🔴 Live: Ukraine strikes key bridge between Kherson and Crimea, Russia says

Issued on: 22/06/2023 – 10:03Modified: 22/06/2023 – 10:09

8:26am: US national security adviser to attend Ukraine-organised meeting in Denmark

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan will attend a Ukraine-organised meeting this weekend in Denmark, alongside representatives of multiple countries, including some that have remained neutral on Russia’s invasion, a Western official told AFP on Wednesday.

The meeting in Copenhagen aims to discuss ways of achieving a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine, the source said. The invitees include top security officials from the United States, the European Union, and other countries that have backed Ukraine since Russia invaded last year, as well as those that have not condemned the invasion, the source said, without specifying which states.

The as-yet-unannounced meeting was first reported by the Financial Times, which cited sources familiar with the plans, saying that the meeting could include officials from India, Brazil and South Africa, though the attendees were not finalised.

Those three states, along with China, are part of the BRICS bloc with Russia, and have not joined the West in sanctioning Moscow. The FT cited a source saying that Kyiv had asked Washington to encourage India, Brazil and South Africa, as well as China and Turkey – a NATO member that has kept good ties with Russia – to attend. 

8:23am: Russia considering US request to visit journalist Evan Gershkovivch

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday that Moscow was considering a request from the United States to visit journalist Evan Gershkovich who is being held on spying charges he denies, the Interfax news agency reported. A hearing in Gershkovich’s case is due later today.

8:21am: UN nuclear watchdog chief Grossi to visit Russia on Friday

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, will visit Russia on Friday, the Interfax news agency reported today.

Grossi is likely to hold talks about the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.

8:19am: Russia says ‘hostile’ states attending BRICS summit would be inappropriate

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Thursday said it would be inappropriate for leaders who pursue a “hostile” policy towards Russia to attend a summit of BRICS nations, the RIA news agency reported.

6:52am: Ukraine strikes key bridge between mainland and Crimea

A Ukrainian missile attack struck the Chongar bridge connecting Russian-held parts of the Kherson region with the Crimean peninsula, forcing traffic to be diverted to a different route, Russia-appointed officials in both regions said on Thursday.

Vladimir Saldo, the Russia-appointed Kherson governor, said the road was damaged but no casualities were reported. He said Storm Shadow missiles were likely to have been used for the attack.

Crimea’s governor, Sergey Aksyonov, said specialists were examining the site to determine when traffic over the bridge could resume.

Known as “the gate to Crimea”, the Chongar bridge is one of a handful of bridges linking Crimea – which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 – with the mainland. The bridges provide an alternative to the narrow isthmus connecting the peninsula and the continent.

Key developments from Wednesday, June 22:

Moscow is seeing a “lull” in the Ukrainian counteroffensive, President Vladimir Putin has said, in remarks shown on Russian state television.

EU governments have agreed on another package of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, aimed mainly at stopping third countries and companies from circumventing the existing EU measures.

Ukraine expects to be invited to join NATO with an open date at the alliance’s summit in Vilnius next month, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff has said.

Finally, the chief of mercenary group Wagner on Wednesday accused Moscow’s top brass of deceiving Russians about the course of Ukraine’s offensive and pointed to Kyiv’s progress on the battlefield.

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

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)