🔴 Live: EU support for Ukraine’s membership ‘unequivocal’, says Spanish PM on trip to Kyiv

7:40pm: Russia presents recruiting opportunity as disaffection with war increases, says CIA director 

US CIA Director William Burns said on Saturday that disaffection in Russia with the war in Ukraine was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to recruit spies – and that his agency was not letting it go to waste.

“Disaffection with the war will continue to gnaw away at the Russian leadership beneath the steady diet of state propaganda and practiced repression,” Burns, a former US ambassador to Moscow, said in a lecture to Britain’s Ditchley Foundation in Oxfordshire, England.

“That disaffection creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us at CIA – at our core a human intelligence service. We’re not letting it go to waste.”

6:05pm: Ukraine wants ‘invitation’ to join NATO at Vilnius summit, says Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said he wanted his country to receive an “invitation” to join NATO after the war during a key summit this month.

“We need a very clear and understandable signal at the Vilnius summit that Ukraine can become an equal member of NATO after the war,” he told reporters in Kyiv alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. “This invitation to the alliance is the first, very practical step, it would be very important for us.”

5:32pm: Russian diplomats and embassy staff to leave Romania on Saturday

Forty diplomats and Russian embassy staff in Bucharest were set to leave Romania on Saturday following a request from the government, with ties worsening between the two countries since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Eleven diplomats and 29 technical and administrative staff, accompanied by their families, “will leave Romania on board a civilian aircraft belonging to a Russian airline”, the Romanian foreign ministry said.

Romanian broadcasters showed an Ilyushin Il-96 aircraft landing at Bucharest airport. It was due to take off later on Saturday, according to airport sources quoted in the local press.

The decision “reflects the current level of bilateral relations … after Moscow launched its war of aggression against Ukraine”, the Romanian foreign ministry said. 

4:40pm: Belarus sets up camp for Wagner fighters, satellite images show

Satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press on Saturday showed what appeared to be a newly built military-style camp in Belarus, with statements from a Belarusian guerrilla group and officials suggesting it may be used to house fighters from the Wagner mercenary group.

The images provided by Planet Labs PLC suggest that dozens of tents have been erected within the past two weeks at a former military base outside Osipovichi, a town 230 kilometers (142 miles) north of the Ukrainian border. A satellite photo taken on Jun. 15 shows no sign of the rows of white and green structures that are clearly visible in a later image, dated Jun. 30.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and his fighters escaped prosecution and were offered refuge in Belarus last week after Minsk helped broker a deal to end what appeared to be an armed insurrection by the mercenary group. The abortive revolt saw Wagner troops capture a military headquarters in southern Russia and march hundreds of kilometers (miles) towards Moscow, seemingly unimpeded.

Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko said his country, a close and dependent ally of Moscow, could use Wagner’s experience and expertise, and announced that he had offered the fighters an “abandoned military unit” to set up camp.

3:52pm: Spanish PM says EU support for Ukraine’s membership ‘unequivocal’

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Saturday his visit to Kyiv on the first day of Spain’s EU presidency showed the bloc’s “unequivocal” commitment to Ukraine’s bid to join the 27-nation bloc. 

“Speaking of the European Union’s perspective on Ukraine’s EU accession, my being here on the first day of the six-month presidency … demonstrates a clear and unequivocal political commitment on the part of the community institutions in this respect,” he said in a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

3:17pm: Belarus’ Lukashenko bans media from ‘unfriendly countries’

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a law allowing media from ‘unfriendly countries’ – those that have imposed sanctions on Belarus – to be banned, Pul Pervovo, a state outlet that reports on Lukashenko’s activities, said on Saturday.

3:06pm: Zelensky says ‘serious threat’ remains at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Saturday that a “serious threat” remained at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and said that Russia was “technically ready” to provoke a localised explosion at the facility.

Zelensky cited Ukrainian intelligence as the source of his information. He called for greater international attention to the situation at the facility in southeastern Ukraine, which is Europe’s largest nuclear plant.

2:51pm: Zelensky accuses ‘some’ Western partners of dragging feet over pilot training

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday accused “some” Western partners of dragging their feet over plans to train Kyiv pilots to fly fighter jets.

“Do they have an understanding of when Ukraine can get the F-16?” Zelensky told reporters alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, referring to the West. “There is no schedule of training missions. I believe that some partners are dragging their feet. Why are they doing it? I don’t know.”

2:12pm: Biden to host Swedish PM on July 5 to talk NATO and Ukraine, White House says

US President Joe Biden will host Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson next week to talk about transatlantic security cooperation and the war in Ukraine, the White House said Saturday. 

The two leaders “will review our growing security cooperation and reaffirm their view that Sweden should join NATO as soon as possible”, the White House said in a statement about the July 5 meeting.

Sweden asked to join NATO in May 2022, three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, but its membership bid, which must be ratified by all 31 member states, has been blocked by Turkey and Hungary.

Western officials had hoped to formally welcome Sweden into the bloc by the time a NATO summit is held in Lithuania on July 11-12.

1:55pm: Zelensky praises Spanish PM’s ‘extremely symbolic’ Ukraine visit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday thanked Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for visiting Kyiv as Spain kicked off its presidency of the European Union. 

“Thank you for your important visit and support of our people!” Zelensky said on social media. “It is extremely symbolic that this visit takes place on the very first day of the Spanish presidency of the EU.”

12:16pm: Spain PM in Kyiv to kick off Madrid’s EU presidency

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrived in Kyiv on Saturday to signal EU support for Ukraine as the country’s commander-in-chief said he was frustrated by the slow deliveries of Western weapons.

Sixteen months into Russia’s invasion, Kyiv says it is fighting “fierce” battles as part of its counteroffensive launched last month after weeks of anticipation. 

Sanchez, whose country kicked off its presidency of the European Union, was expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later Saturday. 

7:15am: CIA chief made secret trip to Ukraine, says US official

CIA Director William Burns recently traveled to Ukraine where he met with intelligence counterparts and President Volodymyr Zelensky, a US official confirmed to AFP Friday.

The trip – not reported at the time – comes as Kyiv’s brigades pursue a counteroffensive in their nation’s east and south against Russian forces, launched earlier this month after weeks of anticipation.

During his trip Burns reaffirmed “the US commitment to sharing intelligence to help Ukraine defend against Russian aggression”, the US official said.

According to The Washington Post, which first reported the visit, Ukrainian officials shared plans to claw back Russian-occupied territory and begin ceasefire negotiations by the end of the year.

Burns “traveled to Ukraine as he has done regularly since the beginning of Russia’s recent aggression more than a year ago”, the US official said. The Post reported that the visit occurred in June.

The trip took place before the 24-hour insurrection by the leader of the Wagner private military company, Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to the official.

12:09am: Belarus leader says nuclear arms will not be used

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the Kremlin’s staunchest ally in its war in Ukraine, said on Friday he was certain Russian tactical nuclear weapons deployed in his country would never be used.

Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin have acknowledged that some tactical weapons have arrived in Belarus and the remainder would be put in place by the end of the year.

The Belarusian president, in an address marking his ex-Soviet state’s national day, said the stationing of the weapons in Belarus was “my firmest initiative”.

Key developments from Friday, June 30:

President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered top military commanders on Friday to strengthen Ukraine’s northern military sector following the arrival of Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner Group fighters in Belarus.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow would emerge from the aftermath of the Wagner mercenary group’s aborted rebellion “stronger” than before.

Read yesterday’s liveblog to see how all the day’s events unfolded.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)