Ukraine-Russia war live: Kyiv makes gains in Bakhmut as Sunak weighs in to cluster bombs row

Rishi Sunak has made clear Britain ‘discourages’ the use of cluster munitions after Joe Biden agreed to send the bombs to Ukraine to aid the fight against Russia . The prime minister on Saturday highlighted that the UK was one of 123 signatories of a convention banning their use after the US president made the ‘difficult decision’. Mr Sunak, who will be meeting Mr Biden in London on Monday ahead of a Nato summit, said Britain was instead supporting Kyiv by providing tanks and long-range weapons. It comes as Ukrainian forces have made ‘tactically significant gains’ in the Bakhmut area, the Institute for the Study of War has said in an update. The US think tank also said Kyiv has made progress in ‘at least three other sectors of the front,’ including north and south of Bakhmut. Bakhmut has been the epicentre of violence in recent months as Ukrainian and Russian forces have fought from trenches with relentless artillery and rocket strikes across a heavily-mined battlefield described as a ‘meat grinder’ by commanders on both sides. Key Points 13:38 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain Rishi Sunak has made clear Britain ‘discourages’ the use of cluster munitions after Joe Biden agreed to send the bombs to Ukraine to aid the fight against Russia. The Prime Minister on Saturday highlighted that the UK was one of 123 signatories of a convention banning their use after the US president made the ‘difficult decision’. Mr Sunak, who will be meeting Mr Biden in London on Monday ahead of a Nato summit, said Britain was instead supporting Kyiv by providing tanks and long-range weapons. Spain says cluster bombs should not be sent to Ukraine 14:46 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain Cluster bombs should not be sent to help Ukraine, the Spanish defence minister said on Saturday, a day after the United States announced the weapons would be sent to Kyiv to help with its counter-offensive against Russian forces. Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries, including Spain. They typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Those that fail to explode pose a danger for decades. ‘Spain, based on the firm commitment it has with Ukraine, also has a firm commitment that certain weapons and bombs cannot be delivered under any circumstances,’ Margarita Robles told reporters during a rally in Madrid ahead of the July 23 national election. ‘No to cluster bombs and yes to the legitimate defence of Ukraine, which we understand should not be carried out with cluster bombs.’ Robles said the decision to send cluster bombs was a decision taken by the U.S. government, not by NATO, of which Spain is a member. There is broad support among Spanish parties for backing Ukraine and providing military aid for the war. Ukraine vows to use cluster bombs to de-occupy only-defence minister 14:12 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov welcomed the U.S. decision to send cluster bombs to Kyiv, saying it would help to de-occupy the Ukrainian territory but vowed that the munitions would be not used in Russia. The U.S. announced on Friday that it would supply Ukraine with widely banned cluster munitions for its counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces. Reznikov said the munitions would help save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, adding that Ukraine would keep a strict record of their use and exchange information with its partners. ‘Our position is simple – we need to liberate our temporarily occupied territories and save the lives of our people,’ Reznikov wrote on Twitter. ‘Ukraine will use these munitions only for the de-occupation of our internationally recognized territories. These munitions will not be used on the officially recognized territory of Russia.’ Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries. They typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Those that fail to explode pose a danger for decades. Remnants of cluster munitions (AP) Sunak says UK part of a convention that discourages use of cluster munitions 13:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain Britain is signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Saturday after the United States said it was planning to supply Ukraine with them. ‘We will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion,’ Sunak told reporters. Russia seeks UN Security Council meeting on Nord Stream blasts 12:05 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain Russia has requested a new meeting of the U.N. Security Council for July 11 to discuss last September’s explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, a senior Russian diplomat at the United Nations said on Saturday. Russia has unsuccessfully demanded access to investigations by Sweden and other countries into the blasts, which severely damaged the pipelines connecting Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea. ‘We requested a new open meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the Nord Stream blasts for July 11,’ Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, said on the Telegram messaging platform. He also said Russia would invite ‘a couple of interesting impartial speakers’ to the meeting. Russia failed in March to get the U.N. Security Council to ask for an independent inquiry. Moscow has said the West was behind the blasts. Western governments have denied involvement, as has Ukraine, which is fighting Russian forces on its territory. The pipeline blasts occurred in the exclusive economic zones of Sweden and Denmark. Sweden, Denmark and Germany have said that their own separate investigations were still active and Russia had been informed. 11:08 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain Volodymyr Zelensky released a defiant video statement from the symbolic Snake Island in the Black Sea , as the war with Russia entered its 500th day. July 8 marks the 500th day since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the European country. ‘500 days of the full-scale war. Snake Island. The free island of free Ukraine ,’ Zelensky said in his message. He added: ‘I am grateful to everyone who fought here against the occupiers. ‘We commemorated the heroes who gave their lives in this battle, one of the most important during the full-scale war.’ Ukraine recaptured Snake Island in the summer of 2022. Bakhmut is ‘site of intense fighting’- Ministry of defence 10:18 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain The UK ministry of defence has said Bakhmut is once again the site of ‘intense fighting’ after a brief lull in action. Read the full update here: 09:27 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain The United States has announced that it is sending cluster munitions to Ukraine to help its military push back Russian forces entrenched along the front lines. The administration of Joe Biden said that it will send thousands of them as part of a new military aid package worth $800m (£630m). The move will likely trigger outrage from some allies and humanitarian groups that have long opposed the use of cluster bombs . 08:43 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain Watch live as Volodymyr Zelensky visits Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul amid cluster munition controversy. The White House weighed in on Ukraine’s potential Nato membership shortly after announcing that it will send controversial cluster munitions to the eastern European country. White House confirms prisoner swap talks with Russia over WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich 08:30 , Peony Hirwani White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed on Friday that there have been discussions around the prospect of a prisoner swap for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, ‘but those discussions have not produced a clear pathway to a resolution’. Mr Sullivan also told reporters that he met with Gershkovich’s family ‘to talk about the latest status in his case and our efforts to bring Evan home’. He said he did not want to give ‘false hope’ about the efforts. ‘All I can do is tell you that we have a clear commitment and conviction that we will do everything possible to bring him home.’ Russian defence minister Shoigu shown inspecting troops 08:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has inspected troops and overseen training of newly formed units made up of contracted servicemen, his ministry said on Saturday. The ministry released video footage on its Telegram channel showing Shoigu in khaki military fatigues inspecting soldiers at a shooting range, in his first public appearance with troops since last month’s aborted mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group. The ministry did not say when the video was filmed or when the inspection took place. Shoigu said on Monday that the mutiny did not affect Russia’s ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. Wagner fighters took over the southern Russian city of Rostov and advanced towards Moscow on June 24 as their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin demanded the dismissal of Shoigu and chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov. The crisis was defused when Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko brokered a deal between the Kremlin and Prigozhin. ‘The Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation personally checked the training of contract servicemen in combat operations in various conditions, including urban combat,’ the defence ministry said on Saturday. New satellite images show mystery ‘white objects’ on roof of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant 08:00 , Peony Hirwani ICYMI: New satellite images depict ‘white objects’ on the roof of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant , days after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky alleged that Russia had planted explosives there . Russian troops seized Europe’s largest nuclear facility on 5 March, shortly after its invasion began in February. The new photos were captured by satellite imagery company Planet Labs on Wednesday (5 July), showing five white shapes topping the plant at 7.51am UTC (8.51am BST). Notably, an image captured earlier at 5.27am UTC (6.27am BST) shows none. New satellite images show mystery ‘white objects’ on roof of Ukraine nuclear plant Zelensky’s forces make ‘significant gains’ in Bakhmut 07:50 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain Ukrainian forces have made ‘tactically significant gains’ in the Bakhmut area, the Institute for the Study of War has said in an update. The US think tank also said Kyiv has made progress in ‘at least three other sectors of the front,’ including north and south of Bakhmut. Zelensky equates pro-Russian sentiment in Slovakia to ‘pro-terrorist position’ 07:00 , Peony Hirwani Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky lashed out at the pro-Kremlin views of some of Slovakia’s residents on Friday. He said that a pro-Russian position is a ‘pro-terrorist’ one. ‘What are pro-Russian views? They are aggressors, they came to someone else’s land, and they attacked us and killed, raped, and tortured people. How can one adhere to such views?’ Mr Zelensky said at a press conference in Bratislava. ‘What is a pro-Russian position? It’s a pro-terrorist position, and it’s wrong.’ Ukraine will ‘renew control over Crimea’, Zelensky says 06:30 , Peony Hirwani Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky says he believes his country will regain control over Crimea while speaking alongside Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a joint press conference in Istanbul on Friday. ‘I’m grateful to Turkey for supporting our territorial integrity and sovereignty,’ Mr Zelensky said. ‘We talked about the situation in Crimea that Russia still unlawfully controls and uses as a bridgehead of threats and danger. In any case, we will renew our control over Crimea,’ he said. Turkey’s Erdogan says Ukraine deserves Nato membership 06:00 , Peony Hirwani Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pushed for Ukraine to be included in Nato. ‘Ukraine deserves to be in Nato,’ said Mr Erdogan during a joint briefing with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. After his statement, Mr Zelensky said he was ‘happy to hear’ that Turkey supported Ukraine’s bid to join during the press conference. 05:30 , Peony Hirwani ICYMI: The United States has announced that it is sending cluster munitions to Ukraine to help its military push back Russian forces entrenched along the front lines. The administration of Joe Biden said that it will send thousands of them as part of a new military aid package worth $800m (£630m). White House weighs in on Ukraine’s entry to Nato 05:10 , Peony Hirwani Ukraine’s proposed entrance into Nato will be discussed, but not decided at the alliance’s summit next week in Lithuania, the White House said on Friday. White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said the summit will underscore Nato’s readiness to consider Ukraine’s membership, which he called a ‘milestone’ in itself. ‘The Nato Summit will dive into the question of Nato’s relationship with Ukraine, both the question of its pathway towards future membership and the question of an ongoing partnership that has existed for several years,’ Mr Sullivan said. But Ukraine ‘will not be joining Nato coming out of this summit,’ he said. Kyiv ‘still has further steps that it needs to take before membership,’ Mr Sullivan said. Russia shells 10 communities in Sumy Oblast 05:00 , Peony Hirwani Russian forces shelled 10 communities in Sumy Oblast on Friday (7 July). They reportedly fired over 111 rounds from various types of weapons, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on Telegram. Today in pictures 04: