-based missiles with a range of between 310 and 3,410 miles (500 to 5,500 km).

The US withdrew from the treaty in 2019, citing Russian violations.

"We need to start production of these strike systems and then, based on the actual situation, make decisions about where - if necessary to ensure our safety - to place them," Mr Putin said.

We're pausing our live coverage for now.

You can scroll below to catch up on the latest developments, and we'll be back with our regular coverage tomorrow.