Russia Ukraine war latest news: F-16 fighter jets expected on the battlefield this summer as Putin lands in Vietnam

EU countries agreed a 14th package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, diplomats have said, including a ban on transshipments of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Belgium, which holds the European Union presidency until July 1, said on the X platform that the package “maximises the impact of existing sanctions by closing loopholes”.

Russian attacks on energy infrastructure cut power for over 218,000 consumers across Ukraine for a time on Thursday morning, according to Ukraine‘s energy ministry.

Russia used drones and missiles to target energy infrastructure in four Ukrainian regions overnight, causing significant damage to a thermal power plant.

Power was restored for most consumers, the ministry added.

At least one person was killed and another injured after Russia forces fired a glide bomb at the village of Vilkhivka to the west of Kharkiv city on Thursday.

We have some more of the latest photos coming from North Korea as Vladimir Putin spends time with the country’s dictator Kim Jong-un.

Putin signed a mutual defence agreement on June 19 with North Korea’s Kim, who offered his “full support” on Ukraine.

The much anticipated F-16 fighter jets will fly in Ukrainian skies at some point this summer, a Dutch air force commander said, reported The Guardian.

Ukraine is waiting for over 60 US-made F-16 fighter jets in a commitment made by Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway to help it fend off Russian attacks and dozens of Ukrainian pilots are currently undergoing training to fly the warplanes.

“Around this summertime, it is all lining up,” said Gen Arnoud Stallmann from inside a hangar at a military base inside the rural south of the Netherlands.

This is despite Vladimir Putin’s warning that Moscow could consider launching strikes at facilities in Nato countries if they host the warplanes used in Ukraine.

“F-16s are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, and we will also need to take that into account while organising our combat operations,” Putin had said.

Authorities in Ukraine have created a national registry to document cases of sexual violence allegedly committed by Russian forces, a senior prosecutor told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Viktoriia Litvinova, the country’s deputy prosecutor general, said that the registry was created out of a pilot project that had already resulted in the convictions of five people in absentia. She declined to comment on details of the cases.

“We used to have to visit territories where hostilities are taking place ourselves,” she said. “But now people – individuals who have experienced sexual abuse – are seeking us out for information.”

A Russian attack overnight damaged energy infrastructure in four Ukrainian regions this morning, the Ukrainian energy ministry said on Telegram.

The energy ministry said the attack injured three workers at one of the impacted energy facilities and cut power for some consumers.

Wider impact of the attacks on the power supply in Ukraine are not immediately clear.