Ukraine war latest: Russia says it is considering nuclear shift - and tells West it is 'playing with fire'; US leads drills after North Korea warhead test (2024)

Volodymyr Zelenskyy will hold talks with Polish prime minister Donald Tusk next month.

Mr Tusk shared a message with his followers on X today to announce the talks after speaking to Ukraine's president in Brussels.

"The EU understood what Poles have known since the beginning of this war: the defence of Ukraine is the defence of Europe," he said.

Talks between the two leaders will take place before the NATO summit on 9 July in Washington.

The Russian spring offensive into Kharkiv shows the existing level of international pressure on Moscow is insufficient, claims Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Kyiv's military says it has stabilised the situation after Russian forced launched an assault on a new front in Ukraine's northeastern region.

It was Putin's second attempt to advance on Kharkiv, after Ukrainian troops successfully repelled his forces following the invasion in 2022.

Speaking in Brussels today, Mr Zelenskyy said the attack "proves that the existing pressure onRussia for the war is not enough."

The EU today signed a security agreement that entrenches its commitment to help Ukraine in areas of security and defence policy.

The European Union has signed a security agreement with Ukraine in Brussels.

The pact, confirmed today, is intended to complement similar agreements sealed between Ukraine and its allies as it continues its defence against Russia's invasion.

The agreement 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,

Both Lithuania and Estonia signed security agreements with Ukraine also, joining several other countries offering a long-term commitment to help Kyiv, including once the war is over.

Mr Zelenskyy signed a similar pact with US President Joe Biden earlier this month, which will run for the next decade.

Ukraine has received the next €1.9bn (£1.6bn) tranche of financial support from the European Union.

The money arrives via the Ukraine Facility plan, which aims to support Ukraine in its recovery, reconstruction, and modernisation efforts.

It will provide up to €50bn (£42.3bn) in support between 2024-2027.

The plan was first proposed in June 2023, with the first payment of €4.5bn (£3.8bn) being sent to Ukraine in March.

To obtain the support, Ukraine must implement its recovery and reform plan while also upholding democratic mechanisms, the rule of law and human rights.

Once the European Commission can verify these conditions, payments will occur on a fixed schedule every quarter.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is in Brussels to discuss "urgent things" such as Ukraine's air defence and continued talks over the country's European Union membership.

"We have to work on next steps," the Ukrainian president told reporters as he arrived to attend a summit of EU leaders.

He said he and the leaders would discuss "the urgent things -- air defence, that is one".

The EU launched membership talks with Ukraine on Tuesday in Luxembourg, two years on from the country being formally approved as a candidate in June 2022.

"We waited for this, a long period of time," Mr Zelenskyy said, thanking the EU for its approval.

EU leaders are expected to sign a document of security commitments to Ukraine today.

Vladimir Putin says Russia's navy will be boosted by at least 40 new ships in 2024.

In a report by state-run news agency TASS, the Russian leader is quoted as saying that one of the country's main objectives is to "comprehensively upgrade" its naval capabilities.

This includes "ship, aircraft and coastal components", while there are also plans to improve the infrastructure of naval bases to "strengthen its positions in the strategically crucial areas of the world ocean, and to drastically improve its combat potential".

Mr Putin said that, compared to previous years where numbers were lower, 2024 would see more than 40 ships and boats received.

"A lot has been done in this area, as our Navy is getting new ships," he said, adding that "repairs and profound refurbishments of equipment" are being carried out.

Russia's defence ministry says it has carried out missile strikes on Ukrainian airfields, which it says it believes have been designated to host Western military aircraft.

Sea-based, long-range Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and drones were used in the attacks, it said.

All designated targets were hit, the ministry added, withoutnaming the list of targets.

Ukrainian president VolodymyrZelenskyy has arrived in Brussels today, where he plans to sign three security agreements.

Among those is an agreement with the European Union, which will pledge to keep delivering weapons, military training and other aid to Kyiv for years to come.

In the event of "future aggression", the document, a draft of which has been seen by Reuters, says the EU and Ukraine intend to consult within 24 hours on Kyiv's needs and "swiftly determine" next steps in line with the commitments.

"For the first time, this agreement will enshrine thecommitment of all 27 member states to provide Ukraine withextensive support, regardless of any internal institutionalchanges," Mr Zelenskyy said in a statement.

The draft EU document says its commitments will remain in effect "as Ukraine pursues its European path" and will be reviewed in 10 years at the latest.

Swedish furniture giant IKEA is set to reopen its Kyiv store.

The company, like other multinational brands, closed its stores in Ukraine when Russia launched its invasion of the country in February 2022.

Now it's set to follow in the footsteps of popular retailers H&M, which reopened in November 2023, and Inditex, which owns Zara, by returning to Kyiv.

IKEA's "main priority for the resumption of store operations in Kyiv is the safety of our employees and customers," the Ingka Group, which is part of the Ikea group, told Forbes Ukraine.

"The return and success of H&M was an important signal for the head office of IKEA, and they also closely followed the recovery of Inditex," a source told Forbes Ukraine.

A chemical plant in Russia was targeted in an overnight drone attack, according to state-run RIA news agency.

The Redkinsky Experimental Plant, located in the Tver region to the northwest of Moscow, produces a number of chemicals used in the aviation industry.

The plant was previously struck by Ukrainian drones in September 2023. At the time, Ukraine's intelligence agency claimed the plant produces decalin, an aviation fuel additive.

This morning's attack saw four drones damage the plant's pipeline, roof, and a workshop building, according to independent Russian news outlet SOTA.

The Tver regional government said on Russian social media platform VKontakte that air defence systems thwarted a drone attack, but didn't comment on whether the plant was targeted.

"At around 4 a.m. on June 27, in the Konakovo municipal district of the Tver region, the air defence systems on duty of the Russian ministry of defence repelled another UAV attack," it said.

"Emergency services specialists continue to work at the site where the UAV debris fell. There were no casualties."