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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow and Kyiv exchange dozens of prisoners

The two sides have returned 90 prisoners each in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two senior figures following alleged attacks on civilian targets. Ask our experts a question about the war below.

Tuesday 25 June 2024 21:58, UK

• Russia and Ukraine each return 90 prisoners of war
• Arrest warrants issued by ICC for former Russian defence minister and top general | Russia's short response
• Ivor Bennett analysis:  Warrants may send powerful message - but Putin is proof they won't mean much in practice
• Explained : What impact will an ICC warrant have on top Russian officials?
• Your questions answered : Has Western media been honest about Ukrainian military failures?
• EU begins membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova
• Big picture : What you need to know this week

Ask a question or make a comment

That brings an end to our live updates on the Ukraine war for this evening.

We'll bring you any major updates overnight. In the meantime, you can scroll through the blog below to catch up on the day's developments.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued a direct message to the two Russian top generals who are the subject of fresh arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court.

The court has accused Sergei Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov of war crimes and the crime against humanity of inhumane acts.

In his nightly video address, Mr Zelenskyy said: "Shoigu, Gerasimov – your path to The Hague is open."

The Ukrainian president also said the official start of Ukraine's ascension into the EU today was a "historic result", adding: "We will definitely implement everything necessary to advance through each chapter of our relations with the EU and to create a treaty – a treaty of Ukraine's accession."

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin and Russian defence minister Andrei Belousov spoke over the phone today, in what marked the first call between Mr Austin and his Russian counterpart since March 2023.

The two men discussed the importance of open lines of communication, the Pentagon said.

Spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said Mr Austin had initiated the conversation. 

Mr Belousov was appointed to the role of defence minister last month after the shock dismissal of longtime minister Sergei Shoigu by Vladimir Putin.

Some of the returned Ukrainian soldiers were prisoners taken from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the head of the Ukrainian president's office has said.

Andriy Yermak said of the 90 fighters returned by Russia today, 52 were from a large group of Ukrainians captured while trying to defend the Azovstal steelworks in southern Ukraine while others had been held as prisoners after the capture of Chernobyl.

Both sites were seized by Russia early in the war.

Mr Yermak described the latest prisoner swap as an "important exchange".

"Thanks to our team for their work. Grateful to the UAE for facilitating the exchange. We will return everyone," he said.

Russia and Ukraine have each returned 90 prisoners of war in the latest swap between the two countries, the Russian defence ministry has said.

In a statement on Telegram, the ministry said Russian prisoners were returned with the United Arab Emirates acting as an intermediary.

The prisoners were being flown to Moscow for medical checks, it added.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed in a post to social media that 90 Ukrainian soldiers were returned by Russia.

"We remember all our people in Russian captivity. We continue our work for the release of everyone. We seek the truth about everyone who may be held by the enemy," he said, as he thanked the Ukrainian exchange team. 

By Ian King , business presenter

The EU has launched its 14th package of sanctions against Russia - this time targeting Vladimir Putin's liquefied natural gas exports (LNG) for the first time.

The measure is the latest attempt by the bloc to deny Mr Putin's regime of money as his war on Ukraine drags into its 29th month.

The sanctions, which will kick in after a nine-month transition period, fall short of an outright ban on Russian LNG shipments.

This partly reflects the fact that EU members are themselves still allowed to buy LNG from Moscow - even though the bloc has set a target of phasing out Russian fossil fuels by 2027.

The EU followed the lead of the United States and the UK in banning Russian oil imports, with one or two limited exceptions, in 2022 after Russia attacked Ukraine.

What latest sanctions do

The key measure in the package, signed off late last week in the face of opposition from Germany and Hungary, is a ban on trans-shipments off EU ports of Russian LNG - essentially preventing the commodity from being sold to third countries via EU ports.

Part of the package also targets specific vessels - including an initial 27 oil tankers - that are used to get around the price cap slapped on Russian oil by the G7 countries.

It will also, in time, target vessels caught, for example, carrying ammunition from North Korea to Russia or transporting grain stolen from Ukraine by Moscow.

The latest package of sanctions also bans new investments and services to complete LNG projects under construction in Russia.

That should, in theory, stymie Russia's attempts to build out its LNG exports and grow market share.

Other elements include bans on EU businesses from using the Bank of Russia's system for transfer of financial messages (SPFS) system - the Bank of Russia's version of the West's Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) inter-bank messaging system.

Under this measure, the European Council will be allowed to draw up a list of non-Russian third-country banks connected to the system and ban them from doing business with EU operators.

Targeting rich Russians and pop stars

There are also restrictions on access to Russian media, as well as new technological and export restrictions and a fresh blacklist of a further 116 people deemed to be supporting the war, including the singer Yaroslav Dronov, who performs under the name Shaman and whose song 'I'm Russian' was reportedly played daily to Alexei Navalny, the late democracy campaigner, in his Arctic Circle prison cell.

Also targeted was another popular Russian singer, Polina Gagarina, who performed before Putin at an event in Crimea following the invasion of Ukraine.

The EU has also introduced a number of bans, targeting wealthy Russians, on private jet travel to EU resorts.

Announcing the measures, the European Commission said: "As the Russian aggression against Ukraine continues, the EU remains determined to keep acting to further reduce Russia's sources of revenue and capacity to wage war.

"Today's measures send a clear and strong signal of EU unity and of our support to Ukraine and its people."

Will watered-down sanctions have any impact?

The big question is whether these latest sanctions will actually have much impact - particularly in view of the fact that they were watered down.

Germany, for example, reportedly prevented a widening of measures that would have forced EU companies to guarantee that their customers would not be able to sell prohibited goods to Russia.

And Hungary - the value of whose Russian LNG imports is up 59% year on year - is said to have demanded assurances that no current or future measures will impact the Paks II nuclear power plant which is being built by the state-owned Russian power company Rosatom 63 miles to the south-west of Budapest.

The chances are that the sanctions will only go so far in hurting Russia.

Still a major supplier

According to Kpler, the data provider, Russia is the second-biggest supplier of LNG to the EU after the United States. It says that, so far this year, the US has met 41% of the EU's LNG needs and Russia 21%.

And in May this year, for the first time since just after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, imports of Russian LNG were greater than those of American LNG.

Nor do these sanctions cover imports of Russian gas transported to the EU through pipelines via Turkey and Ukraine itself.

Much of this ends up in central European countries such as Austria, which in the first five months of this year had 80% of its gas needs met by Russia, but also countries such as Italy and Belgium.

Moreover, while the bans on trans-shipments will make it harder for Russian LNG exports to reach their intended destination, they are unlikely to stop them altogether.

They will just force Russia to use longer shipping routes - while a lot of the LNG previously being exported in this way is now, ironically, likely to be sold to customers in Europe itself.

It is always encouraging to see the EU seeking to deprive Putin's war machine of money.

But these sanctions could have gone a lot further. That they did not highlights the extent to which the EU still relies on Russian gas.

Donald Trump has been presented with a plan to end the war in Ukraine if he is elected to the White House in November.

The Reuters news agency reports that two key advisers for the presumptive Republican nominee have put forward the plan, which involves telling Kyiv it will only get more US military aid if it enters peace talks.

At the same time, the US would warn Moscow that refusal to negotiate would result in increased support from Washington for Ukraine, according to retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg.

Lt Kellogg and Fred Fleitzl, who were both chiefs of staff in Trump's National Security Council while he was president and who came up with the plan, said a ceasefire would be based on prevailing battle lines during peace talks.

Mr Fleitzl said Trump showed a positive attitude towards the plan.

"I'm not claiming he agreed with it or agreed with every word of it, but we were pleased to get the feedback we did," he said.

The Kremlin has said any peace plan from a future Trump administration would need to reflect the battlefield "reality" - but that Vladimir Putin was open to talks.

"The value of any plan lies in the nuances and in taking into account the real state of affairs on the ground," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

From the Ukrainian side, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said freezing the war at prevailing front lines would be "strange".

"Ukraine has an absolutely clear understanding and it is spelled out in the peace formula proposed by President Zelenskyy, it is clearly stated there - peace can only be fair and peace can only be based on international law," he said.

Four people have injured in a Russian attack on Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine, an official has said.

Regional governor Oleg Synegubov said Russia hit the village of Bobrivka with "at least four" guided aerial bombs this afternoon.

Two women, aged 87 and 40, and two men aged 67 and 56 were injured, he said.

The women were treated on the spot while the two men were hospitalised for treatment.

Ukrainian police say they have detained a man involved in the alleged torture of a former soldier in Ukraine's fourth-largest city of Dnipro.

The National Police service said on Telegram that Dmytro Yavornytskyi was targeted last Thursday by a group of men in balaclavas and camouflage who injured and put handcuffs on him.

The men have since been identified and one has been detained today, the service said.

Dnipro's regional prosecutor's office has begun criminal proceedings alleging illegal deprivation of liberty and torture.

More now from Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, who has warned of "tragic and fatal" consequences if the West underestimates Russia's determination.

Mr Ryabkov said Moscow was ready to stand up for itself "and ensure its own interests in any situation".

"I don't even want to assume that this underestimation could become tragic and fatal," he said, adding the West was confronting a major nuclear power. 

"There are different ways to respond to this - rhetorical and practical. We have the resources to convey signals to the West in the field of nuclear deterrence, even in the absence of our opponents' willingness to conduct a sober dialogue. But there is a danger, it cannot be underestimated, that their side may make a mistake. We will try not to," Mr Ryabkov said at a conference in Moscow.

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