Ukraine-Russia war: Russia tells West not to 'worry' as its warships arrive in Cuba - but sends warning to France (2024)

The UK, US and Canada have accused Russia of a plot to interfere with the outcome of the Moldovan presidential election in October.

The US state department said in a statement that Russia was using disinformation and online propaganda to fuel tensions and stir up negative attitudes towards the West, as well as the team of Moldova's incumbent pro-EU president Maia Sandu.

"We are taking this step to warn our democratic partners and allies that Russian actors are carrying out a plot to influencethe outcomes of Moldova's fall 2024 presidential election," itsaid.

For context:Moldova is a former Soviet country, home to around 2.6 million people, which has leaned more towards the West in recent years.

Much like in Ukraine, Russia is undermining the government there by spreading disinformation and causing uncertainty.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine,Moldova has been rocked by a series of worrisome events - with many fearing that the war could spill across its border.

Russia's advance in the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv area is slowing and the frontline stabilising after a number of frinedly countries lifted restrictions on Kyiv's use of donated weapons on Russian territory, the American defence secretary has said.

Here's the current battlefield situation in the region:

"What I see is a slowing of the Russians' advance and a
stabilising of that particular piece of the front," Lloyd Austin said on the sidelines of a NATO defence ministers' meeting in Belgium

"Now, I think we'll see incremental gains - and we'll see puts and takes -going forward," he added.

"But again, a couple of weeks ago, there was concern that we would see a significant breakthrough on the part of the Russians, I don't think we'll see that going forward."

A reminder of the wider battlefield situation:

France is raising the risk of a direct clash with Russia by becoming more deeply involved in the Ukraine war, the Russian foreign ministry has said.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said French citizens needed to be aware of what they were being pulled into.

"France is becoming deeply involved in the armed conflict in Ukraine, consistently shifting any notion of assistance towards undermining the situation, and, of course, bringing closer the possibility of a direct confrontation with our country. And this is fraught with unpredictable consequences for security not only in Europe but also in the world," she said.

France has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine throughout the conflict.

President Emmanuel Macron recently pledged to supply Kyiv with French Mirage fighter jets. He also caused a stir several months ago when he suggested that the prospect of Western boots on the ground in Ukraine should not be ruled out.

Ms Zakharova warned in the same briefing that the West as a whole was escalating the conflict by allowing Kyiv to strike deep inside Russia.

Russian prosecutors have finally sent the case of detained US reporter Evan Gershkovich to court - concluding that he collected information for the CIA about a Russian tank factory.

He has seen his pre-trial detention in Moscow extended multiple times since his arrest in March last year.

A statement from Russia's general prosecutor said it had approved the indictment and that Gershkovich's criminal case would be heard by a court in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg - where the Wall Street Journal reporter was originally in March last year.

Mr Gershkovich, the WSJ and the US government all vehemently deny the charges against him.

"The investigation has established and confirmed with documentary evidence that Gershkovich, an American journalist for the Wall Street Journal, on the instructions of the CIA, collected secret information in the Sverdlovsk region in March 2023 about the activities of the defence plant NPK Uralvagonzavod JSC on the production and repair of military equipment," the prosecutors' statement said.

"Gershkovich carried out the illegal actions using painstaking conspiratorial methods," it added.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy received a warm welcome from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as he arrived at the G7 summit in Italy'sBorgo Egnazia this afternoon.

World leaders are gathering to discuss a range of issues - with the war in Ukraine set to feature prominently during the three-day event.

The summit opened today with an agreement reached on a US proposal to support a $50bn (£39.1bn) loan to Kyiv using frozen Russian assets as collateral.

It's among a series of arrangement the Ukrainian leader wants established during the summit. He is due to sign a separate bilateral security agreement with Joe Biden later.

The Kremlin has insisted that Russian warships which have arrived in Cuba for an exercise are no threat.

It comes as the Russian foreign ministry confirms the two countries' foreign ministers will hold talks later today.

A Russian navy frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine sailed into Havana harbour yesterday under the watchful eye of the US - which says they do not pose a threat but point to a show of force by Moscow.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said yesterday that there was no indication that Russia was using the ships to transfer missiles to Cuba.

Kremlinspokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that naval exercises were common.

"This is a normal practice for all states, includingsuch a large maritime power as Russia," he told reporters."So we don't see any reason to worry in this case."

Pope Francis is set to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the G7 summit in Italy tomorrow.

The pope will also meet other world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his visit to Borgo Egnazia.

He will be also become the first pope in history to address a G7 summit.

Pope Francis and Mr Zelenskyy have met previously - but the Catholic Church head sparked criticism from Kyiv earlier in the year when he said Ukraine should have the "courage of the white flag" to negotiate an end to the war with Russia.

The Ukrainian president dismissed the comments as "virtual mediation" and the Vatican backtracked days later, calling Moscow's invasion "unjust".

The candidate considered most likely to be Britain's next prime minister has promised to uphold the UK's commitment to funding Ukraine.

In his party's manifesto released today, Labour's Sir Keir Starmer said: "With Labour, the UK's military, financial, diplomatic and political support for Ukraine will remain steadfast.

"Labour will support efforts to hold Putin's Russia to account for its illegal war, backing calls for a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression.

"We will work with our allies to enable the seizure and repurposing of frozen Russian state assets to support Ukraine.

"And we will play a leading role in providing Ukraine with a clear path to NATO membership."

The UK has announced 50 new sanctions against Russia, aimed at degrading Moscow's war machine.

New targets include ships in Vladimir Putin's shadow fleet, institutions at the heart of Russia’s financial system and suppliers supporting Moscow's military production.

"Today's sanctions aim to disrupt and increase the costs of Russia’s efforts to bypass UK and G7 sanctions through its shadow fleet," a statement from Number 10 read, referencing Russia's capability to still sell its crude oil despite previous bans.

"These new sanctions also target suppliers of munitions, machine tools, microelectronics, and logistics to Russia’s military, including entities based in China, Israel, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey, along with ships which transport military goods from North Korea to Russia."

Earlier today we reported on how Russia were practising the electronic launch of missiles during tactical nuclear drills.

Vladimir Putin ordered the drills after what Russia said were threats from the West, including suggestions from officials that Ukraine would be allowed to strike deep into Russian territory with Western-supplied weapons.

Footage released by the defence ministry showed Russian sailors focusing on a dummy target and then counting down to launch, including pressing the "launch" button.