Ukraine war latest: Huge explosion reported in Russian city - amid escalation in fighting; Vietnam criticised over Putin visit (2024)

The Kremlin said today that the results of the Swiss-hosted peace conference on the Ukraine war were "close to zero" thanks to Russia's lack of involvement.

Over 90 countries attended the two-day talks at the behest of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, billed as a peace summit despite Moscow not being invited.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said last week that his country is willing to end the war but only on his terms.

Those include the immediate withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the assurance that Ukraine will give up on its plans to join NATO.

At the Swiss summit, Western powers denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine and many rebuffed Mr Putin's proposal.

However, with China not attending the talks and the likes of India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and South Africa all refusing to sign the summit communique, Russia said the process had produced negligible results.

Latvia has already dispatched the first wave of drones to Ukraine as part of the Drone Capability Coalition.

The UK and Latvia announced they would lead the drone coalition in February, designed to rapidly supply Ukraine with tens of thousands of first person view drones.

Other countries to have joined the group of nations include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Poland, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands.

Latvian defence minister Andris Spruds says the coalition has already received international commitments totalling around €549m (£464m).

"The next step is to use that funding effectively, and we're doing that on several levels," said the defence minister.

"One of the first levels is national procurement. Latvia has already organized a batch of drones, and they have already been sent.

"Now we are already collecting the second batch of drones, which should soon be sent to Ukraine."

First person view drones have proven highly effective on the battlefield since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

They provide Ukrainian operators with situational awareness to target enemy positions, armoured vehicles, and ships with explosive ordnance.

Denmark is considering ways to limit the passage of tankers carrying Russian oil from flowing through the Baltic sea.

Speaking today, the Nordic's country's foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, has brought together a group of allied countries to evaluate the outcomes of the move.

Russia sends about a third of its seaborne oil exports - which equates to around 1.5% of global supply - through the Danish straits.

This passage acts as a gateway to the Baltic Sea, so any attempt to halt supplies would send oil prices higher and hit the Kremlin's finances.

The move could trigger confrontation with Russia, though it's something that Denmark has been preparing for.

Earlier this month, the country raised the threat level for destructive cyberattacks against companies and authorities, saying Russia was showing an increasing willingness to take risks to carry out hybrid attacks.

Its government has also asked citizens to prepare for an attack or other potential crisis by stockpiling supplies of water, food and medicine.

Ukraine's Ministry of Defence claims 1,080 Russian soldiers and officers were killed and wounded in action over the last 24 hours.

That brings Russia's total combat manpower losses since the invasion started to around 527,390.

Ukraine's military also claims to have destroyed two Russian tanks, 18 armoured fighting vehicles, 14 artillery systems and eight UAVs during the last day of fighting.

These reports are yet to be verified.

Russia's top spy chief has said that his country's conditions for peace with Ukraine will be "more complicated and tough" if current proposals are rejected.

Vladimir Putin offered his terms for peace with Ukraine on Friday at a meeting with Russian foreign ministry officials.

Those include the immediate withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the assurance that Ukraine will give up on its plans to join NATO.

Russia's terms were immediately rebuffed by both Ukraine and leaders from the West, but now Sergey Naryshkin, director of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation, has warned the next set of terms could be even harsher.

"If they refuse the proposal put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the next conditions for concluding a peace agreement for Ukraine will be more complicated and tough," said Mr Naryshkin according to the TASS news agency.

Ukraine's finance minister Serhiy Marchenko says the country will continue to talk with bondholders after failing to reach an agreement over the restructuring of around $20bn (£15.7bn) of international debt.

An agreement was struck between Ukraine and the holders of international bonds that allowed the country to suspend payments after Russia's invasion in 2022.

That agreement ends in August, raising the chances that the country might slip into default if a new agreement is not made before then.

So far, the government's proposal for a new deal and a counter proposal by bondholders showed large disparities between what a restructuring could look like.

Mr Marchenko said today that a "critical" debt rework deal was stillexpected by August.

"Strong armies must be underpinned by strong economies towin wars," he said, adding the country's economy was a "fragilebalance" that hinged on consistent and substantial support fromits partners.

"Timely debt restructuring is a critical part of thissupport."

A large explosion has been reported overnight in the Rostov-on-Don region of southern Russia.

Eyewitness reports, which have not been verified by Sky News, say a large flash was seen by residents before they lost power in their apartments. Video of the reported blast has been circulating online.

Reports suggested it occurred at an electricity substation.

Quotes attributed to the Rostov mayor's office suggest the explosion and subsequent power outage stemmed from the water treatment facilities of JSC Rostovvodokanal, which designs water supply and drainage systems.

The statement says there was a malfunction of the pumping equipment, which also left residents without a steady water supply for some hours.

We'll bring you more details on this as we get them.

There's been an escalation in fighting in the Kharviv region over the weekend as Ukrainian soldiers look to isolate Russian troops advancing across the nearby border in Vovchansk,

Heavy combat is reportedly underway at an aggregate plant on the northern edge of Vovchansk.

DeepState – a Ukrainian monitoring group – says small groups of Russian soldiers have repeatedly attempted to secure the aggregate plant, but have been repelled by Ukraine forces.

One Ukrainian squad commander,Stanislav Buniatov, described the situation as "difficult but controlled" and said Russian troops are "surrounded".

In a post on Telegram yesterday, Buniatov said: "Our guys are not losing their positions, occasionally conducting successful assaults, liberating positions and pushing the enemy back."

Yesterday, the Russian Ministry of Defence said in a statement that "troops improved the situation along the front line and defeated the manpower and hardware" of Ukrainian troops in the "areas of the settlements of Vovchansk, Synelnykove and Vovchanski Khutory" in Kharkiv region.

A total of 78 nations have said the "territorial integrity" of Ukraine must be the basis for any peace agreement to end Russia's two-year war.

Ukraine's prime minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy hosted two days of peace talks in Switzerland over the weekend, with around 1,000 delegations attending.

They included leaders from the UK, Germany, France, Poland, Argentina and Kenya, while the US sent vice president Kamala Harris for the talks.

The final document focuses on issues of food, security, the exchange of prisoners and nuclear safety.

It said that "respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty — can and will serve as a basis for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine."

Among those not to sign the final document were Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Mexico and India.

US officials have criticised Vietnam's decision to host Russian president Vladimir Putin in Hanoi this week.

The Communist-ruled country was not present at the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland over the weekend, with the country's new president, To Lam, instead set to host Mr Putin during a two-day visit to Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday.

The move has triggered a US rebuke, with a spokesperson for the US embassy in Hanoi warning that Mr Putin's visit might "normalise his atrocities."

"No country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalise his atrocities," the spokesperson said.

"If he is able to travel freely, it could normalise Russia'sblatant violations of international law."

According to Ian Storey, a senior fellowat the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Hanoi's hosting of Mr Putin is meant "to demonstratethat Vietnam pursues a balanced foreign policy that does notfavour any of the major powers."