🔴Live: Ukraine says shot down 11 Russian drones in second night of attacks on Kyiv

10:47am: Germany to provide Ukraine with more Patriot system supplies, Zelensky says

Germany has agreed to provide Ukraine with additional launchers and missiles for Patriot air defence systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Vilnius on Wednesday.

“This is extremely important for defending lives in Ukraine against Russian terror,” Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

10:22am: Ukraine reports some ‘success’ in fighting near Bakhmut

Ukraine on Wednesday reported some success in fighting near the Russian-occupied eastern city of Bakhmut as its troops press on with a counteroffensive against Moscow’s forces.

Heavy fighting and Russian drone strikes on Ukrainian cities have continued while President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Vilnius for meetings with NATO leaders who are holding a summit in the Lithuanian capital.

“The (Ukrainian) Defence Forces continue to conduct offensive operations north and south of the city of Bakhmut,” Andriy Kovaliov, a spokesperson for the armed forces general staff, said.

“In the directions of Bila Hora-Andriivka and Bila Hora-Kurdyumivka, they have had success in some places,” he said, referring to sectors of the frontline south of Bakhmut.

He said Russian forces were putting up strong resistance, moving units and troops, and deploying reserves as Ukraine presses on with the counteroffensive launched in May. He did not say how much ground Ukraine had gained in the latest combat.

09:17am: Long-term aid plan for Ukraine shows Russia time ‘not on its side,’ says US

A plan to secure long-term military aid for Ukraine from the G7 countries Wednesday will show Russia that “time is not on its side,” a top US official said.

“It signals a joint long-term commitment to building a powerful defensive insurance force for Ukraine,” lead White House advisor for European affairs Amanda Sloat told reporters.

“This multilateral declaration will send a significant signal to Russia that time is not on its side.”

President Joe Biden and other leaders from the G7 – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States – will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later Wednesday at the end of the NATO summit in Vilnius to announce the plan.

8:35am: Fears mount Russia will pull out of grain deal

Concerns are growing that Russia will not extend a United Nations-brokered deal that allows grain to flow from Ukraine to parts of the world struggling with hunger, with ships no longer heading to the war-torn country’s Black Sea ports and food exports dwindling.

Turkey and the UN negotiated the breakthrough accord last summer to ease a global food crisis, along with a separate agreement with Russia to facilitate shipments of its food and fertilizer. Moscow insists it is still facing hurdles, though data shows it has been exporting record amounts of wheat.

Russian officials repeatedly say there are no grounds for extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which is up for its fourth renewal next week. Moscow has issues such threats before, but have then gone on to extend the deal for two months instead of the four months outlined in the agreement.

8:32am: Ukraine says shot down 11 Russian drones

Ukraine said Wednesday it had shot down 11 Russian attack drones in a second night of strikes on the capital Kyiv.

“A total of 15 kamikaze drones were involved in the strike. Eleven of them were destroyed in the areas of responsibility of the Centre and East air commands,” Ukraine’s air force said on social media.

1:52am: Ukraine, Russia report heavy fighting in east, south

Ukraine’s military on Tuesday reported heavy fighting in the east and southeast, the main theatres of its drive to recapture land seized by Russian invaders, saying its forces had repelled dozens of enemy attacks.

Russian accounts from the front line outlined clashes, including a successful defence of areas near the devastated city of Bakhmut, where Ukraine says its forces are recovering ground.

A spokesperson for Ukraine’s General Staff, Andriy Kovaliov, said Ukrainian troops had beaten back a Russian advance backed by artillery strikes near two towns north of Bakhmut – captured by Russian mercenary forces in late May.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces had repelled nine attempted Ukrainian advances in eastern Donetsk region, including one drive near Kliishchivka.

1:09:am Russia launches drone attack on Kyiv for second night in row

Russia launched a wave of drone attacks on Kyiv and its region a second night in row, with air defence systems engaged in repelling the strike, a Ukraine military official said.

“The air raid alert is on! Air defence systems engaged in the region on approach to Kyiv,” Serhiy Popko, head of the military administration for the Ukrainian capital said on the Telegram messaging app.

The Kyiv military administration urged on its Telegram channel that people stay in shelters until the raids are over.

Reuters witnesses in Kyiv heard blasts resembling the sound of air defence systems intercepting air objects.

00:37am: Russia’s Medvedev says NATO’s military aid to Ukraine brings World War III closer

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russia’s powerful Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, said late on Tuesday that the increase in military assistance to Ukraine by the NATO alliance brings World War III closer.

Commenting on the first day of the summit of the US-led alliance in Lithuania, where a number of countries pledged more weaponry and financial support, Medvedev said the aid would not deter Russia from achieving its goals in Ukraine.

“The completely crazy West could not come up with anything else … In fact, it’s a dead end. World War III is getting closer,” Medvedev wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“What does all this mean for us? Everything is obvious. The special military operation will continue with the same goals.”

10:13pm: Biden, Erdogan discuss transfer of F-16s to Turkey, Ukraine priorities during meeting

US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed defence and economic priorities during a meeting on Tuesday, the White House said, a day after Ankara backed Sweden joining the NATO military alliance.

The Biden administration will move ahead with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in consultation with Congress, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said earlier.

“They also discussed regional issues of shared interest, including their enduring support for Ukraine and the importance of preserving stability in the Aegean,” the White House said in a statement after their meeting.

Key developments from Tuesday, July 11:

NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius agreed that Ukraine’s future lies within the alliance but stopped short of handing Kyiv the invitation or timetable for accession that the country has been seeking.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky described the lack of a time frame as “absurd”.

Russia, meanwhile, again warned against an expansion of the alliance, and said that moving NATO infrastructure towards Russia’s borders would be a “mistake”.

France on Tuesday also began delivering long-range SCALP cruise missiles to Ukraine which will be integrated into non-Western warplanes. The Kremlin warned the move will have “consequences for the Ukrainian side”.

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

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)