With Russian attacks now focused on the east of the country, the war in Ukraine has entered a new phase. Responses in the rest of the world range from hesitancy in Germany, fear in Taiwan—of China doing something similar—and ambivalence in wider Asia.
The Economist is following the conflict closely. Our coverage includes our recent face-to-face interview in Kyiv with Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, as well as asking prominent thinkers for their opinions on the conflict.
The United States is exploring whether it can send US-made fighter jets to Ukraine, a White House spokesman has said.
While the Biden administration was making preliminary explorations into the feasibility of potentially providing the jets to Ukraine, the move is not something that would be done immediately, White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a briefing.
"It's not something that would be executed in the near-term," Kirby said.
Such a move would be a major increase in US support for Ukraine in its battle against Russia.
So far the US has provided $8.2bn in security aid for Ukraine.
r Zelenskyy also said he had spoken with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Mr Johnson is due to leave the top job in September after his successor is chosen.
Mr Zelenskyy said: "I spoke today with a great friend of Ukraine, Boris Johnson.
"First of all, about security and defence cooperation. We are waiting for a new package of military support.
"Relations between Ukraine and the UK are built on common values.
"And no matter what happens in politics, the ties between our countries and societies will only strengthen."
He said there could be no ceasefire unless lost territory was retaken.
"Freezing the conflict with the Russian Federation means a pause that gives the Russian Federation a break for rest," he told the Wall Street Journal.
"Society believes that all the territories must be liberated first, and then we can negotiate about what to do and how we could live in the centuries ahead."
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spoken overnight about the agreement reached earlier in the day regarding the exporting of the country's grain.
He said: "From the first day of the full-scale invasion, Russia did everything to not just close Ukraine's access to the sea, but to destroy the very potential of our exports – port infrastructure, our railways, warehouses and silos. We did not allow it.
"And now we can not only restore the operation of our ports on the Black Sea, but also keep them protected. This has been worked out with our military and with our intelligence. The military assured me of one hundred percent control of the approaches to our ports."
He said the points of the agreement "fully meet the interests of Ukraine".
"First: about 20 million tonnes of last year's grain harvest will be exported. And also it will be possible to sell this year's harvest – and it is already being harvested. These are the incomes of farmers, the entire agricultural sector and the state budget. These are jobs. These are funds for next year's sowing season.
"We now have approximately $10bn worth of grain.
Secondly: finally, there is a chance to reduce the severity of the food crisis provoked by Russia. There is a chance to prevent a global catastrophe – a famine that could lead to political chaos in many countries of the world, in particular in the countries that help us.
"And thirdly: this is another illustration that Ukraine is able to withstand this war. It is important that everything in the territorial waters of Ukraine will be controlled by our state.
"And it is clear to everyone that there may be some provocations on the part of Russia, some attempts to discredit Ukrainian and international efforts. But we trust the UN. Now, it is their responsibility and responsibility of international partners to ensure compliance with the agreements."
Ceasefires need trust and for Ukraine-Russia's grain exports deal that's in scarce supply
A deal has been reached between Russia and Ukraine to resume grain exports from Black Sea ports.
If you're an optimist this agreement is an extraordinary piece of diplomacy which should help ease hunger in some of the most impoverished places in the world, writes Sky's correspondent Alex Rossi.
White House announces $270m military package for Ukraine
The US has said it is sending an additional $270m in security assistance to Ukraine, a new package that will include additional medium range rocket systems and tactical drones.
The latest tranche announced by the White House Friday comes atop about $8 billion in security assistance provided since the war began in late February.
It is being paid for through $40 billion in economic and security assistance for Ukraine approved by Congress in May.
The new package includes four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and allows Kyiv to acquire up to 580 Phoenix Ghost drones, both crucial weapon systems that have allowed the Ukrainians to stay in the fight despite Russian artillery supremacy.
UK is working to 'expand' training Ukrainian troops, Number 10 says
Following a call between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, a Downing Street spokeswoman said the UK is working to expand its efforts to train Ukrainian troops.
The statement said: "The Prime Minister outlined the recent steps the UK has taken to bolster Ukraine's resistance, including training thousands of Ukrainian troops in the UK. The UK is working to expand this training effort, including through the involvement of international partners."
It added that Mr Zelenskyy had said military support from the UK and others is making a real difference in the conflict.
Ukrainian soldiers have received weapons training in the UK in a bid to strengthen its forces against Russia.
Ukraine's deputy defence minister, Volodymyr Havrylov, has also met soldiers training in the UK during a visit.
A ceasefire without reclaiming lost lands would only prolong war, says Zelenskyy
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said a cease-fire with Russia without reclaiming the lost lands would only prolong the war.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), he warned that a cease-fire that allows Russia to keep Ukrainian territories seized since the invasion in February would only encourage an even wider conflict, giving Moscow abadly-needed opportunity to replenish and rearm for the next round.
"Freezing the conflict with the Russian Federation means a pause that gives the Russian Federation a break for rest," the WSJ reported, citing comments by Mr Zelenskyy.
In the interview he also added that while Western supplied HIMARS, artillery rocket systems, were making a material difference, his country needs more to turn the tide.
Ukraine has already harvested 6.5m tonnes of crops
Ukraine has already harvested 6.5 million tonnes of its new crop, the country's prime minister Denys Shmyhal said on Friday.
"The government is maximally involved in supporting the agricultural sector - more than 40 billion hryvnias ($1.09 billion) of accessible loans have been issued," Mr Shmyhal wrote on Telegram.
He did not specify the quantities of separate harvested crops.
Earlier we reported on the grain exports deal which was made official - meaning the Russian blockade in the region will allow grain through.
The deal is also aimed at easing the global food crisis (see our post at 15.11).
A new head of UK's Defence Intelligence service announced
A civilian will become the head of the UK's Defence Intelligence service, a post that has traditionally been filled by a senior military officer, writes our security and defence editor, Deborah Haynes.
Adrian Bird is currently a director general at the cyber and signals intelligence agency, GCHQ, but will take up his new post in September, the Ministry of Defence said on Friday.
Defence Intelligence has stepped out of the shadows in the wake of Russia’s largescale invasion of Ukraine in February.
It posts near-daily updates on the war on the social media site, Twitter, using declassified intelligence to shine a light on Russian intentions and blunders.
General Sir James Hockenhull, the previous Chief of Defence Intelligence, said the choice of Mr Bird to replace him would help the service work ever-more closely with other parts of government.
"As a current Director-General at GCHQ, Adrian is a widely respected figure across all the intelligence community," said General Hockenhull, who is now Commander of Strategic Command.
"He has worked on a wide range of operations and brings to his new role a huge bank of experience and knowledge. This will enable him to integrate all levels of defence and government to work together to address the challenges we face in an increasingly uncertain world."
Mr Bird said he was "proud and excited" about his new role.
"I have been fortunate to work closely with colleagues across Defence and Defence Intelligence for many years - amazingly dedicated and talented people, brimming with ideas, who are making a difference for the UK and our allies every day," he said.
Defence Intelligence, which sits under the Ministry of Defence, comprises military and civilian officials.
A new scramble for Africa? Lavrov to visit Egypt in bid to deepen Russia's non-Western ties
Russian foreign minister will begin an African tour in Egypt on Sunday, seeking to draw on demand for non-Western alliances as Moscow pushes back against international censure over the war in Ukraine.
Sergei Lavrov will meet officials in Egypt as part of an effort trying to square deep links to Russia with their close relationship to the United States, which along with other Western powers has sought to isolate Russia with tough sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine.
After meeting Arab League members in Cairo, he will travel to Ethiopia and Uganda, two countries whose relations with the West have come under strain, along with Congo Republic.
Egypt has significant strategic and economic ties with Russia, which has been a key source in recent years of wheat, weaponry and - until the war complicated travel - tourists.
Russia may be forced to pull out of key city within days, top expert predicts
Dr Mike Martin, visiting fellow in war studies at King's College London, has suggested that the Russians may not be able to spend much longer defending the strategically key city of Kherson - and may be forced to pull out within the next week or so.
It has been the location of some of the fiercest fighting of the conflict, but the prominent expert predicts Putin could frame a withdrawal by his forces as a "goodwill" gesture in the next 10 days.
It is operationally important to the Russians, due to its access to Crimea, and its position north and west of the Dnipro river.
Saying the war was currently "at a very interesting point", Dr Martin pointed to operational pauses to fighting in the Donbas.
Now, Ukraine has been using pauses in fighting as Russia regroups to hit back at Moscow's troops, striking command centres and control posts with western-donated weaponry in Kherson.
Ukraine has also been hitting supply drops and bridges, slowing Russia's access into Kherson.
And he says Kyiv's relatively recent access to longer range missile systems means Russia will now have to move its supply dumps back considerably, so they are beyond the range of Ukrainian strikes.
"It means that Russia, who rely on a very artillery heavy way of fighting war (and artillery is the most logistics intensive thing ever), can probably no longer get enough supplies up to the front line to conduct offensives; they can probably only defend on the Kherson front now," he says.
Dr Martin's adds: "If I were a Russian soldier in Kherson I would be pretty scared right now."
'They can't keep it up forever' - US says Russia may starting to struggle
More on the assessment on what is happening in Russia from the point of view from the US.
A CIA senior defence official said today that Russia "can't keep it up forever" when it comes to their barrage of attacks, adding its capabilities are getting "dumber" after using most of its smarter weapons.
The official added that the offensive in Donetsk will likely last through the summer, with Russia making small gains a high cost.
What does the deal on grain actually mean?
Grain is a major export of Ukraine, and is one of the biggest suppliers in the world of the crop.
The blockade in the Black Sea has meant silos have been sat full of the stuff for months, with no one able to ship it out the country to manufacturers - putting pressure on food prices globally.
The UN World Food Programme says some 47 million people have moved into a stage of "acute hunger" due to fall-out from the war, too.
The move should help alleviate pressure on the global food production, as more access to the key natural resource grows - which in turn may bring down prices.
Given the logistics, it should take around 10 days for things to get moving, so that ships are able to enter and exit the ports freely.
The deal actually means an effective ceasefire on these vessels coming in and out of the named ports, including Odesa, with safe passage provided from the air.
To allay Russian fears that ships could be used by the West to get weapons in to Ukraine, all ships heading there will stop in Turkey first to be checked, before they finally dock.
UK responds to deal that ends Russian blockade of grain
Responding to the deal, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: "Putin's barbaric invasion of Ukraine has meant some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world are at risk of having nothing to eat.
"It is vital that Ukrainian grain reaches international food markets, and we applaud Turkey and the UN Secretary General for their efforts to broker this agreement.
"The UK and our allies have been pushing hard to reach this point. Now this agreement must be implemented, and we will be watching to ensure Russia's actions match its words.
"To enable a lasting return to global security and economic stability, Putin must end the war and withdraw from Ukraine."
International Committee of the Red Cross responds to grain deal
Robert Mardini, director general of the ICRC, said: "A deal that allows grain to leave Black Sea ports is nothing short of life-saving for people across the world who are struggling to feed their families.
"Nowhere are the consequences felt harder than in communities already impacted by armed conflict and climate shocks.
"For example, our market monitoring, over the past six months has seen the price of food staples rise by 187% in Sudan; 86% in Syria; 60% in Yemen; 54% in Ethiopia; as compared to the same time period last year.
"So efforts must continue. The ICRC works to alleviate suffering of those caught up in conflict, anywhere in the world."
Grain deal will save 'billions' of people facing famine, Turkey says
While there remains scepticism around the chances of its success, the agreement reached on grain exports offers hope that food prices may begin to fall.
Much of the world's manufacturers get their grain from Ukraine - but the blockade has put pressure on supply.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the deal will help "billions" of people facing famine as a result of the blockade, and that it will ease food inflation.
He said it could be a "turning point that will revive the hope for peace".
Turkey is one of the brokers of the agreement, along with the United Nations.
UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres said it would benefit those "on the edge of bankruptcy and the most vulnerable people on the edge of famine".
The agreement will be put in place within the next few weeks, and seek to shift around five million tonnes a month - back to pre-war levels.
Deal to allow grain exports out of the Black Sea is official
It means the Russian blockade in the region will allow the resource through, in an effort to ease the global food crisis.
The ports of Odesa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny will form part of the agreement.
Royal Navy track two Russian submarines in North Sea
Two Russian submarines are being tracked by the Royal Navy off the coast off Norway, it has said.
British submarine hunter HMS Portland shadowed the submarines, cruise missile submarine Severodvinsk and Akula-class attack submarine Vepr, after they surfaced separately in the North Sea, north west of Bergen, Norway.
A Navy spokesman said they were tracked as they made their underwater journey south along the Norwegian coast.
He said: "Portland and her specialist Merlin helicopter - both equipped with cutting-edge sonars, sensors and torpedoes for submarine-hunting operations - reported on the movements of the Russian Northern Fleet vessels.
"One of the RAF's new long-range maritime patrol aircraft, the P8 Poseidon, also worked closely with HMS Portland to hunt and track the submarines."
Meetings ongoing in Turkey on the new grain agreement
Russia's defence minister Sergei Shoigu has met up with his Turkish counterpart in Istanbul ahead of the signing of an agreement which should open up the Black Sea to grain exports once more.
US believes Ukraine has taken out nearly 100 'high-value' targets
US intelligence believes that Russia is sustaining heavy casualties, and that it has taken out more than 100 "high-value" targets.
The US believes that Russian casualties in Ukraine so far have reached around 15,000 killed and perhaps 45,000 wounded, adding that Ukraine has also endured significant casualties.
Areas like command posts and ammo depots are among some of the major targets the US thinks Ukraine has taken out.
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