Russia-Ukraine war live: Volodymyr Zelenskiy discusses peace plan, Nato and grain deal with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey

Ukraine’s counter-offensive against Russian forces is going more slowly than expected, a senior Pentagon official acknowledged.

“It’s too early to judge how the counter-offensive is going one way or the other because we’re at the beginning of the middle,” Colin Kahl, the under secretary of defense for policy, told reporters.

“They are still probing Russian lines (and) Russian areas for weak spots,” Kahl said.

US national security advisor Jake Sullivan said president Joe Biden has approved the shipment of cluster munitions to Ukraine following a unanimous recommendation from his national security team.

The US agreeing to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions is part of an aid package worth a reported $800m.

Also included in the package are Bradley and Stryker armoured vehicles, and ammunition that includes rounds for howitzers and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.

Colin H Kahl, under secretary of defence for policy, said: “We will be able to provide Ukraine with extra artillery immediately.

“Russia has been using cluster munitions since the start of the war.

“The munitions we will provide Ukraine will have a dud rate of below 2.35% [meaning that fewer of the smaller bomblets should fail to explode].

“We are working with Ukraine to reduce the risks associated with these weapons.”

If Russia does not agree to extend a deal allowing the safe export of grain and fertiliser from Ukrainian ports, it is unlikely western states will continue cooperating with UN officials helping Moscow with its exports, the UN aid chief said.

Russia has threatened to quit the deal, which expires on 17 July, because several demands to dispatch its own grain and fertiliser have not been met.

The last three ships traveling under the deal are loading cargoes at the Ukrainian port of Odesa and are likely to depart on Monday.

“The world has seen the value of the Black Sea Initiative … this isn’t something you chuck away,” the UN’s Martin Griffiths told reporters.

US agrees to send cluster munitions to Ukraine

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s press conference with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which was due to start at 7pm UK time, has been delayed.

In the briefing taking place in Washington DC, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Russia had been using cluster munitions since the start of the war, but did not confirm whether or not the US would send cluster munitions to Ukraine.

He said: “Russia has been using cluster munitions since the start of this war.

“Ukraine has been requesting cluster munitons to defend itself against Russian agression.

“The bottom line is this, we recognise that cluster munitions are a risk, but there is also a risk if the Russians take more territory.”

In April last year, research by the Guardian suggested that Russian troops used a number of weapons widely banned across the world, which killed hundreds of civilians in Kyiv.

Evidence collected during a visit to Bucha, Hostomel and Borodianka, where Russian occupiers have been accused of atrocities against residents, showed that Russian troops had used cluster munitions, cluster bombs and extremely powerful unguided bombs in populated areas, which have destroyed at least eight civilian buildings.

A press briefing from the White House is under way following reports that the US is planning to deliver cluster munitions to Ukraine.

You can follow the briefing in our US blog here:

Uilleam Blacker

Volodymyr Zelenskiy discusses peace plan, Nato and grain deal with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey

Ukraine: cluster munitions would be ‘psycho-emotional’ weapon against Russia

The Russian state news agency, Tass, reports that the UN secretary general, António Guterres, has reiterated his support for the cluster munition prohibition.

His deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said earlier:

The secretary general supports the Convention on the Prohibition of Cluster Munitions, which, as you know, was adopted 15 years ago, and he wants countries to comply with the provisions of this convention. So, naturally, he does not want cluster munitions to be used on the battlefield.

The mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, has criticised the Unesco response to Russia’s deadly attack of the western Ukrainian city yesterday.

In a Telegram post, he said Unesco representatives should have visited the attack site after at least 10 people were killed and dozens more were injured.

Yesterday, Unesco condemned the rocket attacks on the historic centre of Lviv. They didn’t even dare to name the terrorist country that is carrying out these attacks … Russia remains a member of the executive committee of the organisation.

Unesco had issued a statement in which said:

Unesco recalls the obligations of states parties under these widely ratified normative instruments … [States parties should not take] any deliberate measures which might damage the cultural and natural heritage situated on the territory of other states parties.

Ukrainian general Oleksandr Tarnavskyi says his forces are advancing around the village of Tavriia and have killed and wounded almost two companies’ worth of soldiers during the past 24 hours.

On messaging app Telegram, he said:

28 units of enemy military equipment were destroyed, including six tanks … The enemy’s ammunition depot was also destroyed. We are moving forward.

Here’s our story, by Peter Beaumont, following the press conference of Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg

For 500 days, Moscow has brought death and destruction to the heart of Europe. Our summit will send a clear message: Nato stands united, and Russia’s aggression will not pay.

A report by the Kyiv School of Economics and B4Ukraine, a coalition of NGOs which lobbies international businesses to leave Russia, says that 56% of foreign companies still operate in the country despite the exodus of a significant minority.

According to the report, the three top companies by revenue in Russia in 2022 were the US tobacco company Philip Morris, Japan Tobacco International and the French firm Leroy Merlin. The top 10 also includes Pepsi, British American Tobacco, Veon, Auchan, Metro AG, Danone, and Hyundai.