headlines: Putin says Russia is only just getting started in Ukraine – as it happened
articles: From 7 Jul 2022 18.14 Putin warns Russia is just getting started in Ukraine Vladimir Putin has said “everyone should know that” Russia was just getting started in Ukraine and has not “started anything yet in earnest”. Any prospects for peace negotiations will grow dimmer the longer the conflict dragged on, the Russian leader said in a hawkish speech to parliamentary leaders. He said if the west wanted to defeat Russia on the battlefield, it was welcome to try.
  
  Putin said: Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say, let them try. We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is heading towards this. He added: Everyone should know that, by and large, we haven’t started anything yet in earnest. At the same time, we don’t reject peace talks. But those who reject them should know that the further it goes, the harder it will be for them to negotiate with us.
  
  Updated at 18.36 BST
  
  7 Jul 2022 00.51 Russia taking 'operational pause', analysts say Foreign analysts say Russia may be temporarily easing its offensive in eastern Ukraine as the Russian military attempts to reassemble its forces for a new assault. Russian forces made no claimed or assessed territorial gains in Ukraine on Wednesday “for the first time in 133 days of war,” according to the Institute for the Study of War. The Washington-based think tank suggested Moscow may be taking an “operational pause,” but said that does not entail “the complete cessation of active hostilities.” Russian forces will likely confine themselves to relatively small-scale offensive actions as they attempt to set conditions for more significant offensive operations” and rebuild the necessary combat power, the institute said. Russia’s Defence Ministry seemed to confirm that assessment, saying in a statement Thursday that Russian soldiers had been given time to rest. “The units that performed combat missions ... are taking measures to recover their combat capabilities. The servicemen are given the opportunity to rest, receive letters and parcels from home,” read the statement, quoted by Russian state news agency Tass.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  7 Jul 2022 00.29 UN warns of ‘looming hunger catastrophe’ due to Russian blockade Patrick Wintour A looming hunger catastrophe is set to explode over the next two years, creating the risk of unprecedented global political pressure, the director of the UN World Food Programme has warned. Calling for short- and long-term reforms – including an urgent lifting of the blockade on 25m tonnes of Ukrainian grain trapped by a Russian blockade – Patrick Beasley said the current food affordability crisis is likely to turn into an even more dangerous food availability crisis next year unless solutions are found. The number of people classed as “acutely food insecure” by the UN before the Covid crisis was 130 million, but after Covid this number rose to 276 million. Writing a preface to a new pamphlet from the Blair Institute on the looming hunger crisis, Beasley says: “This number has increased to 345 million due to the Ukraine crisis. And a staggering 50 million people in 45 countries are now just one step from famine. “The international community must act to stop this looming hunger catastrophe in its tracks – or these numbers will explode. “Global food markets have been plunged into turmoil, with soaring prices, export bans and shortages of basic foodstuffs spreading far from Ukraine’s borders. Nations across Africa, the Middle East, Asia and even Latin America are feeling the heat from this conflict.” UN warns of ‘looming hunger catastrophe’ due to Russian blockade Read more
  
  
  
  7 Jul 2022 00.13 Russian prosecutors have called for prison sentences for a prominent opposition activist and for a Moscow city council member who opposes the invasion of Ukraine. Prosecutors asked that Andrei Pivovarov, former head of the Open Russia organisation, be given a five-year sentence for “directing an undesirable organisation,” according to his lawyer, Sergei Badamshin, as reported by the Associated Press. Pivovarov was pulled off a Warsaw-bound plane at St. Petersburg’s airport just before takeoff in May 2021. He was taken to the southern city of Krasnodar, where he was accused of supporting a local candidate on behalf of an “undesirable” organisation. The criminal charge is based on a his social media posts supporting independent candidates in Krasnodar’s municipal elections, according to AP. A Russian prosecutor has also asked for a seven-year sentence for a Moscow city council member who spoke up against Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Alexei Gorinov, who was detained in April, is the first Russian elected representative to face prison for spreading “knowingly false information” about the Russian army, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Gorinov criticised Moscow’s military actions in Ukraine at a city council meeting in March, a recording of which is now available on YouTube. The video shows him voicing skepticism over a planned children’s art competition in his constituency while “every day children are dying” in Ukraine. At a court hearing last month, Gorinov was photographed holding up a sign saying “I am against the war” as he sat in the defendant’s cage.
  
  
  
  7 Jul 2022 23.33 Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, has said the economic sanctions imposed by the west against Russia have not worked. “The economic barriers that the United States and Europe imposed against Russia did not work,” Bolsonaro told supporters on Thursday, adding that his position towards Putin and the war “was one of balance.” Bolsonaro said that stance had allowed him to acquire fertilisers, a key input for Brazil’s vast agricultural sector, from Russia. He also said Russia shared Brazil’s concerns over “sovereignty” of the Amazon. Earlier on Thursday, Putin said it was obvious that western sanctions were creating difficulties, “but not at all what the initiators of the economic blitzkrieg against Russia were counting on.”
  
  
  
  7 Jul 2022 23.02 Summary of the day so far It’s 1am in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand: A Reuters exclusive report has revealed that Ukraine opposes Canada’s handing over a turbine to Russia’s Gazprom that Moscow says is critical for supplying natural gas to Germany. According to a Ukrainian energy ministry source, Ukraine believes that doing so would defy sanctions against Russia.
  
  According to a Ukrainian energy ministry source, Ukraine believes that doing so would defy sanctions against Russia. Images have emerged of fields of grain in Ukraine set on fire allegedly by Russian forces. According to Ukrainian serviceman Ihor Lutsenko, the “flame sometimes reaches a height of 5 metres, a strip of hundreds of metres in width. Black smoke flies up and spreads across the sky for many kilometers.” The dry stalks of grain are set ablaze “like matches” from incendiary munitions, he added.
  
  According to Ukrainian serviceman Ihor Lutsenko, the “flame sometimes reaches a height of 5 metres, a strip of hundreds of metres in width. Black smoke flies up and spreads across the sky for many kilometers.” The dry stalks of grain are set ablaze “like matches” from incendiary munitions, he added. Canada will send 39 General Dynamics-made armored vehicles to Ukraine later this summer in attempts to assist the war-torn country in its fight against Russian forces. On Thursday, Canadian defense minister Anita Anand said that the armored vehicles deal is on top of a separate multi-billion dollar contract for 260 vehicles for the Canadian armed forces which was negotiated with General Dynamics Land Systems in 2019.
  
  On Thursday, Canadian defense minister Anita Anand said that the armored vehicles deal is on top of a separate multi-billion dollar contract for 260 vehicles for the Canadian armed forces which was negotiated with General Dynamics Land Systems in 2019. A Russian prosecutor on Thursday requested a seven-year prison term for a Moscow city councillor accused of criticising Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. Alexei Gorinov, a 60-year-old lawyer by training, was arrested in late April for spreading “knowingly false information” about the Russian army and is now on trial. Gorinov is the first elected member of the opposition to face jail for criticising Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine.
  
  Alexei Gorinov, a 60-year-old lawyer by training, was arrested in late April for spreading “knowingly false information” about the Russian army and is now on trial. Gorinov is the first elected member of the opposition to face jail for criticising Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine. Andriy Zagorodnyuk - Ukraine’s former defence minister - says Russian claims that Ukrainian servicemen were killed on Snake Island are untrue. Russia’s defence ministry said on Thursday it had eliminated Ukrainian troops who installed a huge national flag on the island after regaining control.
  
  
  
  Russia’s defence ministry said on Thursday it had eliminated Ukrainian troops who installed a huge national flag on the island after regaining control. The European parliament has endorsed a proposal that allows Ukrainian refugees to continue using their driver’s license without needing to switch it out for a European driver’s license. The European Union council will now formally adopt the draft rules.
  
  Updated at 23.05 BST
  
  7 Jul 2022 22.41 A Reuters exclusive report has revealed that Ukraine opposes Canada’s handing over a turbine to Russia’s Gazprom that Moscow says is critical for supplying natural gas to Germany. According to a Ukrainian energy ministry source, Ukraine believes that doing so would defy sanctions against Russia. A senior Ukrainian energy ministry source told Reuters that Ukraine opposed the move and that its energy minister had lobbied Canada in June not to hand over the turbine being serviced by Germany’s Siemens Energy in Canada. “The sanctions forbid the transfer of any equipment related to gas,” the energy ministry source said. “If, God forbid, this decision is approved, we will undoubtedly appeal to our European colleagues that their approach must be reassesed. Because if countries do not follow decisions they have agreed about sanctions, how can we talk about solidarity?”
  
  
  
  7 Jul 2022 22.19 Images have emerged of fields of grain in Ukraine set on fire allegedly by Russian forces, Euromaidan Press reports. According to Ukrainian serviceman Ihor Lutsenko, the “flame sometimes reaches a height of 5 meters, a strip of hundreds of meters in width. Black smoke flies up and spreads across the sky for many kilometers.” The dry stalks of grain are set ablaze “like matches” from incendiary munitions, he added. Russians purposefully burn Ukrainian grain
  
  
  
  The dry stalks go up in fire "like matches" from incendiary munitions
  
  
  
  The fire advances like a wall, as a single front; sometimes it reaches 5 m in height, 100's of meters in length.
  
  📷 Serviceman Ihor Lutsenko https://t.co/o4XQNLpCd2 pic.twitter.com/oxuqhPi697 — Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) July 7, 2022
  
  
  
  7 Jul 2022 21.44 Canada will send 39 General Dynamics-made armored vehicles to Ukraine later this summer in attempts to assist the war-torn country in its fight against Russian forces. On Thursday, Canadian defense minister Anita Anand said that the armored vehicles deal is on top of a separate multi-billion dollar contract for 260 vehicles for the Canadian armed forces which was negotiated with General Dynamics Land Systems in 2019. “Those 39 vehicles will begin to ship this summer, and the remaining 360 will continue to be delivered over the next number of months as well,” she said. The vehicles can be used as ambulances, maintenance and recovery vehicles, in addition to carrying troops.
  
  
  
  7 Jul 2022 20.57 A Russian prosecutor on Thursday requested a seven-year prison term for a Moscow city councillor accused of criticising Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. Agence France-Presse reports: Alexei Gorinov, a 60-year-old lawyer by training, was arrested in late April for spreading “knowingly false information” about the Russian army and is now on trial. Gorinov is the first elected member of the opposition to face jail for criticising Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine. The charges come under new legislation that allows prison time for discrediting the Russian military and is part of Moscow’s increasing efforts to snuff out the last vestiges of dissent. Speaking in Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court, the prosecutor accused Gorinov of undermining the “authority of the armed forces” and being guided by “political hatred,” an AFP journalist said. Gorinov spoke up against Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine during a work meeting in March that was recorded on video and is available on YouTube. During his speech, he questioned plans for an art competition for children in his constituency while “every day children are dying” in Ukraine. On Thursday, he once again spoke out against what the Kremlin has termed a “special military operation”. “No matter what you call it, war is the dirtiest, vilest thing there is,” he said. “Why are many of my compatriots feeling ashamed and guilty? Why did so many leave?” he added, referring to an exodus of liberal-minded Russians from the country. Several dozen people came out to support Gorinov, including his wife and sister. Dmitry Fyodorov, a 50-year-old programmer, said that the charges against Gorinov were “unlawful” and described him as a “kind man and a good lawyer”. Russian society is reeling from a historic crackdown on dissent which has intensified since President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24. Criticism of Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine has essentially been banned in the country. In March, Russia passed into law prison sentences of up to 15 years for spreading false information aimed at discrediting its military forces. On Wednesday, parliament introduced harsh prison terms for calls to act against national security and criminal liability for maintaining “confidential” cooperation with foreigners.
  
  
  
  7 Jul 2022 20.15 Luke Harding Andriy Zagorodnyuk – Ukraine’s former defence minister – says Russian claims that Ukrainian servicemen were killed on Snake Island are untrue. Russia’s defence ministry said on Thursday it had eliminated Ukrainian troops who installed a huge national flag on the island after regaining control. “I spoke to these guys. They say they all came back intact,” Zagorodnyuk told the Guardian. According to a report by Ukrainskaya Pravda, combat swimmers from the 73rd marine centre of Ukraine’s special forces took part in the operation. They set off for the island during the night using underwater vehicles. An advance team surveyed the coastal zone for mines and gave a signal for boats from the main group to approach, the newspaper said. Engineers clambered on the island, also known as Zmiiny, and swept for mine barriers and other traps. They logged abandoned Russian equipment and weapons, and raised Ukrainian flags in several areas. The report added: “While our soldiers were performing their tasks, Russian ships began maneuvering in the direction of Zmiiny. Having completed the task, the combined group left the island. “After that, the Russians launched a missile attack on Snake Island, hitting the pier. The group of Ukrainian soldiers returned unscathed in its entirety to the base.” Russia’s defence ministry has said it killed Ukrainian servicemen who were trying to raise Ukraine’s flag on the recently retaken island. Authorities in Odesa appeared to confirm that missiles had struck the island, and that Russians had also destroyed two grain hangars in the region which contained “about 35 tonnes of grain”. Ukrainian military released footage showing troops installing a huge national flag on Snake Island after regaining control.
  
  Updated at 22.15 BST
  
  7 Jul 2022 19.20 The European parliament has endorsed a proposal that allows Ukrainian refugees to continue using their driver’s license without needing to switch it out for a European driver’s license, the Kyiv Independent reports. The European Union council will now formally adopt the draft rules. Wir haben heute im @Europarl_DE eine Übergangsregelung für 🇺🇦 ukrainische Führerscheine verabschiedet. Damit können Ukrainer, die vorübergehenden Schutz in der EU 🇪🇺 suchen, ihren ukrainischen Führerschein unbürokratisch weiter benutzen.#StandWithUkraine#WeStandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/oGeLdfgrl6 — CDU/CSU in Europa (@CDU_CSU_EP) July 7, 2022
  
  Updated at 19.59 BST