13:40Shaun Walker
A Russian judge has rejected an appeal by the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich against the decision to hold him in detention before his trial on charges of espionage.
Gershkovich, 31, is the first US journalist to be detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the cold war and, if found guilty, could face up to 20 years in prison.
Russia’s FSB security service has accused him of collecting state secrets about Russia’s military for the benefit of US intelligence, charges that have been roundly condemned as political and unfounded.
Hearings in his case are being held in closed sessions because of the nature of the charges, but cameras were briefly allowed into the courtroom before Tuesday’s hearing started. The court was only deciding on the decision to hold Gershkovich in pre-trial detention, not on the substance of the case.
It was the first time the outside world has seen proper footage of Gershkovich since his arrest at the end of March. The reporter was standing inside a glass case known informally as an “aquarium”, where defendants in Russian court cases are often held. He appeared calm and was pictured smiling. Marks on one of his wrists appeared to show where he had been kept in handcuffs.
Zelenskiy visists troops in Avdiivka
13:32
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, visited Ukrainian troops on Tuesday in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, his office have said.
Zelenskiy listened to commanders’ reports on the battlefield situation and gave awards to soldiers, it said.
“I have the honour to be here today, to thank you for your service, for defending our land, Ukraine, our families,” Zelenskiy was quoted as saying.
Putin attends military meeting in Kherson
13:25
Russian president Vladimir Putin has attended a military command meeting in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region which is partly held by Russia, the Kremlin has said.
Putin heard reports from commanders of the airborne forces and the “Dnieper” army group as well as other senior officers who briefed him on the situation in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, both of which Moscow has proclaimed part of Russia, Reuters reported.
Russian troops retreated from Kherson, the regional capital, last November, and have been reinforcing their positions on the opposite bank of the Dnipro river in anticipation of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
The Kremlin did not say when Putin attended the military command meeting.
13:10
Ukraine has denied that Russian inspectors have restarted ship inspections under the Black Sea grain deal.
Speaking to Reuters, a senior Ukrainian official who asked not to be identified said: “Nothing has been resolved. There are no inspections.”
Russia’s RIA news agency reported earlier on Tuesday that inspections of ships moving grain from Ukraine had restarted, citing a senior Russian foreign ministry official.