Ukraine and Russia: what you must know

Russia mentioned it was expelling quite a lot of German diplomats in a tit-for-tat transfer. Germany didn’t instantly affirm any expulsions of its personal, however mentioned the arrival of a Russian authorities airplane in Berlin was linked to the difficulty. Russia’s RIA Novosti information company mentioned Germany had determined to expel greater than 20 Russians.

TANKS, BATTLE

* Russia’s Defence Ministry mentioned Russian forces had captured three extra blocks within the western a part of the Ukrainian metropolis of Bakhmut.

* The US mentioned on Friday it might quickly begin coaching Ukrainian troops to make use of its Abrams tanks as Germany introduced a deal to determine a hub in Poland to restore German Leopard tanks deployed in Ukraine.

DIPLOMACY

* NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg mentioned NATO allies agreed Ukraine would ultimately change into a member and that Ukrainian President Zelenskiy had been invited to attend the Western army alliance’s summit in July.

LEGAL

* The US Air Nationwide Guardsman accused of leaking labeled paperwork concerning the Ukraine battle to a small group of avid gamers had been posting months sooner than beforehand recognized and to a a lot bigger chat group, the New York Instances reported on Friday, citing on-line postings it had seen.

* A Moscow courtroom ordered the arrest in absentia of Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev, whose reporting for the Bellingcat information outlet has angered Russia, RIA information company mentioned.

ECONOMY

* Russia’s richest individuals added $US152 billion ($A227 billion) to their wealth over the previous yr, helped by excessive costs for pure sources – rebounding from the large losses they skilled after the beginning of the warfare in Ukraine, Forbes Russia mentioned.

* A primary batch of Russian fertiliser seized by Latvia final yr is being shipped to Kenya by the UN World Meals Programme, Latvia mentioned. It was not instantly clear if Russia authorized of the cargo, or what impact it might have on the prospect of an extension of the separate Black Sea deal permitting Ukraine to export grain by ship.

* Ukrainian state-owned fuel firm Naftogaz has held talks with Exxon Mobil Corp, Halliburton and Chevron about tasks in Ukraine because the Kyiv authorities tries to lure again international funding into its power sector, the Monetary Instances reported.

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