Ukraine Russia war latest: Anti-corruption protests target Zelensky in Kyiv ahead of crucial peace talks – UK Times

The Russian Tass news agency is reporting that Moscow’s delegation for peace talks with Ukraine is on its way to Istanbul, Turkey.

Talks with Ukraine are expected, Tass reported, citing a source.

We’ll bring you more as it comes.

Volodymyr Zelensky has approved the delegation which will take part in negotiations on 23 July in Istanbul.

It is unclear exactly what time the negotiations, which are relatively low-level, are due to take part.

The delegation will be headed by secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Rustem Umerov, who served as Ukraine’s defence minister until days ago.

IT also includes representatives from the presidential office, the armed forces, the foreign ministry, the security sand intelligence services, and the Ukrainian parliament.

Here are some members of the delegation, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

• Rustem Umerov: Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, head of the delegation
• Oleksandr Diakov: Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Navy
• Serhii Kyslytsia: First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
• Oleh Luhovskyi: First Deputy Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service
• Yevhenii Ostrianskyi: Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces
• Oleksandr Poklad: Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine
• Vadym Skibitskyi: Deputy Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the two anti-corruption agencies which Kyiv is looking to curb the powers of will continue to work.

The only difference is that they will be stripped of Russian influence, he claimed.

The Ukrainian president said he had spoken wit the directors of NABU and SAPO, the agencies impacted by the move.

“The anti-corruption infrastructure will work. Only without Russian influence, it needs to be cleared of that. And there should be more justice,” he said on X.

“Of course, NABU and SAPO will work. And it is important that the Prosecutor General is determined to ensure that in Ukraine the inevitability of punishment for those who go against the law is actually ensured. This is what Ukraine really needs.

“And there is no explanation why the Russians can still get the information they need. Important is – without Russians. Important is to have an inevitability of punishment and that society really sees it.”

Russian forces launched 71 Shahed drones at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv’s air force has said.

A total of 26 drones struck their targets but the rest failed to reach their destination.

Here is what the air force said in its morning report, according to Ukrainska Pravda:

Drones were launched from Russia’s Kursk, Millerovo and Primorsko-Akhtarsk regions, and targeted Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kharkiv and Cherkasy regions, the air force added.

We’ve just heard from Benjamin Haddad, France’s European Affairs minister, who said it is not too late for Ukraine to reverse its decision to roll back the autonomy of two anti-corruption agencies at the centre of the country’s reform drive.

Amendments passed yesterday grant the general prosecutor, appointed by the president, strict control over the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, several lawmakers said.

The decision by Ukraine’s executive has prompted protests in Kyiv and other cities across the country

“It is not too late to go back on this,” Haddad told France Inter radio. “We will be extremely vigilant on the subject.”

Russia has began huge navy drills with more than 150 vessels and 15,000 troops in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the defence ministry said.

The ‘July Storm’ exercise will test the readiness of Russia’s fleet for non-standard operations, including the use of long-range weapons and other advanced technologies, the ministry said.

“At sea, the crews of the ships will practice deployment to combat areas, conducting anti-submarine operations, defending areas of deployment and economic activity,” it added.

The will also practice “repelling attacks by air attack weapons, unmanned boats and enemy drones, ensuring the safety of navigation, striking enemy targets and naval groups”.

More than 120 aircraft will take part and 10 coastal missile systems, the ministry said. Navy chief, Admiral Alexander Moiseev, will lead the exercise.

Russia has the world’s third most powerful navy after China and the United States, according to most public rankings, though the navy has suffered a series of high-profile losses in the Ukraine war.

A Mirage 2000 fighter jet supplied to Ukraine from France crashed yesterday after experiencing equipment failure during an assignment, with the pilot ejecting safely, Ukraine’s military said.

It was the first loss of a Mirage jet since Ukraine’s military started receiving them earlier this year.

“Equipment failure occurred, which the pilot reported to the flight controller,” a military statement said on Telegram.

“The pilot then acted competently, as is expected in crisis situations, and successfully ejected. A rescue crew found the pilot in a stable condition. There were no casualties on the ground.”

Ukrainian news reports said the incident occurred in the northwestern Volyn region.

Ukraine’s military announced the arrival of the first batch of Mirage aircraft in February.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has renewed his call to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin face to face as Russia cast doubt on fresh peace talks being held this week.

Mr Zelensky said Ukraine was working to “prepare a leaders’ meeting aimed at truly bringing this war to an end”, as the Kremlin said it did not expect any breakthroughs from fresh negotiations being held in Istanbul on Wednesday.

“Our position is fully transparent. Ukraine never wanted this war, and it is Russia that must end the war that it started,” the Ukrainian president said.

In May, Mr Zelensky challenged the Russian leader to meet him, saying he would be waiting in Turkey for him “personally”.

But on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was unlikely to agree to a peace deal and would continue “pursuing our interests”.

Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov shared a cryptic message warning against infighting on his Telegram after Ukraine cleared a new law threatening the autonomy of the country’s anti-corruption bodies.

“Ukrainian history has taught us — a nation loses if it is torn apart by internal contradictions,” Mr Budanov wrote in a post on his Telegram channel.

“We have one common trouble, one enemy. Therefore, internal contradictions should be resolved through open dialogue to achieve a single common goal — to defend our country. I am confident that Ukraine will be saved by a strong military and institutions,” Mr Budanov said.