Ukraine war latest: US warned of 'dangerous illusions' by diplomat as Russia mulls change in nuclear stance (2024)

North Korea has successfully conducted a test aimed at developing missiles carrying multiple warheads, state media agency KCNA reports.

The country said the test was carried out yesterday using the first-stage, solid-fuel engine of an intermediate-range ballistic missile.

KCNA said the missile succeeded in separating warheads in a test that was aimed at developing multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) technology.

"The purpose was to secure the capability to destroy individual targets using multiple warheads," it said.

What else happened this week?

The dispatch comes a day after South Korea's military said North Korea had launched what appeared to be a hypersonic missile off its east coast that exploded in mid-air.

South Korea, the US and Japan condemned that launch as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a serious threat, and warned against additional provocations in the wake of last week's summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin.

Today, the US, Japan and S Korea began large-scale joint military drills involving navy destroyers, fighter jets and the nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, aimed at boosting defence against missiles, submarines and air attacks.

During Mr Putin's first visit to North Korea in 24 years, the two leaders signed a mutual defence pact, which Mr Kim lauded as an alliance, but which South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called "anachronistic".

A passenger train derailment in northern Russia has killed at least two people and left one other missing, a state-run railway company has said.

The 14-carriage train derailed in Russia's northern republic of Komi last night, Russian Railways said, with nine carriages coming off the tracks.

Up to 50 people were injured, Russia's news agency Interfax reported, citing emergency officials.

The train, carrying 232 passengers, was headed to the southern city of Novorossiysk from Vorkuta, a coal mining town in the north of Komi, Russian Railways said.

It said that heavy rainfall, which washed out parts of the track, was the likely cause of the derailment.

The Ukrainian air force has said it shot down all 23 drones and five out of six missiles launched by Russia this morning.

Serhii Tiurin, the regional governor of Khmelnytskyi, western Ukraine, said the air defences shot down nine aerial targets over his region.

Local authorities have not received any reports of casualties or property damage, he added.

Meanwhile, governor Vitaliy Kim said the military destroyed six drones and three cruise missiles over the southern region of Mykolaiv.

Ukraine and Russia often send drones across the border but both sides have said they only target military infrastructure.

A senior Russian diplomat has urged the US to pay attention to discussions under way on possibly altering Moscow's nuclear doctrine to suit changed conditions in international relations.

Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, interviewed by the Izvestia media outlet, also said Moscow did not rule out downgrading diplomatic relations with certain Western countries if they failed to alter their "Russophobic" approach to ties.

Mr Ryabkov restated Vladimir Putin's assertions of recent weeks that Russia's nuclear doctrine, setting down when such weapons could be used, was being reassessed.

He said that the doctrine was drafted "in a different era and in different circ*mstances" and that he hoped the discussions now "are being taken seriously by our opponents".

"I am not anticipating the outcome, but I urge our adversaries to think about what the president is saying," he said.

"They are literally playing with fire... and must learn not to indulge in dangerous illusions, but to try to look at the world soberly and understand that we have immutable national interests which we are prepared to defend to the end," he said.

The doctrine states Russia may use nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear attack or in the event of a conventional attack that poses an existential threat to Russia.

Mr Putin said this month that Russia had no need to use nuclear arms to secure victory in Ukraine.

The Russian navy missile cruiser Varyag has carried out drills in the Mediterranean Sea, the state-owned TASS news agency reports.

The drills focused on repelling a mass sea drone attack, the navy command said, and also involved simulated engagements with an enemy vessel and a submarine.

The drill come weeks after a Russian naval frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine conducted missile drills in the Atlantic Ocean while on their way to Cuba.

Such moves will be closely watched by the US.

Welcome back to our coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Yesterday, NATO appointed Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as its next secretary general.

And Russian pranksters released footage of David Cameron being tricked into thinking he was speaking to a former Ukrainian president.

The Foreign Office (FCDO) announced at the start of June that a "number of text messages were exchanged followed by a brief video call" between Lord Cameron and someone who claimed to be Petro Poroshenko.

In the casual video call published by website Guido Fawkes, Lord Cameron discusses Labour, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Here is what else has happened in the last 24 hours:

• Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said if North Korean troops were sent to Ukraine to help the Russian army they would become "cannon fodder";
• Evan Gershkovich was seen before the start of his behind-closed-doors trial in Russia;
• Vladimir Putin held a phone call with the interim president of Iran, Mohammad Mokhber;
• European Union countries agreed a sanctions package against Belarus.

The map below shows the latest territorial picture in Ukraine...

That brings an end to our live updates on the conflict in Ukraine for this evening.

We'll bring you any major updates overnight. In the meantime, you can scroll through the blog below to catch up on the day's developments.

Vladimir Putin today held a phone call with the interim president of Iran, Mohammad Mokhber, the Kremlin has said.

The Russian president and Mokhber discussed "mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation in all key areas", including energy and "large-scale infrastructure projects".

Russian energy giant Gazprom announced earlier today the signing of a memorandum with the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) to supply Russian pipeline gas to Iran.

As many football fans will be aware, the Ukrainian men's national team have been playing against Belgium in a crucial match in the European Championship in Germany.

Soldiers in the Donetsk region have been taking a break from the conflict there to watch the match in Stuttgart - where Belgium supporters rose to applaud as the Ukrainian national anthem was played before kick off.

Ukraine must win the game or hope there is a winner in the match being played simultaneously between Romania and Slovakia (or a win for Slovakia if Ukraine lose) if they are to qualify for the knock-out stages of the tournament.

The United Nations Security Council has condemned a deadly attack that targeted churches and synagogues in Dagestan.

Twenty people were killed, most of them police officers, during the attack on Sunday.

Five gunmen were also killed, while at least 46 people were taken to hospital with injuries in the predominantly Muslim region.

The statement from the UN Security Council said: "The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly terrorist."