Ukraine Russia news latest: Israel’s Netanyahu offers to mediate in Putin’s war ‘if asked’

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is willing to consider the role of mediating in the war between Russia and Ukraine if he is asked by both the nations and the US.

“If asked by all relevant parties, I’ll certainly consider it, but I’m not pushing myself in,” Mr Netanyahu told CNN in an interview.

It would have to be the “right time and the right circumstances,” he said.

He added that the US will also need to ask for its close ally because “you can’t have too many cooks in the kitchen.”

Ukraine’s Kherson remains the most consistently shelled city outside of the Donbas region, the British defence ministry said today.

Russia’s precise rationale for expending its strained ammunition stocks here is unclear, the MoD added.

Russian forces had to exit Kherson in October last year in a massive territorial loss after capturing the region for more than eight months of the war, but the occupying forces have continued to attempt multiple attacks to recapture the strategic city.

“In recent days, some of the most intense shelling in the conflict has likely taken place along the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine.

This has included continued Russian shelling of Kherson city with artillery firing from the east of the river,” the ministry pointed out.

It added that local authorities reported another three civilians killed in Kherson on Sunday, while two foreign-owned ships moored on the river were damaged, causing an oil spill.

“However, commanders are likely partially aiming to degrade civilian morale and to deter any Ukrainian counter-attacks across the Dnipro River,” according to the defence ministry’s latest intelligence update.

The US is packing more than $2bn worth of military aid for Ukraine and is including longer-range rockets in a first for the war-hit country along with other munition and weapons, said two US officials aware of the matter.

This tranche of military aid, expected to amp up Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian attacks, will also include support equipment for Patriot air defence systems, precision guided-munitions and Javelin anti-tank weapons, the officials said.

They added that the announcement for this aid is expected as soon as this week.

Russia’s refusal to allow on-the-ground inspections to resume is endangering the New Start nuclear treaty and US-Russian arms control overall, the Biden administration said last night.

The finding was delivered to Congress and summarised in a statement by the State Department. It follows months of more hopeful US assessments that the two countries would be able to salvage cooperation on limiting strategic nuclear weapons despite high tensions over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Read the full story here:

Olympic gold medalist Wladimir Klitschko – brother to the mayor of Kyiv – has joined Ukraine’s fight against the International Olympics Committee’s plans to let some Russians compete at the 2024 Paris Summer Games.

Boris Johnson has insisted that the West “should have no fear of escalation when it comes to the provision of weaponry”, as he met with Republicans in Washington on Tuesday to drum up further support for Ukraine.

Some hardline members among the Republicans, which took control of the House of Representatives at the start of the year, have called for an end to US military and other assistance to Ukraine.

In a statement, the former prime minister said: “I am here primarily to recognise and pay tribute to the immense US contribution to the security of the Ukrainian people.

“My mission is to demonstrate that Ukraine will win – and that there is no conceivable case for delay in further supporting the Ukrainians to win this year. We should have no fear of escalation when it comes to the provision of weaponry.”

Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his administration, military officials and the intelligence team is already responding to Moscow’s plans to extract revenge from Ukraine.

“Today, as in fact every day, I held several meetings with the military and the head of intelligence. We are studying the situation in detail in all major operational directions and in the long term. What the occupier is preparing for, and how we are already responding to Russia’s preparations for a revanche attempt,” he said in his nightly address.

He added: “Our defence and security forces, the Ukrainian government, our partners – all of us are making efforts to ensure that Russia not only fails in regaining ground on the battlefield, but also loses its last hope for aggression in its revanche attempts.

“Russia’s defeat will prevent any alternatives to a lasting and reliable peace. I thank all our partners who support this position of Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky said.

Boris Johnson met with Republican politicians in Washington yesterday, as he continued his personal international campaign in support of Ukraine.

The former prime minister spoke with House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy and was scheduled to speak at a private Republican club on Tuesday evening, Reuters was told.

On Wednesday, the Tory MP and former London mayor will discuss the need for “Western unity and support for Ukraine and what more can be done against the threat Russia poses” at the Atlantic Council think-tank.

Rishi Sunak has said that it is “not practical” to provide Ukraine with British fighter jets but he has pledged to accelerate support to enable “decisive gains” against Russian invaders.

Downing Street said training Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces on “extremely sophisticated” Typhoons and F-35s would take too long, but it does not oppose allies sending their own jets.

After completing a review, the prime minister told his Cabinet that a “prolonged stalemate” in the war in Ukraine “would only benefit Russia” and its president Vladimir Putin, according to No 10.