LIVE – Ukraine: ICC arrest warrants against Shoigu and Gerasimov deemed “absurd” by Kremlin

An update on the situation in Ukraine and highlights of the past few hours.

• Russia and Ukraine announced yesterday that they had exchanged 90 prisoners of war from each camp following mediation by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the exchange, posting photos on Telegram of the men surrounded by yellow and blue national flags.

• Russia yesterday announced its intention to block access to the broadcasts of 81 European media outlets in its territory, including the AFP website, in “retaliation” for the EU’s decision in May to ban four Russian media outlets.

• The EU officially opened accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova in Luxembourg, described as “historic” in Kiev and Brussels.

• Russian Defense Minister Andrei Beloussov and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed the situation in Ukraine last night during a telephone conversation, the Russian Ministry said. Andrei Belousov “underlined the risk of further escalation of the situation associated with the supply of US weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces,” the ministry said in a statement. For his part, Lloyd Austin “stressed the importance of maintaining lines of communication in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”

• American journalist Ivan Gershkovich, who has been held in Russia for 15 months on espionage charges he has denied, is due to appear in court in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals, today for the first day of his behind-closed-doors trial. A reporter for the Wall Street Journal and the 32-year-old, American was arrested by the Russian Security Services (FSB) in March 2023, becoming the first Western journalist accused of espionage in Russia since the Soviet era.