Kremlin still talks to Ukraine about exchanging dead soldiers

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• Kremlin has said it is ready to deliver bodies of Ukrainian war-dead for "several days"

  The Kremlin announced on Tuesday that Russia had been prepared to begin transferring the bodies of Ukraine's dead war soldiers for several days. Trucks containing the initial corpses were parked at the border in refrigerated vehicles, but Kyiv was still working out the details. Both sides agreed on the repatriation of the bodies of soldiers who died in the conflict, during talks held in Istanbul on 2 June. This also led to an agreement for the exchange of prisoners of war. The first day of the conference was Monday The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Moscow of trying to "play some sort of dirty political game and information" in relation to the exchanges. The Russian government has stated that it is willing to receive the remains of any Russian soldiers Kyiv can return. Vladimir Medinsky, a Kremlin adviser, said that on Saturday the Russians had arrived at the exchange point with 1,212 Ukrainian dead troops only to discover no one from Ukraine was willing to accept them. On Saturday, the Ukrainian officials who were responsible for these exchanges failed to respond to an inquiry for comment. When asked about the matter on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia was still willing to return the corpses and was in discussions with Kyiv regarding the topic, but did know how many bodies of Russian soldier Ukraine was prepared to give over. "There is still no final agreement." Contact is made and numbers are compared. We hope that this exchange will happen as soon as there's a final agreement," said Peskov. "There's one undisputed fact, and that is that the trailers mentioned earlier have been waiting on the border since several days to be transferred to the Ukrainian side. Everyone knows and sees this fact. Russian state media broadcast images of white trucks with bodies sealed in white bags parked near the border. (Reporting and writing by Dmitry Antonov, Editing by Guy Faulconbridge).

• Kremlin still talks to Ukraine about exchanging dead soldiers

  The Kremlin announced on Tuesday that Russia was still willing to return the remains of Ukrainian soldiers who died in the war. It is also in discussions with Kyiv about the matter. Some of the bodies are still inside refrigerator trucks awaiting a transfer. Russia claimed that trucks carrying initially over 1,000 corpses had been parked at an exchange point for Ukraine since Saturday and complained that Kyiv hadn't yet collected them. A similar exchange was agreed upon during the second round of direct talks on peace in Istanbul, June 2. The Kremlin has said that it does not know how many Russian soldiers Ukraine is ready to surrender. (Reporting and writing by Dmitry Antonov, Editing by Andrew Osborn).

• PM Fico: Slovakia will block EU Sanctions on Russia if it harms national interests

  Robert Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, said that his country will not support any European Union sanctions which harm its national interests against Russia. The resolution passed by parliament on Sunday urging the government to refrain from supporting any new measures was a call for the government to stop backing any new measures. Fico stated that Slovakia wanted to remain constructive within the EU, but called the resolution an instrument of political communication. Fico said at a press conference that was broadcast on the YouTube page of his party: "I will never vote for a sanction which would harm us." Slovakia, which is a member of NATO and the European Union, diverged from its Western allies on Ukraine, under Fico's leftist-nationalist coalition government, and has stopped official state aid to Kyiv in its battle against the separatists. Russia's invasion Fico is also opposed to sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine, arguing that trade measures harm Slovakia and the EU far more than Moscow. In a parliamentary session with a low turnout, the new resolution committed members of government to not vote for any new sanctions or trade restrictions towards Russia. The extent to which the resolution is constitutionally binding was not immediately clear. Fico said that he would not support any measures to stop the importation of Russian fuel into Slovakia's nuclear plants. "I want to be a constructive member of the European Union but not at the cost of Slovakia." The Slovakian government has not blocked any EU sanctions in the past, including those imposed by the European Union. 17th package In May, the United States adopted a policy of targeting Moscow's Shadow Fleet. The opposition of Slovakia and other countries like Hungary that still depend on Russian energy has consistently thwarted attempts to attack Russia's nuclear and gas sectors.

• Russia moves into the east-central Ukrainian area amid a dispute over dead soldiers

  The Russians said that their forces advanced on Sunday to the eastern edge of Dnipropetrovsk, a region in central Ukraine. This was amid a public dispute between Moscow and Kyiv about peace negotiations and the returning of thousands of dead soldiers from the war. While there is talk of peace, war continues to escalate. Russian forces are gaining more territory in Ukraine, and Kyiv has launched high-profile drone attacks and sabotage against Russia's nuclear bomber fleet, and according to Moscow on its railways. According to pro-Ukrainian maps, Russia has seized more than 190 sq km (73 sq miles) of Sumy in eastern Ukraine within a month. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, the 90th Tank Division from the Central Grouping has reached the western border of Ukraine's Donetsk Region and is attacking the adjacent Dnipropetrovsk Region. Kyiv did not comment on the Russian advance. However, the pro-Ukrainian Deep State Map showed Russian forces close to Dnipropetrovsk, a region with a population exceeding 3 million people before the war. Russia accused Ukraine on Saturday of delaying the exchange of prisoners of War and returning the bodies of 12,000 soldiers who died, although Ukraine denied these claims. Russia announced on Sunday that it was bringing bodies to the border. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has said that he wants to end the deadliest conflict to occur in Europe since World War Two. On Thursday, he compared it to a fight among young children, and suggested that he may have to let the conflict continue. Accusations about the willingness to accept peace Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said that he didn't think Ukraine leaders wanted peace. He had accused them of ordering an attack in Bryansk in western Russia, which killed seven and injured 115 people a day prior to talks in Turkey. Ukraine has also accused Moscow, who has not responded to the attack on the Bryansk Bridge, of not being serious about peace. They cited Russian resistance to a ceasefire immediately as proof. Russia demands international recognition for Crimea, the peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014 from Ukraine, as well as four other regions within Ukraine which Moscow claims to be its territory. Ukraine would be required to withdraw all its forces. According to Deep State Map, Russia controlled 113.273 square kilometers, or 18.8% of Ukrainian territory, as of June 7. This is larger than the U.S. State of Virginia. Areas under Russian control are Crimea, Luhansk (more than 99%), Donetsk (more than 70%), Zaporizhzhia (more than 70%) and Kherson (more then 70%), all located in the east and southeast. Fragments of Kharkiv, Sumy and Kharkiv in the northeast also fall within this area. Putin said to Trump that he had to react to the Ukrainian drone attacks against Russia's Bomber Fleet and the rail bombings. U.S. officials have said that they believe Putin's threat to retaliate against Ukraine for its attacks is not yet real and will likely be a multi-pronged, significant strike. Local officials reported that Russia also attacked the northeastern Ukrainian town of Kharkiv with drones, guided bombs and missiles on Friday night and overnight, killing four people and wounding over 60 others, including a newborn. Russia said that it also claimed to have shot down 61 Ukrainian drones in the Moscow area over night on Sunday. Two of the major airports that serve Moscow have been temporarily closed. Mark Heinrich, Mark Heinrich (Reporting in Moscow)

• The potato price hike is a major factor in the inflationary pain of Russia's poor.

  In a farm near Moscow newly arrived Indian guest workers are planting potatoes and kale - work that is closely monitored by analysts from the central bank as they prepare to meet with board members in order to set interest rate. In developed countries such as the United States, food makes up about 14% or less of the basket that is used to calculate the inflation rate. However, in Russia, it can be as high at 40%. The rising prices of potatoes and other staples are a big reason for the tightening monetary policy. Even though the central bank cut its benchmark rate on June 6, it is still at the highest level since 2003. Inflationary expectations, which are a major driver of price pressures, remain high even though actual inflation has slowed down. The potato prices have tripled in the last year, when the crop was down by 12%. "It's crazy. The price of potatoes has always been low. "At this price, I won't buy them. I think very few people will," said Tamara a 67 year old pensioner in front of a Pyaterochka store discount in Moscow. Elvira Nabibullina, the governor of the Central Bank acknowledged the problem at her press conference following the rate reduction. She said, "People don't buy smartphones or televisions on a daily basis." "They buy food." "If prices are rising faster, this can lead to high inflation expectations." A study by Romir showed that Russian households spent 35% of their income on food last month, the highest in five years and a significant increase from 29% in April of 2013. POTATO CRISIS Pyaterochka offers Russian old-crop potatoes at 84 roubles (about $1.06) per kilogram and new-crop potatoes at 120 ($1.53), compared to an average of 43 roubles/kilo last year in retail stores. This is higher than the $0.92 per kilogram charged by Britain's largest supermarket chain Tesco. Prices of onions, cabbages, beets carrots and other ingredients in beetroot, a popular dish throughout Eastern Europe that is often used as a gauge for food inflation, are also up. Even President Vladimir Putin was caught off guard by the crisis. He had been praising Russia's agricultural growth and exports, despite Western sanctions, as a success, despite similar increases in butter and eggs earlier this year. In response, the government increased imports. Egypt tripled its potato supply to Russia while Belarus, Russia’s back-up potato supplier, announced that it was out of stock. STABILIZATION JULY The farmers blame the poor weather for the lower crop, but they also point out that the rising cost of fuel, machinery, fertilizers, and labour as well as the high interest rates are factors. Yaroslav Ilanov, the head of Sovkhoz Sergiyevsky Farm, said: "Last winter, it started out cold and then there was drought." The quality of the potatoes was below average. The potatoes of good quality were sold quickly and the situation started to worsen. He said that the high prices of this year helped compensate for some losses suffered by farmers following a bumper crop in 2023 when retail prices plummeted. The harvest this year is expected to better. Oksana LUT, Agriculture Minister said: "We'll see a drop in prices and a stabilization beginning July." TsMAKP, the think tank that advises the government on inflation, calculated the rate for the poor using basic food, utility and medicine costs, at 20% in April. This is ten percentage points higher than the official rate. TsMAKP stated that "the continued rapid rise in food prices led to a substantial divergence between price index for consumption baskets of low-income population and the overall inflation rates." In April, the average pension for the elderly was $298. Real terms, the pension fell for most of last year and then rose by 1.4% from 2025 onwards. Sergei Aleksashenko is a former central-bank official and an opposition economist who lives in exile in America. He pointed to pensioners and workers in the public sector. ($1 = 78.5000 roubles)

• Russia asks UN agency for help in solving the question of US fuel at Ukraine's nuclear plant

  The U.N. nuclear watchdog was asked by Russia on Friday to mediate in the dispute between Moscow and Washington over the fate of U.S. fuel that is stored at an Ukrainian power station controlled by Russian forces. Russia wants to restart Zaporizhzhia, a nuclear power plant that was idled for many years. It is located near the front line of the Ukraine war and produced a fifth or more of Ukraine's electrical output. Fuel is just one of many issues that are preventing the restart. Rafael Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency said this week that it is currently impossible to restart the reactor due to the lack of stable electricity and water cooling. After meeting Grossi, Alexei Likhachev, the Russian chief of nuclear energy, said that Russia would be willing to either use the fuel supplied by the U.S. firm Westinghouse or remove it completely and return it back to the United States. In a televised comment, he stated that Westinghouse and U.S. Energy officials had raised intellectual property concerns in relation to the fuel issue with Russia. Grossi was quoted by the state news agency RIA as saying that the IAEA is willing to mediate. Both Russia and Ukraine accuse the other of bombarding Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, increasing the risk of an accident. Likhachev stated that Russia had prepared "a comprehensive plan" for a phased commissioning. However, it could only take place if all threats to the military were removed. In March 2022, Russia occupied the facility shortly after its troops invaded Ukraine to start the war. The facility has six reactors. The last one stopped producing electricity in September 2022. (Reporting and writing by Mark Trevelyan, Gleb Stolyarov and Maxim Rodionov)

• Germany's Merz claims that some US legislators have 'no clue' about the scale of Russia's nuclear rearmament

  The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated on Friday that some U.S. legislators do not understand Russia's rearmament program. This was a day following his meeting with U.S. president Donald Trump at the White House. Merz said at a Berlin business conference: "I spoke with senators from Capitol Hill, and I told them that they should look into the rearmament Russia has been doing." He said that the senators "clearly have no idea" what was happening in South Africa at this moment. Russia has moved defence factories to Round-the-clock Production Since the beginning of its full scale invasion of Ukraine in Febuary 2022, Russia has signed weapons deals with North Korea. This prompted European officials to warn Moscow could be soon in a position where it can attack NATO territory. Russia denies such an intention, and claims to be conducting a "special operation" (military action) in Ukraine for its own protection against what they portray as a hostile, aggressive West. Merz, the conservative leader who came to power in May, was the latest European leader visiting Trump to try to convince him that Ukraine must be defended against Russia's invasion, and NATO should continue to support Europe's security. Merz stated that he was reassured by Trump's words during their public meeting in the Oval Office. He cited the "resounding" no to the question of whether the United States planned to withdraw from NATO. Since the beginning of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in the continent's most bloody conflict since World War Two, European countries have increased their defence spending. Merz has supported Trump's call for NATO to commit to an objective of more than double defence spending in the future to 5%. Trump welcomed this commitment on Thursday, and told Merz U.S. troops would remain in Germany. Merz stated on Friday that "whether we like it or no, we will be dependent on the United States...for a very long time." (Reporting and writing by Friederike Rinke and Andreas Rinke; Editing by Gareth Jones).

• Governor of Engels says that a drone attack caused a fire at an industrial site in Russia.

  The regional governor reported that drones caused a fire at an industrial facility in the southern Russian city of Engels. A video posted on social media, and confirmed by, showed a fierce fire emitting massive clouds of black smoke. The Governor Roman Busargin didn't specify which industrial site was the target. In January, the state of emergency in Engels was declared after a Ukrainian drone struck an oil depot serving a nearby Russian base for nuclear bomber aircraft, causing an fire that took several days to extinguish. Busargin confirmed that a high-rise building was also struck, but no one was injured. The Ukrainian general staff stated that it had struck Russian airfields and fuel reservoirs in the Saratov region, as well as in the Ryazan region, during an attack overnight on Friday. Saratov includes Engels. Since the middle of March the United States negotiated a one-month pause on attacks against energy facilities. A drone strike on March 14 caused an oil refinery in Russia, Black Sea Tuapse, to catch fire. The fire was extinguished after three days.

• IAEA team in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia claims it heard repeated gunshots

  The U.N. nuclear watchdog reported on Thursday that international monitors heard gunfire at the Russian-owned Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. It appeared to be directed at drones which were reportedly attacking the training centre at the plant. In the first weeks before Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian forces captured the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest facility with six reactors. Since then, both sides have accused each other of attacking and threatening nuclear safety the Zaporizhzhia plant. IAEA monitors reported hearing five explosions, preceded each by gunfire between 11:15 a.m. to 13:45 pm local time. The statement did not mention the origins of the drones, and there was no damage reported to the center. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi stated that drones flying near nuclear power plants can threaten their safety and security with potential serious consequences. As I've said repeatedly throughout the war, these incidents must cease immediately. In the statement, it said that this was the fourth time in the past year that drones had reportedly targeted the training centre located outside the perimeter of the site. The Russian management of the plant had said earlier that Ukrainian drones landed on top of the training centre in a "yet again attack" against the facility. There were no injuries or damages reported. With all reactors shut down, the Zaporizhzhia plant produces no electricity. It produced one-fifth the electricity of Ukraine before the war. Grossi said last week that although Russia "never concealed the fact" it wanted to restart its plant, it could not do so soon due to a lack of water for cooling as well as a stable supply of electricity. Reporting by Urvi dugar Editing by Alexandra Hudson Ron Popeski Chizu Nomiyama

• Ukraine and the US discuss ways to make the minerals fund operational within a year

  Ukraine's Yulia Shvyrydenko said that the United States and Ukraine have discussed ways to make the minerals fund operational before the end of this year. The fund's initial meeting is scheduled for July. Svyrydenko signed the agreement in Washington, after months of hard negotiations, which made the terms more favorable for Kyiv. The agreement was heavily promoted by U.S. president Donald Trump. The Ukrainian parliament ratified this agreement. Svyrydenko met with U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent on Wednesday and the Development Finance Corporation which will be the partner of the Minerals Fund. "We discussed very concrete steps to make this fund functional during this year," Svyrydenko told reporters. We will have our first board meeting in July to discuss the seed capital needed to operate this fund. We should also adopt a strategy for investing in this fund over the next few decades. Negotiations leading to the signing of the Mineral Fund deal were preceded by a heated discussion between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House about how to end Ukraine's war with Russia, which has lasted for three years. Zelenskiy's ability to repair his relationship with Trump was dependent on the agreement. In April, the two men briefly met at the Vatican during the funeral for Pope Francis in order to get their relationship back on track. Reporting by Gram Slattery, Costas Pitas and SonaliPaul; Editing by Ron Popeski & SonaliPaul

• Ukraine and the U.S. discuss ways to make a minerals fund operational within a year

  Ukraine's Yulia Shvyrydenko said that the United States and Ukraine have discussed ways to make the minerals fund operational before the end of this year. The fund's initial meeting is scheduled for July. Svyrydenko signed the agreement in Washington, after months of hard negotiations, which made the terms more favorable for Kyiv. The agreement was heavily promoted by U.S. president Donald Trump. The Ukrainian parliament then ratified this agreement. Svyrydenko met with U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent on Wednesday and the Development Finance Corporation which will be the partner of the Minerals Fund. "We discussed very concrete steps to make this fund functional during this year," Svyrydenko told reporters. We will have our first board meeting in July to discuss the seed capital needed to operate this fund. We should also adopt the investment strategies for this fund over the next few decades. Negotiations leading to the signing of the Mineral Fund deal were preceded by a heated discussion between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House about how to end Ukraine's war with Russia, which has lasted for three years. Zelenskiy's ability to repair his relationship with Trump was dependent on the agreement. In April, the two men briefly met at the Vatican during the funeral for Pope Francis in order to get their relationship back on track. Reporting by Gram Slattery, Costas Pitas and SonaliPaul; Editing by Ron Popeski & SonaliPaul

• Taiyo Oil purchases first Russian crude oil in over two years at government request

  The Japanese refinery Taiyo Oil said that it had purchased its first Sakhalin Blend from Russia in over two years, at the request of the Japanese government. This was to ensure the stability and reliability of the plant, which also supplies Japan with liquefied gas. Trade data shows that Japan imported its last Russian crude oil in February 2023 after Tokyo and other G7 nations agreed to phase out the imports as a response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to Kpler and traders, China is the only importer of Sakhalin Blend since the Biden administration imposed sanctions in January against ice-class tankers used to transport oil from Sakhalin. Sakhalin-2, a complex of islands owned by Gazprom, a Russian company, and Japanese companies, plays a vital role in Japan's energy supply, as it represents 9% its LNG imports. Tokyo asked refiners to consider purchasing Sakhalin Blend crude earlier this year, a byproduct from LNG production, to ensure the project could continue to run smoothly. Sakhalin-2 oil and its byproducts are exempt from U.S. sanctions until June 28, 2025 if they are imported exclusively to Japan. A Taiyo Oil representative told us by phone that, "At request of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, it was decided to deliver 600,000 barrels of Sakhalin blend crude oil." This decision was taken to ensure that Japan has a stable supply of energy or LNG. LSEG shipping data shows that the Aframax tanker Voyager - which is subject to U.S. sanctions - arrived in Kikuma, Japan, on Monday, and left once it had discharged its cargo. Fuels are handled by an official in the Industry Ministry. A spokesperson for Taiyo Oil said that there is no plan to purchase additional Sakhalin-2 at this time. (Reporting and writing by Yuka Obayashi, Florence Tan, Jan Harvey).