VLADIMIR Putin claimed the US is now Russia's main enemy as he set out plans for his ambition to rule the world's oceans by force.
On Sunday the unhinged Russian dictator signed a new naval doctrine that sets an agenda for crucial areas such as the Arctic and the Black Sea amid his brutal war in Ukraine.
Speaking on Russia's Navy Day in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg founded by Tsar Peter the Great, Putin praised Peter for making Russia a great sea power and increasing the global standing of the Russian state.
After inspecting the navy, Putin chillingly warned Russia's unique Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles now meant Russia had the military clout to crush its enemies..
Shortly before the speech, he signed a new 55-page naval doctrine, which sets out the broad strategic aims of Russia's navy, including its ambitions as a "great maritime power" which extend over the entire world.
The main threat to Russia, the doctrine says, is "the strategic policy of the USA to dominate the world's oceans" and the movement of the NATO military alliance closer towards Russia's borders.
Read our Ukraine war live blog below for the latest up-to-date news…
- Louis Allwood
Zelenskyy recommends Russia be recognised as state sponsor of terrorism
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the deaths of many prisoners in a Russian-held jail demonstrated there should be apparent legal recognition that Russia was a state sponsor of terrorism.
Sky News reports that officials from Russia and the separatist authorities in Donetsk said the assault on the prison in Olenivka, in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region, killed 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war and wounded 75.
“I am appealing especially to the United States of America. A decision is needed and it is needed now,” Mr Zelenskyy said in a late night video address on Friday.
- Louis Allwood
Brittney Griner & Paul Whelan exchange could encourage Russia to imprison Americans, expert warns
The US’s potential prisoner exchange with the Kremlin is a high-stakes tightrope walk that could encourage Russia to imprison more Americans on baseless charges, a law expert has warned.
After months of debate, WNBA superstar Brittney Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan may be freed if the US offers to release Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms trafficker.
Duncan Levin, a prominent defense lawyer and former federal and Manhattan prosecutor, said America’s justice system is flawed but it’s still a system of due process versus the “sham” that exists in Russia.
Whelan has been held by Russia for alleged espionage since 2018, and Griner was arrested earlier this year for allegedly carrying cartridges containing liquid with hashish oil.
“A prisoner swap with Russia is like negotiating with a hostage taker,” Levin told The Sun. “This is an international relations dance rather than something that is playing out in the court.”
Both Griner and Whelan’s families have called on the White House to get their loved ones out of Russian jails.
- Louis Allwood
Euro 2022 final’s Ukrainian referee Kateryna Monzul spent five days living in bunker in Kharkiv
TODAY'S Euro 2022 final referee is Ukrainian – and spent five days living in an underground bunker after the Russian invasion.
Kateryna Monzul will step out at a sold-out Wembley this afternoon to oversee England vs Germany.
But just months ago, she was in hiding with her family in her hometown of Kharkiv as Russian forces raided the country.
Monzul headed to her parents' home and took shelter before fleeing Ukraine with her two sisters and their three children, eventually settling in Italy.
They drove through Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic before arriving in Germany and then Italy, continuing her refereeing.
Reflecting on the journey from Ukraine to Italy and then to the Euros in England, Monzul said: "When the war started, nobody could believe it.
"My family went to my parents’ home. We were [living] underground – a special place in the house.
"It was stressful and difficult.
"When we left Ukraine, we didn't have any ideas what the next step was for us."
- Louis Allwood
Putin says United States is main threat to Russia
After inspecting the navy, Putin made a short speech in which he promised that what he touted as Russia's unique Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, cautioning that Russia had the military clout to defeat any potential aggressors.
Shortly before the speech, he signed a new 55-page naval doctrine, which sets out the broad strategic aims of Russia's navy, including its ambitions as a "great maritime power" which extend over the entire world.
The main threat to Russia, the doctrine says, is "the strategic policy of the USA to dominate the world's oceans" and the movement of the NATO military alliance closer towards Russia's borders.
- Louis Allwood
New naval doctrine signed
President Vladimir Putin on Sunday signed a new naval doctrine which cast the United States as Russia's main rival and set out Russia's global maritime ambitions for crucial areas such as the Arctic and in the Black Sea.
Speaking on Russia's Navy Day in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg founded by Tsar Peter the Great, Putin praised Peter for making Russia a great sea power and increasing the global standing of the Russian state.
- Louis Allwood
Zelensky orders civilians to evacuate Donetsk region
Speaking from Kyiv last night, the Ukrainian President warned of increasing violence in the area.
“The more people leave Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” he claimed.
Russia already controls much of the Donetsk region, and their advance is likely to bring more bloodshed.
“The more people leave Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” Zelensky said.
“We will use all available opportunities to save as many lives as possible and to limit Russian terror as much as possible.”
- Louis Allwood
First grain ship to leave Odesa today
Turkish Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin told national media that the port is ready to begin exporting once again.
"The probability of the first ship leaving tomorrow morning (today) seems high," Kalin said.
This comes just a week after Russian launched a missile strike at the port.
- Louis Allwood
Russian attack kills one of Ukraine's richest men
In the early hours of this morning, a Russian attack on the city of Mykolaiv saw one of Ukraine's richest men, Oleksiy Vadatursky, and his wife, left dead.
The 74-year-old was the owner of Nibulon, a major agricultural firm.
Mykolaiv is on the path to Odesa, one of Ukraine's key port cities.
- Louis Allwood
Catch all the most important live updates
Stick with The Sun to get all the most important updates about Ukraine.
Readers are given updates every 30 minutes, with breaking news posted straight away.
- Louis Allwood
Ministry of Defence provides an update on the conflict in Ukraine
The UK's MoD has released new information on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The report says: "On 28 July 2022, Russia fired at least 20 missiles into northern Ukraine from Belarusian territory. This follows Russia’s use of Belarusian territory to launch the main thrusts of its failed attempt to take Kyiv in February.
"Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko continues to follow Moscow’s line on the Ukraine conflict, stating on 21 July that Ukraine must accept Russia’s demands for the war to stop."
It concludes: "His regime has become ever more authoritarian, with the expansion of the death penalty for ‘preparing terrorist acts’. His increasing and baseless accusations of Western designs on Belarus and Ukraine likely indicate that he has become almost wholly dependent on Russia."
- Louis Allwood
Russia will allow the UN to see prison were POWs died
Following a request from Ukrainian authorities for the UN to investigate the incident, the Russian ministry of defence has said it will allow the body to look into the deaths.
This attack, which killed more than 50 people, was described as "a deliberate Russian war crime, a deliberate mass murder," by President Zelensky.
Meanwhile, Russia still pins the blame on Ukraine for the attack.
- Louis Allwood
Putin’s top official rushed to hospital in ‘suspected poisoning’
A Vladimir Putin official has been rushed to hospital in a "suspected poisoning" months after fleeing Russia in protest over the war in Ukraine.
Anatoly Chubais was put into intensive care after complaining about numbness in his arms and legs.
Specialists in hazmat suits were seen streaming into Chubais' room after he was taken ill in an unspecified country in Europe.
The report came from journalist and former Russian presidential candidate, Ksenia Sobchak.
The 67-year-old was initially diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome – a rare and life threatening disease that affects the nerves – but investigators are keeping an open mind following repeated cases where Putin's enemies were poisoned to death.
Sobchak stated: “In this case, the diagnosis may change.”
She said that “the room where Chubais was when he felt unwell was examined by specialists in chemical protection suits.
“And police questioned all the witnesses."
His wife Avdotya Smirnova, 56, a film director, said his condition was “unstable”, said Sobchak.
“It became bad, suddenly the arms and legs became numb.”
- Louis Allwood
Putin health scare as Russian tyrant unable to use right hand
VLADIMIR Putin has sparked a health scare after video emerged showing the Russian tyrant with a dead arm during a visit to a military museum.
He's also seen limping as he walked next to the glamorous daughter of his defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
The footage is from this weekend's military festivities, known as Navy Day, in Russia.
Shoigu’s daughter Ksenia, 31, was showing around a military museum which she heads.
Putin is seen being attacked by mosquitoes on the right side of his face and uses his left hand to swat them away as his right arm hands limp.
The ailing autocrat is also seen walking awkwardly, evidently with a limp, alongside Shoigu’s daughter with her father also present.
- Louis Allwood
‘Seven tanks destroyed’
The Ukrainian military’s southern command said more than 100 Russian soldiers and seven tanks had been destroyed in fighting in the south on Friday.
The first deputy head of the Kherson regional council, Yuri Sobolevsky, told residents to stay from away from Russian ammunition dumps.
“The Ukrainian army is pouring it on against the Russians and this is only the beginning,” Sobolevsky wrote on the Telegram app.
- Louis Allwood
Zelenskyy recommends Russia be recognised as state sponsor of terrorism
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the deaths of many prisoners in a Russian-held jail demonstrated there should be apparent legal recognition that Russia was a state sponsor of terrorism.
Sky News reports that officials from Russia and the separatist authorities in Donetsk said the assault on the prison in Olenivka, in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region, killed 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war and wounded 75.
“I am appealing especially to the United States of America. A decision is needed and it is needed now,” Mr Zelenskyy said in a late night video address on Friday.
- Louis Allwood
UK's Ministry of Defence latest update
The UK's Ministry of Defence have said that the Belarusian President's regime has become "more authoritarian".
The Met Office said: "On 28 July 2022, Russia fired at least 20 missiles into northern Ukraine from Belarusian territory. This follows Russia’s use of Belarusian territory to launch the main thrusts of its failed attempt to take Kyiv in February.
"Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko continues to follow Moscow’s line on the Ukraine conflict, stating on 21 July that Ukraine must accept Russia’s demands for the war to stop.
"His regime has become ever more authoritarian, with the expansion of the death penalty for ‘preparing terrorist acts’. His increasing and baseless accusations of Western designs on Belarus and Ukraine likely indicate that he has become almost wholly dependent on Russia."
- Louis Allwood
Ukraine reveal Russia's total losses
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence have released the latest total of losses that the Russian troops have faced.
They claim that 40,830 personnel have been killed since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
- Louis Allwood
Brittney Griner & Paul Whelan exchange could encourage Russia to imprison Americans, expert warns
The US’s potential prisoner exchange with the Kremlin is a high-stakes tightrope walk that could encourage Russia to imprison more Americans on baseless charges, a law expert has warned.
After months of debate, WNBA superstar Brittney Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan may be freed if the US offers to release Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms trafficker.
Duncan Levin, a prominent defense lawyer and former federal and Manhattan prosecutor, said America’s justice system is flawed but it’s still a system of due process versus the “sham” that exists in Russia.
Whelan has been held by Russia for alleged espionage since 2018, and Griner was arrested earlier this year for allegedly carrying cartridges containing liquid with hashish oil.
“A prisoner swap with Russia is like negotiating with a hostage taker,” Levin told The Sun. “This is an international relations dance rather than something that is playing out in the court.”
Both Griner and Whelan’s families have called on the White House to get their loved ones out of Russian jails.
- Louis Allwood
First grain ship could leave Ukraine on Monday
The possibility of the first grain-exporting ship leaving Ukraine's ports on Monday is high, a spokesperson for President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.
"If all (details) are completed by tomorrow, it seems like there is a high possibility that the first ship will leave the port tomorrow…We will see ships leaving the ports the next day at the latest," Kalin said.
Speaking in an interview with broadcaster Kanal 7, Ibrahim Kalin said the joint coordination centre in Istanbul will probably complete the final work on the exporting routes very soon.
- Louis Allwood
Latest in Ukraine
- Oleksiy Vadatursky, founder and owner of agriculture company Nibulon and his wife, were killed in their home, Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram.
- Three people were also wounded in the attacks on Mikolaiv, the city's Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych told Ukrainian television, adding 12 missiles had hit homes and educational facilities.
- Up to 50 Grad rockets hit residential areas in another southern city, Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram.
Euro 2022 final’s Ukrainian referee Kateryna Monzul spent five days living in bunker in Kharkiv
TODAY'S Euro 2022 final referee is Ukrainian – and spent five days living in an underground bunker after the Russian invasion.
Kateryna Monzul will step out at a sold-out Wembley this afternoon to oversee England vs Germany.
But just months ago, she was in hiding with her family in her hometown of Kharkiv as Russian forces raided the country.
Monzul headed to her parents' home and took shelter before fleeing Ukraine with her two sisters and their three children, eventually settling in Italy.
They drove through Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic before arriving in Germany and then Italy, continuing her refereeing.
Reflecting on the journey from Ukraine to Italy and then to the Euros in England, Monzul said: "When the war started, nobody could believe it.
"My family went to my parents’ home. We were [living] underground – a special place in the house.
"It was stressful and difficult.
"When we left Ukraine, we didn't have any ideas what the next step was for us."
- Louis Allwood
Putin says United States is main threat to Russia
After inspecting the navy, Putin made a short speech in which he promised that what he touted as Russia's unique Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, cautioning that Russia had the military clout to defeat any potential aggressors.
Shortly before the speech, he signed a new 55-page naval doctrine, which sets out the broad strategic aims of Russia's navy, including its ambitions as a "great maritime power" which extend over the entire world.
The main threat to Russia, the doctrine says, is "the strategic policy of the USA to dominate the world's oceans" and the movement of the NATO military alliance closer towards Russia's borders.
- Louis Allwood
New naval doctrine signed
President Vladimir Putin on Sunday signed a new naval doctrine which cast the United States as Russia's main rival and set out Russia's global maritime ambitions for crucial areas such as the Arctic and in the Black Sea.
Speaking on Russia's Navy Day in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg founded by Tsar Peter the Great, Putin praised Peter for making Russia a great sea power and increasing the global standing of the Russian state.
- henry moore
Zelensky orders civilians to evacuate Donetsk region
Speaking from Kyiv last night, the Ukrainian President warned of increasing violence in the area.
“The more people leave Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” he claimed.
Russia already controls much of the Donetsk region, and their advance is likely to bring more bloodshed.
“The more people leave Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” Zelensky said.
“We will use all available opportunities to save as many lives as possible and to limit Russian terror as much as possible.”
- henry moore
First grain ship to leave Odesa tomorrow
Turkish Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin told national media that the port is ready to begin exporting once again.
"The probability of the first ship leaving tomorrow morning seems high," Kalin said.
This comes just a week after Russian launched a missile strike at the port.
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