???? Live: EU warns a weaker Putin poses ‘greater danger’, promises new security support for Ukraine

Issued on: 30/06/2023 – 08:01

6:00am: Human Rights Watch reports new evidence of Ukrainian use of banned landmines

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday that it uncovered new evidence of the indiscriminate use by Ukrainian forces of banned anti-personnel landmines against Russian troops who invaded in 2022.

The group called on Ukraine’s government to follow through with a commitment made earlier this month not to employ such weapons, investigate their suspected use and hold accountable those responsible.

“The Ukrainian government’s pledge to investigate its military’s apparent use of banned anti-personnel mines is an important recognition of its duty to protect civilians,” Steve Goose, Human Rights Watch’s arms director, said in a statement.

HRW said it shared its findings with the Ukrainian government in a May letter to which it received no response.

5:30am: Spain’s Prime Minister Sanchez to visit Kyiv on Saturday

Spain will take on the EU’s rotating presidency this weekend with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visiting Kyiv to show steadfast European support for Ukraine as it battles Russian forces, officials said Thursday.

Sanchez “will kick off the EU presidency on Saturday, July 1, in Ukraine … to demonstrate with his presence the unfaltering European Union support” to the country, said a statement from his office.

The announcement was made as Sanchez attended an EU summit in Brussels, in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, participating via videolink, confirmed the visit.

From July to the end of December, Spain will hold the EU presidency which rotates among the bloc’s 27 member nations, taking over from Sweden.

1:16am: Trump, longtime admirer of Putin, says aborted rebellion ‘somewhat weakened’ Russian leader

Former US president Donald Trump, a longtime admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Thursday that Putin has been “somewhat weakened” by the Wagner Group’s aborted rebellion and that now is the time for the United States to try to broker a negotiated peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine.

“I want people to stop dying over this ridiculous war,” Trump told Reuters in a telephone interview.

12:50am: EU leaders back security commitments for Ukraine

European Union leaders declared on Thursday they would make long-term commitments to bolster Ukraine’s security as President Volodymyr Zelensky urged them to start work on a new round of sanctions against Russia.

At a summit in Brussels, the leaders restated their condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine and said the EU and its member countries “stand ready” to contribute to commitments that would help Ukraine defend itself in the long term.

In a text summarising the conclusions of the summit, the leaders said they would swiftly consider the form these commitments would take.

Josep Borrell, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, suggested they could build on existing EU support, such as the European Peace Facility fund that has financed billions of euros in arms for Ukraine and a training mission for Ukrainian troops.

“The military support to Ukraine has to (be for the) long haul,” Borrell told reporters, suggesting the EU could establish a Ukrainian Defence Fund, modelled on the Peace Facility.

“The training has to continue, the modernisation of the army has to continue. Ukraine needs our commitment to continue ensuring their security during the war and after the war,” he added.

Key developments from Thursday, June 29:

The EU’s top diplomat warned Thursday that a “weaker” Russian President Vladimir Putin would pose a “greater danger” after the Wagner Group’s aborted rebellion sparked the largest political crisis in decades in the nuclear-armed country.

“A weaker Putin is a greater danger. So we have to be very much aware of the consequences,” Josep Borrell said ahead of a gathering of EU leaders in Brussels. “Until now we were looking at Russia as a threat because it was a lot of force and force has been used in Ukraine. Now we have to look at Russia as a risk because of internal instability,” Borrell told reporters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg and prominent European figures who are forming a working group to address ecological damage from the 16-month-old Russian invasion.

“Ecocide and environmental destruction is a form of warfare … as Ukrainians by this point know all too well – and so does Russia,” said Thunberg, during a visit to Kyiv.

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

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)