Russia-Ukraine crisis live updates | Blasts kill three in Russian city near Ukraine border

At least three people were killed and dozens of homes damaged in the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukraine border, the regional governor said on Sunday, as Kyiv acknowledged it could lose its last big bastion in eastern Ukraine to Kremlin forces. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported a number of blasts in the city of nearly 4,00,000. At least 11 apartment buildings and 39 houses were damaged, including five that were destroyed, Mr. Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app.

Fighting raged for the strategic Ukrainian city Lysychansk on Saturday, as Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said his army had intercepted missiles fired on his territory by Kyiv’s forces. Ukraine denied claims by Moscow-backed separatists who said they had encircled Lysychansk, the last major city in the Lugansk area of the eastern Donbas region still in Kyiv’s hands.

Powerful explosions rocked the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv early on July 2, the mayor said, a day after authorities said at least 21 people were killed when Russian missiles struck an apartment building near the Black Sea port of Odesa. Air raid sirens sounded across the Mykolaiv region, which borders the vital port of Odesa, before the blasts.

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Here are the latest updates:

Moscow

Lukashenko says Ukraine fired missiles on Belarus

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday said his army had shot down missiles fired into their territory from Ukraine and vowed to respond “instantly” to any enemy strike.

“We are being provoked,” Mr. Lukashenko was quoted as saying by state news agency Belta. “I must tell you that around three days ago, maybe more, they tried to strike military targets in Belarus from Ukraine.

“Thank God, our Pantsir anti-air systems intercepted all the missiles fired by the Ukrainian forces.”

Ukraine last week said missiles fired from Belarus had struck a border region inside its territory. – AFP

Ukraine

Blasts kill three in Russian city near Ukraine border

At least three people were killed and dozens of homes damaged in the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukraine border, the regional governor said on Sunday, as Kyiv acknowledged it could lose its last big bastion in eastern Ukraine to Kremlin forces.

Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported a number of blasts in the city of nearly 4,00,000 some 40km (25 miles) north of the border with Ukraine.

At least 11 apartment buildings and 39 houses were damaged, including five that were destroyed, Mr. Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app.

Senior Russian lawmaker Andrei Klishas accused Ukraine of shelling Belgorod and called for a military response. – Reuters

TH Explains

Explained | Is NATO stronger after Ukraine invasion?

NATO appeared to be weakened during the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who frequently threatened to exclude from the U.S.’s protective umbrella any member states that did not pay enough for that privilege. A further blow, and brickbats for botched management, came when U.S. President Joe Biden pulled his country’s troops out of Afghanistan, a NATO military mission, more or less unilaterally. Meanwhile, Russia had steadily been upping the ante against NATO publicly, since the late 2000s, railing against NATO expansion, and since its annexation of Crimea in 2014, threatening further territorial expansion into Ukrainian territory.