June 27, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

Ukrainian representatives have requested a meeting of the UN Security Council Tuesday to discuss the most recent Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian soil that have resulted in several civilian fatalities and several dozen injuries, Anatolii Zlenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s UN delegation, told CNN Monday.?

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs will brief the council at the meeting, which is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, a UN spokesperson told CNN.

A Russian?airstrike struck a bustling shopping mall?in Kremenchuk, central Ukraine on Monday, setting the building ablaze and prompting concerns of mass casualties.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the strike that up to 1,000 people were in the mall before the air raid was announced.

Dmytro Lunin, the head of the Poltava region military administration, has revised the death toll from Monday’s strike on a shopping mall in Kremenchuk to 15, according to a post on his Telegram channel.?

Earlier in the day, when updating the number of fatalities, Lunin indicated it could continue to climb, tweeting, “It is too early to talk about the final number of dead people.”

G7 leaders and US President Joe Biden have condemned the attack. Ukrainian officials say at least 58 people were injured.

In?a tweet Monday, US President Joe Biden, who’s in Germany attending the G7 summit, condemned a Russian missile attack on a shopping mall in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, writing, “Russia’s attack on civilians at a shopping mall is cruel. We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people.”?

See the President’s tweet:

(Office of the Ukrainian Presidency)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called a strike on a mall in the city of Kremenchuk “one of the most daring terrorist acts in European history.”

The Ukrainian president went on to say the attack was deliberate.

“This is not a mistaken hit of missiles. This is a planned Russian strike at this shopping center,” Zelensky said in the video address. “The rescue operation continues, but we must be aware that the losses can be significant.”

The Ukrainian president said doctors had been dispatched from Kyiv to help treat the wounded and sent his condolences to the families of those who had died. He also called on people to follow warnings from the authorities.?

“I ask everyone, whenever you hear the siren of the air alarm — please go to the shelter. Necessarily. Don’t ignore it,” he said. “Russia will stop at nothing.”

G7 leaders condemned the “abominable” attack on a Ukraine shopping mall in a joint statement on Monday.

“Indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians constitute a war crime. Russian President Putin and those responsible will be held to account,” it continues.

“We will not rest until Russia ends its cruel and senseless war on Ukraine,” the statement said.

At least 13 people have died so far in the attack, and 58 people have been injured, according to Ukrainian officials.

In a video address posted earlier Monday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said about?1,000 people?may have been in the building when it was struck.

Read the full statement:

At least eight people were killed and 42 were wounded when a Russian Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) rocket hit a crowd that was collecting water from a tanker, Serhii Hayday, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said on Monday.?

“Today in Lysychansk, when the civilian population was collecting water from a tanker, the Russians aimed at a crowd of people with MLRS ‘Hurricane,’” Hayday said. “Eight Lysychansk residents died, 21 people were taken to hospital, and five of them remained in Lysychansk after receiving medical treatment. Sixteen citizens were evacuated to hospitals in other regions.”

CNN was unable to independently verify Hayday’s claims and the Russian government didn’t immediately comment on the incident. Russia has continuously denied targeting civilians despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

The alleged attack happens as Russian forces in the region concentrate their efforts on trying to take Lysychansk, the last remaining city in the Luhansk oblast still under Ukrainian control.

“In addition to storming the city from different sides, they are also destroying it with artillery, aircraft and constant shelling,” Hayday also said on Monday.

Hayday went on to explain that the humanitarian situation was dire, with “many wounded and dead already.”

The head of the Luhansk region military administration also said that Ukrainian forces are putting up fierce resistance in the area, but he added that they are outmanned and outgunned.

“The problem of the Ukrainian military is the same. The Russians have many times more artillery and many times more shells for them. There is an impression that there is an unlimited number of shells,” Hayday explained. “They have creeping, scorched earth tactics, they just destroy everything in their path. After several hours of shelling, assault attempts are being made, and they are beaten off. Again, several hours of shelling again attempt to storm — and so repeatedly.”

“The city is quite complicated, and now a large number of our defenders are just holding the defense, but many times more Russians have been thrown to storm Lysychansk,” he said.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen arrives?at the G7 leaders summit in Elmau, Germany, on Sunday, June 26.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she would not “bet on Russia” despite Moscow’s forces making progress in the east of Ukraine.

Speaking from the G7 Summit in Germany, von der Leyen said Ukraine’s allies remain unified.?

“We have unleashed six packages of heavy sanctions against Russia in record time. And indeed, it is not easy for our member states because they have to pay a certain price,” she told CNN. “There is unity in all the?actions we have taken.”

“Putin never ever expected the determination, the resolve and the unity of the European Union,” von der Leyen added.??

One person died after being taken to a hospital, bringing the death toll from the Krememchuk airstrike up to 11, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Services.

In addition, 58 other people were injured.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said up to 1,000 people were in the mall when it was hit by missiles, adding: “The number of victims is impossible to imagine.”

A “serious disruption” to the European Union’s gas supplies from Russia is “likely,” the bloc’s energy chief said on Monday, urging countries to step up their preparedness.???

“The situation is deteriorating. While the gas supply to the member states is currently guaranteed, the security of supply risks are greater than ever,” she added, noting that Russian gas exports to the EU are half of what they were a year ago.?

However, she said the security of supply risks were “not immediate” and the European gas system had “reacted well and so far has been able to absorb the cuts.”?

Simson said the European Commission will propose an EU plan to prepare for further gas shocks in July, as Russia has already cut or reduced supplies to 12 of the bloc’s 27 member states.?

Customers refuel at a TotalEnergies SE gas station in Toulouse, France, on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022.?

The heads of EDF, Engie and TotalEnergies released a joint statement, appealing to their customers in France for “urgent restraint” on Monday, asking them to cut back on energy usage amid soaring prices.

The rising prices resulting from this “threaten social and political cohesion and have too heavy an impact on the purchasing power of families,” they added.

The three industry heads said they had taken action to tackle supply in the short term by “diversifying gas supplies, proactively filling storage facilities, installing a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in the port of Le Havre to accelerate LNG imports, and reactivating ‘mothballed’ facilities.”

However, they called on their customers to do their part and reduce their consumption of electricity, gas, oil and energy products, starting from the summer, saying “the best energy remains the energy we do not consume.”

“We must act on energy demand by reducing our consumption to give us more room for maneuver. We will need it to manage future consumption peaks and to cushion the technical hazards or geopolitical shocks that we may have to face,” the statement urged.?

German chancellor Olaf Scholz waits for other leaders to arrive?at the G-7 leaders summit in Elmau, Germany, on Monday, June 27.

There can be no return to what the ties with Russia were before the war in Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Monday, adding that the war waged by Moscow is a “deep, deep cut in international relations.”

The war is “a matter of long-lasting changes that will shape international relations for a very, very long time,” Scholz said during a news conference on the sidelines of the G7 summit in the Bavarian Alps in southern Germany. “In our relations with Russia there can be no going back to the time before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”

Despite uncertainty about how the world would change as a result of the war, the G7 members should “master this change” by “standing together and working together closely and in a spirit of trust,” he added. “And that is what unites us: democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives for the leaders' retreat during the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda, on Saturday, June 25.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the attack at a mall in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk on Monday showed the “depths of cruelty and barbarism” to which Russian President Vladimir Putin would sink to, the UK’s PA news agency reported.??

More than 1,000 people were inside the mall when a Russian missile was fired at the building, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Once again our thoughts are with the families of innocent victims in Ukraine. Putin must realize that his behavior will do nothing but strengthen the resolve of the Ukraine and every other G7 country to stand by the Ukraine for as long as it takes,” the British prime minister said.??

A rescuer stands amid rubbles following the destruction of a heating system plant after a Russian missile attack in Kostyantynivka, in the Donetsk region, on June 24.

Russia has launched more strikes into Ukraine in the past week than the US has seen in recent weeks, according to a senior US defense official.?

The official said that Russia is making gains in the Donbas but is still facing Ukrainian resistance.

In a background call with reporters, the official also said that the US is aware that several Russian generals have been relieved of command and that there are “continued morale concerns with Russian forces.”

In the Kherson region, the US is aware that local officials who have been working with Russia have been assassinated amid Ukrainian resistance, and that the Ukrainians have made modest gains in the northern part of the region.??

The official also said that the Ukrainians are using the HIMARS that were delivered to their country in security assistance packages “very well.”

Dmytro Lunin, the head of the Poltava region military administration, revised the death toll from Monday’s airstrike on a shopping mall in Kremenchuk?to 10 dead and 40 injured.

This report comes after Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the office of the president of Ukraine, said earlier on Monday that two people had died and that 20 people have been wounded —?of which nine were in a serious condition — following the airstrike.

Initial reports from President Volodymyr Zelensky suggest that at least 1,000 people may have been in the building when it was struck.

At least four people were killed and 19 were injured in renewed shelling by Russian forces of the area on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukrainian authorities said.

Officials say the death toll and number of injured are expected to rise.

Russian shelling hit the areas of Northern Saltivka and the Nemyshlyany district of Kharkiv, according to the head of the Kharkiv regional state administration, Oleh Syniehubov.

“The occupiers hit yards and streets – there was only civilian infrastructure, only civilians,” Syniehubov said.?“I urge everyone to be as careful as possible. Do not go outside unnecessarily.”

CNN could not independently verify Ukrainian claims.

Traders work at the stock exchange in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on June 15.

The German Financial Stability committee (FSC) saw “no serious disruptions to the functioning of the German financial system” but conditions have “worsened “as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it said in its annual report published Monday.

The report evaluated financial data from April 1, 2021, until March 31, 2022.?

The FSC also warned that risks to financial stability could be elevated in case of “adverse real economic developments“ coinciding with an “abrupt interest rate hike.”??

“Inflation has risen significantly, while the outlook for growth has deteriorated,” the FSC added.?

Hospital workers bandage a man's hand at the Sloviansk hospital on June 25 in Sloviansk, Ukraine. The hospital has been operating with no running water for about a month.?

Upon requests from Ukraine, the European Union will supply the war-torn country with $12 million worth of medical equipment, protective gear, and specialized equipment for public health risks such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats, the bloc announced Monday in a statement.?

“As hospitals in Ukraine are in urgent need of medical equipment, the EU is also donating patient monitors, infusion pumps and ventilators, together with protective equipment for the medical staff, like masks and gowns,” the EU Commission said in the statement.?

The assistance will be delivered to Ukraine from the EU’s emergency stockpiles hosted by Romania, Hungary, Sweden, Germany, Greece and Denmark, it added.?

For these supplies, the EU has mobilized the “rescEU strategic reserves,” according to Janez Lenarcic, EU’s commissioner for crisis management. “Medical equipment, and equipment tailored to chemical, biological or nuclear emergencies are on the way to Ukraine. Hospitals and medical workers in Ukraine are working under fire, and we must do everything in our power to provide them the necessary tools to save lives.”

Russian hacker group Killnet claimed responsibility for cyberattacks on Lithuanian websites in response to Vilnius banning the passage of goods sanctioned by the European Union across its territory and into the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, an isolated but strategically significant territory on the Baltic coast.??

Killnet admitted to the attacks on their official Telegram channel on Monday.???

Several Lithuanian public institutions have experienced cyber attacks, said the Lithuanian government public and media relations department.

“Due to cyber attacks on several public institutions there are temporary service disruptions. Our institutions are taking measures to solve current problems and prevent further disruptions. The most severe DDoS attacks have been already managed,” the media department said in an email to CNN.

The situation was under control, Asta Galdikaite, head of the public information division at the Lithuanian defense ministry, told CNN.?

But in an online statement published Monday, the Ministry of Defense warned of an “ongoing” cyber-attack.?

“The National Cyber Security Centre (NKSC) under the Ministry of National Defence?warns of an intense ongoing?Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack against the Secure National Data Transfer Network, other governmental institutions and private companies of Lithuania.?Part of the Secure National Data Transfer Network users have been unable to access services, work is progress to restore it to normal.?The Core Center of State Telecommunications is identifying the most severely attacked websites in real time and applying additional protections, while also collaborating closely with international web service providers in search of solutions,” the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense said.?

“It is highly probable that such or even more intense attacks will continue into the coming days, especially against the communications, energy and financial sectors,” said Jonas Skardinskas, acting NKSC director and head of Cyber Security Management Department, in the statement.

It was not immediately clear, when the online statement was published.?

Why this matters: Tensions are mounting around the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Russia has reacted furiously after Lithuania banned the passage of sanctioned goods across its territory and into Kaliningrad. But Lithuania said it is merely upholding European Union sanctions, and the European bloc has backed it. The row now threatens to escalate strains between Moscow and the EU, which has unveiled several packages of sanctions on Russian goods.

Read more here.

A senior US defense official called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “cavalier” language around the nuclear-capable missile systems pledged to Belarus “pretty irresponsible.”

“Our strategic forces are always monitoring things in that regard,” said the official in a background call with reporters. “We are certainly taking that seriously and have taken that threat seriously from the very beginning.”

Here’s the full quote:

Some more context: Russia will transfer nuclear-capable Iskander-M missile systems to Belarus over the coming months, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting in St. Petersburg on Saturday.

“In the next few months, we will transfer to Belarus the Iskander-M tactical missile systems, which, as you know, can use both ballistic and cruise missiles, both in conventional and nuclear versions,”?Putin told Lukashenko, according to the Kremlin.

In a transcript of the meeting, Lukashenko expressed to Putin his “stress” and concerns over what he alleged are flights by the United States and NATO planes “training to carry nuclear warheads” close to Belarus’ border.

Lukashenko asked Putin to consider “a mirrored response” to the flights or to convert Russia’s Su-35 fighter jets, which are currently deployed to Belarus, so that “they can carry nuclear warheads.”

Putin replied that although it is possible to match the US flights, “there is no need,” and suggested that because Belarus’ military has a large number of Su-25 aircraft that can be converted to nuclear-capable instead.

“This modernization should be carried out at aircraft factories in Russia, but we will agree with you on how to do this. And accordingly, start training the flight crew,” Putin said.

The Iskander-M is a Russian-built short-range ballistic missile system that can carry conventional or nuclear warheads?with a maximum range of up to 500 KM (310 miles), according to Janes Defense.

The weapon uses both optical and inertial guidance systems to strike its targets, hitting them with a range of warheads, such as cluster munitions, vacuum bombs, bunker-busters, and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) warheads,?according to the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.?

The Iskander-M was first used in 2008 during the Russia-Georgia conflict, when the Russian Army used it to hit targets in Gori, according to the alliance.

Mariya Knight and Jonny Hallam contributed to this report

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu for a coordinated response to Russia’s threats, as the pair met in Kyiv on Monday.?

“Our countries have threats with a common root, created by Russian aggression and Russian politics. If the threats have common roots, we should have a coordinated response to them,” Zelensky said at a joint news conference.?

Zelensky also reiterated “Ukraine remains a guarantor” in regulating situation in Transnistria, Moldova’s breakaway region with Russian military presence, and “will actively assist Moldova going forward.”

Sandu visited the towns of Borodyanka, Bucha and Irpin, which were devastated by Russia’s occupation in March. Sandu reiterated Moldova’s position “loud and clear” condemning “the senseless violence of this war and the invasion.”?

Sandu added her country of 2.6 million has welcomed half a million of Ukrainian refugees since the start of the war in February.?

Some background: The European Union last week agreed that Ukraine and Moldova should be given?candidate status?— a significant step on the?path to full membership.

However, it is still likely to be years before Ukraine is able to join the EU. The process is lengthy and requires agreement from the 27 member states at almost every stage. This means that there are multiple opportunities for member states to use their veto as a political bargaining chip.?

CNN’s?Luke McGee contributed reporting to this post.

Two people are dead and 20 people are injured following an airstrike on a shopping mall in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

Of the 20 people injured, nine are in serious condition, Tymoshenko said.

Initial reports from President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that at least 1,000 people may have been in the building when it was struck.

Volodymyr Solohub,?chief of the Poltava oblast Department of State Emergency Services of Ukraine, said he does not know “how many more people might still be under the rubble.”

The mall is 10,000 square meters and the missile struck around 4:00 p.m. Kyiv time, Solohub said.

See the shopping mall here:

- Source: cnn " data-fave-thumbnails="{"big": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/43085418-eda5-4840-ba61-c004a1679f83.png?c=16x9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill" }, "small": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/43085418-eda5-4840-ba61-c004a1679f83.png?c=16x9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill" } }" data-vr-video="false" data-show-html="" data-byline-html="" data-timestamp-html="" data-check-event-based-preview="" data-is-vertical-video-embed="false" data-network-id="" data-publish-date="2022-06-27T15:40:25.553Z" data-video-section="" data-canonical-url="" data-branding-key="" data-video-slug="phil black mall" data-first-publish-slug="phil black mall" data-video-tags="" data-details="">

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72b08aee-cdca-4333-b8d6-266f15bb2b14.mp4

02:40 - Source: cnn

More than 1,000 people were inside a mall in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk when a Russian missile was fired at the building, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“The number of victims is impossible to imagine,” he added.

On Telegram, alongside a video, Zelensky said the site had “no danger to the Russian army. No strategic value. Only the attempt of people to live a normal life.”

The mall remained on fire and emergency services were on the scene, he said.

Wide scale destruction in the aftermath of the Russian invasion in the southern port city of?Mariupol, Ukraine, on May 12.

Residents in the occupied city of Mariupol are being “forced to hunt pigeons” in order to feed themselves, Vadym Boichenko, the exiled mayor of Mariupol, said in a statement on Monday.

Boichenko said residents are “using improvised traps” to catch the pigeons and that Russian forces are making “a mockery of people who used to live their life to the fullest before the war — not knowing what hunger or lack of drinking water was.”

Boichenko’s statement ended with some advice about the dangers of people eating pigeons from Oleksandr Lazarenko, head of Primary Health Care Center No. 3 in Mariupol who said, “Pigeons are a breeding ground for many viral, bacterial and fungal diseases. In this regard, the meat can be infected. It can cause histoplasmosis, encephalitis, ornithosis, salmonellosis, toxoplasmosis and other dangerous diseases. Such diseases are especially dangerous for children and the elderly. In the absence of proper medical care, it can even lead to death.”

G7-leaders and participants of the outreach program pose for a family photo on June 27, at Elmau Castle, Germany

Some countries invited to participate in the G7 summit in Germany “will have to choose sides” as the war in Ukraine continues to rage on, an élysée source told journalists on Monday.

“It is the stability of the international order that is at stake,” the élysée source said.

Germany, host country of the G7 summit, has invited Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa to join the summit. Some of the invitees, such as India, have yet to condemn Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Sessions on Monday afternoon are open to invited countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to meet with the presidents of Indonesia and South Africa separately this afternoon.?

Ukrainian soldiers ride an armoured vehicle on the main road to Lysychansk in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 26.

The Ukrainian military command is “trying to stop the chaotic escape of Ukrainian servicemen near Lysychansk amid the success of Russian army,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Russian and allied forces of the Luhansk People’s militia have been closing in on Lysychansk since the fall of neighboring Severodonetsk.

In a statement on its Telegram channel, the defense ministry claimed that a unit of the Ukrainian Azov regiment had been sent to “hold the personnel” of another Ukrainian unit at the settlement of Vovchoyarivka, near Lysychansk, where there has been heavy fighting.

The Defense Ministry also claimed that it had eliminated two units of international “mercenaries” near Lysychansk, including a group of Georgian fighters. CNN has not independently verified the claim.

The commander of one Ukrainian unit in Lysychansk had lost control over the majority of his troops, the defense ministry added without offering evidence for the claim.

Meanwhile, all four missiles fired at a district of Kyiv on Sunday reached their target, which it described as “the workshops of the Artyom missile corporation” in the?Shevchenkivskyi?district, the defense ministry also said. “This enterprise produced ordnance for Ukrainian multiple rocket-launching systems (MRLS).”

At least one missile, or wreckage from it, hit an apartment building, leaving one person dead and several injured, according to a CNN team at the site and Ukrainian officials.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the damage to the residential building was caused by one Ukrainian system destroying an anti-air missile fired by another.

“Due to lack of interoperability between the launching ramps of the air defense systems and electronic facilities deployed in residential areas, 2 S-300 air defense missiles have been intercepted by Ukrainian Buk systems. One of the intercepted air defense missiles has presumably fallen down to a residential building,” the defense ministry claimed.

There is no independent evidence for such a scenario.

NATO Secretary General?Jens?Stoltenberg?speaks during a news conference at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 27.

NATO will enhance its battle groups in the eastern part of the alliance up to brigade levels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced Monday.

“We will increase the number of high readiness forces to well over 300,000,” he said at a news conference in Brussels.

This includes “more pre-positioned equipment and stockpiles of military supplies; more forward-deployed capabilities, like air defense; strengthened command and control, and upgraded defense plans with forces pre-assigned to defend specific allies,” Stoltenberg added.

The NATO Response Force comprises around 40,000 troops, according to the NATO website.

“These troops will exercise together with home defense forces. And they will become familiar with local terrain, facilities, and our new pre-positioned stocks so that they can respond smoothly and swiftly to any emergency,” Stoltenberg went on to say, stressing that “this constitutes the biggest overhaul of our collective deterrence and defense since the Cold War.”

These comments come ahead of the NATO summit that will be held in Madrid this week.

The summit will be “transformative,” with many important decisions, including on a new “strategic concept for a new security reality,” Stoltenberg said Monday, adding that this will include a discussion on China “for the first time.”

US President?Joe?Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will likely speak in the coming weeks, the White House said. While there is no timeframe, the conversation will not happen immediately after the G7 meet, where China was a primary topic of discussion, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters in Germany.

The Kremlin has rejected claims of a Russian default, commenting on reports of Moscow reneging on its foreign debt due to missed payments on two foreign-currency bonds.?

“Allegations of default are incorrect because the necessary currency payment was made as early as back in May,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

Russian reserves have been frozen unduly?and the fact that the money was not delivered to the recipients “is not our problem,” Peskov added, referring to funds frozen by Euroclear, a?Belgium-based financial services company specializing in the settlement of securities transaction.

“So there are no grounds to call it a default,” Peskov said.

Attempts to use the frozen reserves in any way would be “illegal” and regarded by Russia as an “outright theft,” he added.

Some background: Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, international banks have warned the country is barreling toward a default on its foreign debt payments, threatening to plunge its economy deeper into crisis.

Defaults are murky territory in global economics, and Russia’s situation is complicated by its growing isolation under the unprecedented sanctions imposed on it by Western powers.

But the ruble has rebounded and it now worth more than before the invasion. Even?McDonald’s has reopened?in Russia, under new branding and ownership.

However, earlier this month US Treasury Department officials told CNN they are confident that sanctions are working and that, beneath the surface, a much more dire story is unfolding within Russia’s economy, where they contend real and lasting damage is being inflicted.

CNN’s Allison Morrow and Phil Mattingly contributed reporting to this post.

Discussions among G7 leaders on creating a cap on price of Russian oil are “headed in the right direction,” US National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday.

Leaders of the G7 are currently negotiating on capping the price of Russian oil, the latest step toward punishing Moscow while attempting to mitigate the economic effects of the war in Ukraine.

How, when and by how much the price of Russian oil will be capped remains to be seen. Officials said the precise mechanism for accomplishing the cap is still being worked out at the summit.?

Sullivan stressed that while there was not a deal yet, the countries are “arriving at a point we believe where there is convergence around really trying to pursue this.”?

While he declined to provide a timeframe for this agreement, he said it could be done “relatively quickly.”?

As oil prices have skyrocketed, Russia’s oil revenues are actually up, despite global import bans.?Leaders want to use their collective leverage to cut the revenue Russia receives from the countries still purchasing its oil.??

US President Joe Biden smiles at the start of a lunch with Representatives of Seven rich nations (G7) and Outreach guests during their fifth working session about "Investing in a better future: Climate, Energy, Health" on June 27, at Elmau Castle, Germany.

US President?Joe?Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will likely speak in the coming weeks, the White House says.?

“We do expect that the President and President Xi will have the opportunity to engage over the course of the next few weeks. I can’t put a particular timeframe on it. It’s not going to be immediately after the G7,” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters in Germany.

He said China had been a primary topic of discussion at this week’s summit.

He said that “there is increasing convergence at the G7 and NATO around the challenge poses” but that “competition does not mean confrontation.”

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a working session of G7 leaders via video link from his office in Kyiv,?Ukraine, on?June 27.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was focused on regaining momentum in Ukraine over the coming months — and not years — when he spoke to leaders of the G7 on Monday, according to a senior adviser to US President Joe Biden.

Earlier, a source familiar with the matter told CNN that Zelensky told leaders he wanted the war to be over the end of the year, before winter sets in.

Sullivan declined to characterize Zelensky’s message. But he said the Ukrainian president was clear that he wants support in the near-and-medium term, not in the distant future.

“He would like to see his military, and those in the West who are supporting his military, make maximum use of the next few months to put the Ukrainians in as good a position as they can possibly be in with respect to the situation on the ground in both the east and the south,” Sullivan said.?

“That’s consistent with the American approach of trying to flow in the necessary material and equipment to put the Ukrainians in an advantageous position on the battlefield. But that’s really what he was focused on,” he said.

Zelensky’s timeframe was based on battlefield considerations but also the plight of his people, he said.

“I think another really important consideration is just the?sense of suffering of the Ukrainian people with each day and week that this goes on,” Sullivan said. “And so, he’s got an urgency to try to show his people that Ukraine is first of all, holding fast against the Russian onslaught, and secondly, making some progress in areas where they feel that they can, in fact push back against the Russians.”

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has projected that Russia will increasingly use its reserve units in its bombardment of eastern Ukraine.

Russia will “highly likely increasingly rely on echelons of reserve forces” in upcoming weeks, the ministry said in its latest assessment of the conflict.

“Despite a continued shortfall in the number of deployable reservists for Ukraine, the Russian leadership likely remains reluctant to order a general mobilisation,” the ministry said. It added that Russia’s main operational focus remains the eastern Severodonetsk-Lysychansk pocket.

The ministry added that “consistently heavy shelling suggests Russia is now trying to regain momentum on the northern Izium axis.”

Some background: On Saturday, Severodonetsk’s head of military administration said the city had fallen under “Russian occupation” following the months of grueling bombardment. Neighboring Lysychansk is the last city in the Luhansk region to remain in Ukraine’s control, but Russian forces are gaining ground, and civilians have been urged to evacuate.

inland's Ambassador to NATO Klaus Korhonen, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Sweden's Ambassador to NATO Axel Wernhoff pose during a ceremony to mark Sweden's and Finland's application for membership in Brussels, Belgium, on May 18.

European and US officials do not expect Turkey’s concerns about Finland and Sweden joining NATO to be assuaged before the NATO summit this week, US and European officials told CNN.?

Yet some officials believe that Turkey may be eyeing the NATO summit as a place to finally make agreements that could propel the process forward.?

But Turkish officials have said that they do not see any “limited timetable” to the talks, and some US and European officials are less convinced that Turkey is ready to strike an agreement in Spain.?

White House officials have been circumspect about whether Biden and Erdogan will meet in Spain. But one person familiar with the matter said they expected the men to speak at some point about the accession process, though it may not be elevated into a formal bilateral meeting.?

US officials have been wary about inserting Biden directly into the discussions, aware that having the US directly involved could raise the stakes and escalate Erdogan’s demand — including the likely extradition request for a US-based cleric Erdogan accuses of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt.?

Still,?US officials are confident the two countries’ applications will eventually be successful.

Read the full report here.

The Ukrainian military says it has hit a second missile system on Snake Island, as well as several Russian personnel in a “continued operation” to liberate the Black Sea island.

“Overnight there were over 10 targeted hits on the island. We are still investigating the results, but we are getting reports that one more ‘Pantsir S1’ missile system was hit,” said Natalia Humenyuk, a Ukrainian South Defense spokesperson.

A radar station that Humenyuk described as Russia’s “eyes and ears” on the island had been hit last week, she added.

Snake Island was the scene of one of the opening salvos of the war in Ukraine and is of strategic importance to both sides. During the opening days of the war, it was the site of a demand from a Russian war ship to Ukrainian defenders to surrender. They replied, infamously, with?”Russian warship, go f**k yourself” – a phrase that become a motif of Ukrainian resistance.

CNN’s Sebastian Shukla contributed reporting to this post.

After a series of explosions in the city of Sloviansk overnight, local officials are urging civilians to leave the city.

Vadym Liakh, head of?Sloviansk?civil military administration, said there had been “night arrivals”?in the center of the city, and further attacks on Monday morning.

“There are wounded and killed. Please don’t forget about evacuation,” Liakh said.

Russian forces are within about 15 kilometers (9 miles) of Sloviansk, to the north and north-east.

Some context: Sloviansk is one of the larger conurbations in the eastern separatist Donetsk region still in Ukrainian hands. Civilians remaining in Lysychansk?are also being urged to?evacuate, while those still in the recently fallen Severodonetsk can only evacuate to Russia or Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, a local official has said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has given a virtual address to the G7 summit, while the Kremlin has announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will take his first overseas trip since Moscow’s invasion, as he heads to Tajikistan on Tuesday.

Here are the latest developments:

Summit participants (front, clockwise) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), U.S. President Joe Biden, Boris Johnson, prime minister of the United Kingdom (obscured), Fumio Kishida, prime minister of Japan, Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission president, Charles Michel, EU Council President, Mario Draghi, Prime Minister of Italy, Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, and Emmanuel Macron, President of France, sit at the working session, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj is connected via video conference in Elmau, Germany on June 27.

The G7 is vowing to continue providing support for Ukraine “for as long as it takes” in a joint statement at their summit in Germany.

“We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” the G7 statement on support for Ukraine read.

The leaders also said it would be up to Ukraine to determine a diplomatic path ahead.

The leaders said they would work together to help Ukraine defend itself once the war ends.

?“With a view to a viable post-war peace settlement, we are ready to reach arrangements together with interested countries and institutions and Ukraine on sustained security commitments to help Ukraine defend itself, secure its free and democratic future, and deter future Russian aggression,” the statement read.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told G7 leaders he wants the war in Ukraine to finish by the end of 2022, according?to a source familiar with his remarks.

Zelensky delivered the message virtually at the Group of 7 summit on Monday, which is taking place at the Schloss Elmau castle in the Bavarian Alps.

He called for a major push to end the war before the winter sets in in several months’ time, the source said.

The message was as clear a sign as Zelensky has given about how he sees the trajectory of the war.

Some background: Zelensky, who is also planning to address this week’s NATO summit in Madrid, has pressed the West for accelerated sanctions on Moscow and heavy artillery to beat back the Russian invaders.

So far, leaders have decided on new steps to isolate Russia’s economy, including a ban on new imports of Russian gold, and are discussing ways to further limit Moscow’s energy profits by applying a cap on the price of Russian oil.

G7 leaders also plan to announce a lengthy set of new sanctions, including on Russian defense supply chains, Russians responsible for human rights abuses and war crimes, private military companies and new visa restrictions on 500 officials.?

Yet how much further leaders will be willing to go in applying new sanctions on Russia remains to be seen.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel on an?international visit for the first time since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin’s spokesman has announced.

Putin is scheduled to travel to Tajikistan on Tuesday, where he will meet Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Dmitry Peskov said.

Further details of the trip have not been released by the Kremlin.

Pipe systems and shut-off devices at the gas receiving station of the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline and the transfer station of the OPAL (Ostsee-Pipeline-Anbindungsleitung - Baltic Sea Pipeline Link) long-distance gas pipeline at Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lubmin, Germany, on June 21

Gas shortages this winter could lead to a “severe economic crisis in Europe,” the German vice chancellor and economy minister?has warned.

“Over the winter, there is a threat of a scenario where reductions actually have to be imposed. In my opinion, that would lead to a severe economic crisis in Europe and in Germany, and that must be avoided at all costs,” Robert Habeck said Monday.

“We are not there yet, but in order not to get there, we need decisive, joint, solidarity-based and, above all, very rapid action.”

Habeck backed the US-led advance to introduce a price cap on Russian energy imports, provided that?enough?countries?participate.?

Soaring prices for energy were a “hard burden for consumers and industry,” Habeck said, and he asked industry and consumers to save gas in order to prepare for winter. “We need to have full storage, we need to bring down consumption and we need more capacity.”

“That it will become more expensive is inevitable,”?he added.?“The expansion of renewable energies must now proceed swiftly.”

Some background: Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Western sanctions on Russian oil and gas have contributed to a surge in energy prices, leading to pain at the gas pumps.

The race to get off Russian natural gas in Europe and to ease gasoline prices in the US has thrown a wrench in these countries’ climate commitments – and they are quickly running out of time to meet their targets.

After the EU touted a sped-up clean energy transition in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, individual European countries – including Germany and the United Kingdom – are moving back to coal to replace the lost gas. And Germany is also looking to Africa for new gas supply.

Similarly, US President Joe Biden and his administration have made bringing down gas prices their top priority at home, with Biden recently backing a gas tax holiday opposed by many members of his own party.?

CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins and Ella Nilsen contributed reporting to this post.

Evacuees from?Severodonetsk?are only able to travel “towards Russia or occupied” territories in Ukraine, according to a military administration chief.

The healthcare situation in the eastern Ukrainian city is fragile and just a few doctors remain, Oleksandr Striuk said Monday. He described the water and food situation in Severodonetsk as “critical.”

The only way for Ukrainian troops to leave the city is across the river by raft, Striuk added. He said “almost all units have withdrawn and taken as much equipment as they could.”

Striuk said Russian forces who have control of the city are “trying to establish their occupational authority” and that many units have billeted themselves in evacuated residents’?houses.

The city of Lysychansk, which lies to the south of?Severodonetsk,?is “being shelled with artillery non-stop and the city is?being?leveled to the ground,”?Striuk?added.

“I would say that since they have captured?Severodonetsk?they focus all their efforts on?Lysychansk.”

Some background: Severodonetsk was one of the last major Ukrainian strongholds in the area. However, Striuk announced Saturday that the city was “completely under Russian occupation” following months of fighting.

CNN’s Tim Lister, Oleksandra Ochman, Olga Voitovych and Jeevan Ravindran contributed reporting to this post.

Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury drives to the basket as Natasha Howard #6 of the New York Liberty defends, at the Barclays Center, New York, on August 25.

WNBA star Brittney Griner will attend a preliminary court hearing in the Moscow region Monday, her lawyer has told CNN.

The court hearing will be held behind closed doors at the Khimki city court just outside Moscow at 2 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET), according to Alexander Boykov.?

Griner is expected to?go to court in?person.

Some background: The WNBA star was arrested at a Moscow airport in February, when Russian authorities claimed she had cannabis oil in her luggage and accused her of smuggling significant amounts of a narcotic substance, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Dozens of organizations have called on?US?President Joe Biden to strike an exchange deal with the Russian authorities to release Griner.

The House on Friday passed a bipartisan resolution demanding the Russian government immediately release Griner, who has been officially classified as “wrongfully detained,” a US State Department official told CNN in May.

As a result,?her case is being handled?by the Office of the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.

CNN’s Homero De la Fuente contributed reporting to this post.

Civilians in Lysychansk have been urged to leave immediately, as Russian forces gain ground in the last remaining city Ukraine holds in the eastern Luhansk region.

“Due to the real threat to life and health, we call for an evacuation immediately. The situation in the city is very difficult,” Serhiy Hayday, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said on Telegram.

He promised civilians they would be taken care of in other Ukrainian cities.

Videos from Lysychansk suggest that some civilians are reluctant to leave their homes, regardless of who controls the city.

There are about 10,000 to 15,000 people still in Lysychansk, with only around 50 people leaving each day, according to?Shybiko Valerii, the head of the Ukrainian Lysychansk Military Administration.

Local residents gather near a shelter during a military strike in Lysychansk,?Ukraine, on June 17.

Forces from the self-proclaimed?Luhansk People’s Republic?(LPR), which is fighting alongside the Russian military, said Monday they are developing “a successful offensive in the area of Lysychansk with the fire support of the Russian army.”

“The enemy suffered heavy losses in manpower and armored vehicles,” it said on its Telegram channel.

“The people’s militia continues to liberate territory occupied by Kyiv,” the LPR added, claiming that the village of Borivske, within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of Lysychansk, is now under its control.

Officers of the LPR militia claimed they had cut off two evacuation routes for Ukrainian troops from Lysychansk, according to a reporter from the Ria Novosti state-owned news agency.

There has been heavy fighting south-west of Lysychansk around Vovchoyarivka, close to the main highway leading west as Russian forces aim to complete the city’s encirclement.

The G7 leaders lined up for an informal group photo at the "Merkel - Obama" bench after dinner at the G7 meeting at Schloss Elmau, Germany, on June 26.

Western leaders gathering at the G7 have decided to try capping the price of Russian oil, officials say.

It’s the latest step toward punishing Moscow while attempting to mitigate the economic effects of the war in Ukraine.

How, when and by how much the price of Russian oil will be capped remains to be seen. Officials said the precise mechanism for accomplishing the cap was still being worked out.

Leaders said they will instruct their teams to work toward finding a way to limit the price at which Russia can sell its oil, depriving Moscow of a key revenue source.

As oil prices have skyrocketed, Russia’s oil revenues are actually up despite global import bans.?Leaders want to use their collective leverage to cut the revenue Russia receives from the countries still purchasing its oil.?

How, exactly, is not clear. An official suggested the G7 nations have leverage through oil transportation networks that could help toward applying the cap.

More sanctions: G7 leaders also plan to announce a lengthy set of new sanctions, including on Russian defense supply chains, Russians responsible for human rights abuses and war crimes, private military companies and new visa restrictions on 500 officials.

New funding: The US will also announce $7.5 billion in new funding for Ukraine, part of a broader commitment from G7 nations to help the country?make up its budgetary shortfalls.

Russian forces are arguably having their best spell since the invasion of Ukraine began four months ago.

They have eliminated most Ukrainian defenses in the Luhansk region, consolidated control of a belt of territory in the south, improved their logistics and command structure and blunted the effectiveness of Ukrainian attack drones.

Within the last week, the Russians have been rewarded for their intense – some would say merciless – bombardments of the remaining parts of the Luhansk region held by Ukrainian forces, which have finally given up Severodonetsk and lost territory south of Lysychansk.

The head of the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic, Leonid Pasechnik, predicted last Friday that Russian forces would completely encircle Lysychansk within two or three days. So far they haven’t, but the city is in imminent peril.

The Russian hierarchy also been reorganized, with new commanders for the southern and central forces committed to Ukraine under the overall leadership of Deputy Defense Minister Gennady Zhidko.

Read the full analysis here.

Another official collaborating with the Russian occupation of Kherson has been the target of an assassination attempt.

The Russian state news agency TASS said that a car belonging to Irina Makhneva had been blown up in the town of Kakhovka.

TASS said Makhneva is “in charge of education and culture issues in the new administration.”

It said she was not hurt.?

Assassination attempts: On Friday, Dmitry Savluchenko, head of the Kherson military-civilian administration’s family and youth department, was killed in a car blast. There have been several attempts in recent weeks to kill officials in the Russian-backed Kherson administration.

The region has been under the control of Russian forces since the early days of the invasion.?

A Ukrainian official, Serhii Khlan, confirmed the attempted assassination of Makhneva.

Khlan, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Kherson civil military administration, also said, “The occupiers continue to terrorize the population and put pressure on doctors and educators.”?

The director of a school in Nova Kakhovka had been abducted on Sunday, he claimed.

The?Russians had opened their own bank and created a “tax office” he said. He also claimed that workers were being pressured to get a Russian passport and accept rubles in payment.

Damaged cars after shelling in the Nemyshlyanskyi district of Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, on June 26.

Russian forces continue to shell the city of Lysychansk and settlements to the south and west of the city as they try to cut off a main highway, according to Ukrainian officials.

Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said on Monday that Lysychansk was being attacked from the south and was heavily damaged.

Villages in the surrounding area were also being shelled, he said. Three settlements to the west and southwest of the city, close to the highway to Bakhmut, were under fire.

Further west: Russian efforts to encircle the troops defending Lysychansk continued with artillery attacks and an attempted ground assault northwards towards Bakhmut, which the Ukrainian military’s General Staff said had been repulsed.

Sloviansk: The General Staff said on Monday that heavy shelling persisted in many areas and the Russians had made minor advances north of the city of Sloviansk, a key target in their offensive operation.

It said that in the Sloviansk direction, the Russians were concentrating efforts on taking the village of Dolnya and were advancing toward another village in the area. This rural area near the Siverskyi Donets river has seen constant fighting for well over a month but the Russians have been unable to make a breakthrough towards Sloviansk.

Chernihiv: Elsewhere, cross-border shelling has continued in the Chernihiv region, according to the General Staff, and there has been an airstrike against Slavhorod in Sumy region.

Kharkiv: The Russians have used tanks, artillery and mortars to shell areas north of the city of Kharkiv, but an assault on the ground near the settlement of Dementiivka — 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Kharkiv — failed, the General Staff said.

US President Joe Biden?and fellow world leaders,?huddled in the Bavarian Alps,?will hear Monday from Ukrainian?President Volodymyr Zelensky?as they mull over the next phase of his country’s grinding war with Russia.

The conflict has been at the center of?the Group of 7 summit.

Leaders have decided on new steps to isolate Russia’s economy, including a ban on new imports of Russian gold, and are pledging support for Zelensky as his country suffers setbacks in the east.

There are other important topics on the agenda, including a new effort to counter China’s infrastructure investments in the developing world that have extended Beijing’s influence across the globe.

But how much longer the Western front can remain united against Russia is the question looming over these talks.

Zelensky, who is also planning to address this week’s NATO summit in Madrid, has pressed the West for accelerated sanctions on Moscow and heavy artillery to beat back the Russian invaders.

Read the full story here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to virtually address the?G7 Summit on Monday as he works to reinforce western support for his country over?Russia’s grinding invasion.

Here are the latest headlines in the war on Ukraine:

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks with CNN on Sunday June 26.

Allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin?to succeed in his invasion?of Ukraine would have “absolutely catastrophic”?consequences for the world, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned in a CNN interview on Sunday.

Speaking to Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union” hours after Russian missiles hit Kyiv, Johnson urged Americans, Britons and others in the West to maintain resolve in punishing Moscow, despite the effect the war has had on global oil prices.

He earlier promised further financial support for Ukraine — including another $525 million in guarantees for World Bank lending later this year, according to Downing Street.

Johnson also cautioned against fatigue over the war, saying “Now is not the time to give up on Ukraine.”

Read the full story here.

The US plans to announce as soon as this week that it has a purchased?an advanced medium-to-long range surface-to-air missile defense system for?Ukraine, a source familiar with the announcement told CNN.?

US President Joe Biden, who is currently meeting with G7 leaders in Germany for a summit primarily focused on?Ukraine, announced earlier this month that the US would provide?Kyiv?with “more advanced rocket systems and munitions” as its war with Russia grinds on.?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to virtually address Biden and other G7 leaders on Monday.?

What’s being announced?

In response to requests by Ukrainian forces, other military assistance is also likely to be announced this week, including additional artillery ammunition and counter-battery radars.

Ukrainian officials have asked for the missile defense system, known as a NASAMS, given the weapons can hit targets more than 100 miles away, though the Ukrainian forces will likely need to be trained on the systems, a source said.

Read the full story here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed citizens of Belarus on Sunday June 26.?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed citizens of Belarus on Sunday, saying they are “being drawn into a war” by the Kremlin.

Zelensky suggested the Russian leadership “wants to drag all Belarusians into the war” and wants “to sow hatred” between them and Ukrainians.?

“A lot depends on the ordinary people of Belarus now,” he said.?

Strikes on Ukraine from Belarus: Zelensky also addressed those who “ensure the launch of missiles at?Ukraine,” saying they won’t escape responsibility for the strikes.?

Zelensky said 62 Russian missiles hit Ukrainian territory?on Saturday alone. The strikes came as leaders were meeting for the G7 summit in Germany. Zelensky said it was “the Russian method: to escalate every time international events take place.”

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, in the Russian-controlled area of Enerhodar, Ukraine, is seen on April 27.

Hundreds of residents are being held captive in Enerhodar in the?Zaporizhzhia region of?Ukraine, Dmytro Orlov, the Ukrainian mayor of the Russian-occupied city, claimed in a Telegram post on Sunday.?

“A significant portion of them are skilled workers of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” he wrote.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, near to Enerhodar, was taken over by Russian forces in early March, CNN reported at the time.??

“Over the past two weeks, the situation in occupied Enerhodar has only worsened,” the mayor said.

Police stand close to a damaged apartment building following an early morning missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 26.

At least six people were injured and one was killed in a Russian missile strike that hit a residential apartment block in Kyiv on Sunday morning.?

Volodymyr Bondarenko, deputy mayor of Kyiv, said four of the injured were admitted to the hospital as search and rescue operations continue.

He said a kindergarten was also hit in the missile strike but no one was injured.

Video from Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs showed a large missile funnel in the backyard of the kindergarten.

Some context: Russia targeted the Ukrainian capital?with a series of missile attacks on Sunday, as leaders of the G7 nations gather in Germany for the first day of their annual summit.

Read the full story here.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Sunday, ahead of his departure for the G7 Summit in Germany, that he will meet with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts to call for an immediate halt to the war in?Ukraine, the state-run Antara News Agency reported.

Jokowi, as the President is popularly known, said that he will call on Putin to hold a dialogue, agree on a ceasefire and stop the war in?Ukraine?“as soon as possible,” according to Antara.??

The President also said he will encourage the G7 countries to work together to find a solution to the global food and energy crises, Antara reported.

Residents carry water in Mariupol, Ukraine, on June 18.

Vadym?Boichenko, the exiled mayor of Mariupol, gave a brief update on the situation inside the city now under Russian control.?

Speaking on Friday,?Boichenko?said that 120,000 residents of the city are trapped, unable to escape. He added that the sanitary situation is becoming critical.

Boichenko?is no longer in the city, but he provides updates on the conditions from sources.?

According to those sources, Russian forces have “distanced themselves from the locals because they are afraid of getting infected.”?

Boichenko?added that he is unsure if diseases may be spreading around the city.

Smoke rises after Russian shelling in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, on June 18.

The Ukrainian military said Russian forces in the south of the country continue to shell both military positions and residential areas.?

Operational Command South said on Saturday that Russian forces hit the city of?Mykolaiv?and its suburb with nine Onyx cruise missiles fired from the “Bastion” coastal complex in occupied Crimea.?

Earlier, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych urged residents of the city to leave.

“I suggest everyone who wants to stay alive leave the city. About 230,000 people remain in Mykolayiv city now,” he said on Friday.

He described the situation as “generally very bad. The city is shelled every day.”

The mayor said 111 people have been killed and 502 people have been injured, including six children.