Ukraine war update: Moscow claims territorial gains in key area; Ukraine ‘sends dozens of drones’ to attack Russian border regions | World news

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

We’ll bring you the latest information throughout the day, but here’s a quick reminder of the most important things you need to know as you start a new week.

Arrest warrants issued

Last Tuesday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against the former Russian Defense Minister and the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian military for alleged attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine.

The court accused Sergei Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov of war crimes and inhuman acts through crimes against humanity.

This brings the number of arrest warrants against high-ranking Russian politicians since the beginning of the war to eight – including the infamous case of Vladimir Putin.

Although Kyiv welcomed the move, there is no immediate prospect of arresting either man, as Russia is not a member of the International Criminal Court and therefore has no jurisdiction there.

In theory, they only face arrest if they enter one of the 124 signatory states to the ICC.

EU begins accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova

Also on Tuesday, the EU officially began accession negotiations with Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy described this as a “historic day” for his country.

Olga Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, will lead the Ukrainian delegation at a conference in Luxembourg marking the official opening of the long-awaited talks.

Ukraine still has several stages ahead of it in its years-long efforts to join the Union, and membership could still be years away.

The negotiations themselves are also not expected to begin for several months.

But the start of official talks is a sign of solidarity with Ukraine that goes beyond the financial support provided so far by EU states.

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

The agreement reaffirms the EU’s commitment to assist Ukraine in nine areas of security and defence policy, including arms supplies, military training, defence industry cooperation and mine clearance.

Prisoner exchange

Russia and Ukraine have each released 90 prisoners thanks to an agreement brokered by the United Arab Emirates.

“We remember all our people in Russian captivity. We continue our work for the release of all. We seek the truth about everyone who may be held by the enemy,” said Volodymyr Zelensky.

Thanks to the support of the Vatican, another ten Ukrainians were released from Russian prisons over the weekend.

Some of the prisoners have been held since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Nato appoints new chief

NATO has appointed Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as its next Secretary General.

The outgoing Dutch head of government takes over the leadership of the world’s largest security organization at a critical time for European security.

Mr Rutte’s appointment was sealed by NATO ambassadors during a meeting at the 32-nation alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.

Joe Biden and his counterparts will officially welcome him to their table at a summit in Washington from July 9 to 11.

Putin demands production of banned weapons

Vladimir Putin called on Russia to resume production of medium-range missiles, which were banned under a now-abrogated treaty with the United States.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) was considered a milestone in arms control 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 500 and 5,500 kilometers.

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

“We need to start producing these attack systems and then, based on the actual situation, make decisions about where to deploy them if necessary to ensure our security,” Putin said.