War intensifies as Ukraine keeps quiet on counteroffensive

Russia reports heavy fighting along the front in southern Ukraine, where bloggers describe the first sightings of German and US armour, signalling that Ukraine’s long-anticipated counterattack is under way.
Ukrainian officials are keeping quiet about their military moves; President Zelenskyy has spoken about “hottest” battles and heavy fighting, but hinted it is not yet the time to comment on the reported counterattack.EU minister says ‘everything indicates’ to Russia behind dam blast
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrel says “everything indicates” to Russia as being behind the Kakhovka dam breach.

“The dam was not bombed. It was destroyed by explosives installed in the areas where the turbines are located. This area is under Russian control,” Borrell told Spanish public television.

“I wasn’t there to find out who did it. But everything seems to indicate that if it took place in an area under Russian control, it is difficult to believe it could have been someone else,” he added.

At least five people died, and 13 are missing in flooding after the breach, Ukraine’s Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said earlier on Friday.Japan offers Kyiv $5m after dam collapse
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told Zelenskyy Japan would offer emergency humanitarian aid worth about $5m after the bursting of the Nova Kakhovka dam, a Japanese government spokesperson said.

Kishida also told the Ukrainian leader that Japan is ready to host a conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction early next year.

“Many Ukrainian citizens fell victim to the long-running Russian invasion, and civilian facilities including power plants were damaged,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news conference after the phonecall.

“This can never be justified, and we strongly condemn this anew.”Russia to begin deploying tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus in July
Russia will begin deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus after the facilities are ready on July 7-8, President Vladimir Putin told his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, in a meeting in Sochi.

“So everything is according to plan, everything is stable,” Putin said, according to a readout from the Kremlin.Russian governor enacts state of emergency after drone attack
The Russian governor of Voronezh has imposed a state of emergency after a drone hit an apartment building.

Three people were hurt by broken glass but did not need hospital treatment, Alexander Gusev said.

Russia’s state Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against “persons acting in the interests of the military-political leadership of Ukraine”.

There was no official reaction from Kyiv.

Drone strikes inside Russia have become a frequent occurrence in areas close to the Ukrainian border.

Russia says it repelled attacks in Zaporizhia
Russian news agencies reported that Russia’s defence ministry had repelled Ukrainian attacks in the southeastern region of Zaporizhia.

Russia reported heavy fighting in the region early on Friday after saying it had thwarted repeated attempts by the Ukrainian army this week to break through the front line.

A spokesman for Russia’s Vostok group of forces said 13 Ukrainian tanks were destroyed in battles in the Zaporizhia region, and eight in the Donetsk region.

The defence ministry also said it had launched a long-range strike against “foreign-made ammunition and weapons” overnight.At least five people killed in dam flooding, Kyiv says
As Ukraine continues to evacuate people in areas affected by the dam breach, officials say at least five people had been killed due to the flooding.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram that four people had died and 13 people were missing in the Kherson region and one person had died in the Mykolayiv region.

Zelenskyy said authorities are trying to save as many people as they can.

“The evacuation continues. Wherever we can get people out of the flood zone, we are doing it,” he said.‘No doubt’ that both sides are intensifying attacks: Journalist
Journalist Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow, said there is “no doubt” that both sides are intensifying their offensives.

“At our end, we hear that Ukraine’s armed forces have been striking in several parts of the front over the course of five days, and the Russian side says it is not possible for Ukraine to achieve any success but it is still too early to talk about the end of the offensive,” Shapovalova said.

“Russian military bloggers have called the Ukrainian attacks a failure. They’ve reported that the Ukrainian forces have unsuccessfully tried to attack the Russian positions in the Zaporizhzhia and Bakhmut directions,” she added.