Kyiv orders troops to pull out of Sievierodonetsk – as it happened

It’s 2am in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:

• The Canadian senate passed prime minister Justin Trudeau’s budget on Thursday, allowing it to seize and dispose of assets sanctioned as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Canadian government will now be allowed to seize and dispose of assets of people and entities that have been sanctioned due to the invasion. The government will then be able to use the funds to support Ukraine.
• The European Council on Friday has approved 9 billion euros of financial aid to Ukraine. In a statement made by Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki at the European Council summit in Brussels, he said, “There is a war in Ukraine, and there is nothing to pay nurses, teachers, police, border guards, or many other public services.”
• Ukraine’s main domestic security agency said on Friday it had uncovered a Russian spy network involving Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach who was previously accused by the United States of being a Russian agent. The State Security Service (SBU) said Derkach, whose whereabouts were not made clear, set up a network of private security firms to use them to ease and support the entry of Russian units into cities during Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion.
• Over 3,000 dolphins in the Black Sea have died as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian scientists working in the “Tuzlovsky Lymans” reserve, a national nature park. NEXTA reports that the “work of sonar and explosions prevent them from finding food” and that dead dolphins have been increasingly found on the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania, in addition to Ukraine.
• It would require Ukraine a decade to rebuild infrastructure of its Black Sea ports, whose blockade by Russia is preventing global grain exports, according to Ukraine’s deputy agriculture minister. “For alternative routes, it would take 10 years of investment to try to build the necessary infrastructure to replace this Black Sea port infrastructure, which we spent about 20 years building, starting in 2000,” Taras Vysotskiy said on Friday.
• Russia has condemned the European Union’s decision to accept Ukraine and Moldova as membership candidates. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry said, “With the decision to grant Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidate countries, the European Union has confirmed that it continues to actively exploit the CIS on a geopolitical level, to use it to ‘contain’ Russia,” referring to Russia’s sphere of influence within the Commonwealth of Independent States consisting of former Soviet states.
• Mass kidnappings have been occurring in Melitopol, said the mayor of the southeastern Ukrainian city. “More than 500 people have been abducted in the last four months,” Ivan Fedrov said, adding that mass kidnappings have resumed in the Russian-occupied territory last week.
  
• Russia has launched 70 missiles at Odesa since February 24, the southwestern city’s regional prosecution has said. According to the prosecution, the majority of the missiles have targeted residential areas and public utilities.

That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as I hand the blog over to my colleagues in Australia who will bring you the latest updates on Ukraine. I’ll be back tomorrow, thank you.

Footage has emerged of the ruins in central Popasna in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, Euromaidan Press reports.

After two months of intensive fighting against Russian forces, Ukrainian troops left the city in early May, leaving behind numerous buildings that have been destroyed by the Russian military.

The Canadian senate passed prime minister Justin Trudeau’s budget on Thursday, allowing it to seize and dispose of assets sanctioned as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Canadian government will now be allowed to seize and dispose of assets of people and entities that have been sanctioned due to the invasion. The government will then be able to use the funds to support Ukraine.

The European Council on Friday has approved 9 billion euros of financial aid to Ukraine.

In a statement made by Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki at the European Council summit in Brussels, he said, “There is a war in Ukraine, and there is nothing to pay nurses, teachers, police, border guards, or many other public services.”

Morawiecki added that European countries such as his are continuing to provide military assistance to Ukraine.

“The advantage [of Russia] in artillery, according to the allies and our own sources is 1:8, 1:10. How difficult it is to fight such an overwhelming enemy force. That is why Poland, as well as the United States, Great Britain, and the Baltic States, are doing everything possible to help Ukraine get the weapons,” he said.

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Ukraine’s main domestic security agency said on Friday it had uncovered a Russian spy network involving Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach who was previously accused by the United States of being a Russian agent.

Reuters reports:

The State Security Service (SBU) said Derkach, whose whereabouts were not made clear, set up a network of private security firms to use them to ease and support the entry of Russian units into cities during Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion.

Derkach could not immediately be reached for comment. He has previously denied wrongdoing and said he has been targeted for exposing corruption.

In a statement, the SBU cited testimony from Derkach’s parliamentary aide Ihor Kolykhayev. It said he was arrested at the beginning of the war, and accused him of being a go-between between Derkach and Russia’s military intelligence agency.

Kolykhayev said Derkach’s security firms “had to ensure the passage of (Russian) vehicles, get into armoured vehicles with Russian flags, and thus ensure (the Russian army’s) peaceful entry into the city.”

The SBU said Derkach received sums of $3-4 million every several months in order to fulfil the plan.

Derkach was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in September 2020 for what it said were attempts to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

The Treasury’s sanction announcement at the time said Derkach had been “an active Russian agent for over a decade.”

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Over 3,000 dolphins in the Black Sea have died as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian scientists working in the “Tuzlovsky Lymans” reserve, a national nature park.

NEXTA reports that the “work of sonar and explosions prevent them from finding food” and that dead dolphins have been increasingly found on the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania, in addition to Ukraine.

It would require Ukraine a decade to rebuild infrastructure of its Black Sea ports, whose blockade by Russia is preventing global grain exports, according to Ukraine’s deputy agriculture minister.

“For alternative routes, it would take 10 years of investment to try to build the necessary infrastructure to replace this Black Sea port infrastructure, which we spent about 20 years building, starting in 2000,” Taras Vysotskiy said on Friday.

Since the Russian invasion in February, millions of tonnes of wheat and other grain have been stuck in Ukrainian ports, prompting international concern surrounding food prices an hunger.

“These alternative routes are important” but can only carry around a third of Ukraine’s exports, he said.

Ukraine’s Western allies are looking for ways to unblock the ports, particularly Odessa, the main point of departure for the country’s agricultural produce.

“Without very concrete guarantees allowing ships to enter and leave safely, we cannot allow such actions,” Vysotskiy said, adding that Russia was not ready to provide these assurances.

Meanwhile, about 20 million tonnes of grain from last year’s harvest are still stuck in Ukraine, he said. However, he noted that the grain could be “stored very efficiently for up to two years” under the right conditions.

“10 to 15 percent of the port infrastructure was destroyed by rockets from Russia,” Vysotskiy also said, referring to a recent Russian strike on one of the country’s biggest grain terminals in Mykolaiv.

Vysotskiy said that Kyiv had “evidence that about half a million tonnes were stolen from the regions partially occupied,” referring to Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Lugansk.

“We have received evidence from satellite images showing grain has been transported to Syria,” Vysotskiy added.

Russia has condemned the European Union’s decision to accept Ukraine and Moldova as membership candidates.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry said, “With the decision to grant Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidate countries, the European Union has confirmed that it continues to actively exploit the CIS on a geopolitical level, to use it to ‘contain’ Russia,” referring to Russia’s sphere of influence within the Commonwealth of Independent States consisting of former Soviet states.

Although it could take years for the countries to join the European bloc, the decision to accept them as candidates is a symbol of the EU’s intention to reach deep into the former Soviet Union.

“They are not thinking of the negative consequences of such a step,” she added.

By expanding to Ukraine and Moldova, two former Soviet republics, Zakharova said, the EU was sacrificing its democratic ideals at the expense of “unrestrained expansion and the political and economic enslavement of its neighbours.”

Mass kidnappings have been occurring in Melitopol, said the mayor of the southeastern Ukrainian city.

“More than 500 people have been abducted in the last four months,” Ivan Fedrov said, adding that mass kidnappings have resumed in the Russian-occupied territory last week.

Fedorov also said that Russian forces have been extracting harvest grain from the city’s silos.

“As for the latest crops, the rucists announce the following harvesting criteria: they either take 50% or 70% of the crops. They also announce the price at which they are willing to buy – less than $80 per tonne. This is less than the actual cost price. Meanwhile, only one person was authorized by the occupiers to run such negotiations and buy out the crops,” he said.

Russia has launched 70 missiles at Odesa since February 24, the southwestern city’s regional prosecution has said.

According to the prosecution, the majority of the missiles have targeted residential areas and public utilities.