Russia’s war on Ukraine latest: Moscow expels German diplomats

Russia expelled several German diplomats in retaliation. Germany would not confirm any expulsions, but said a Russian government plane arriving in Berlin was related. RIA Novosti reported that Germany expelled over 20 Russians.

Tanks, Battle * Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed Russian soldiers had taken three more blocks in Bakhmut’s western half.

* On Friday, the U.S. declared it will soon begin training Ukrainian troops to use its Abrams tanks, while Germany announced a pact to construct a depot in Poland to repair Leopard tanks deployed in Ukraine.

DIPLOMACY * NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg said NATO allies agreed Ukraine will eventually join and welcomed Ukrainian President Zelenskiy to the July summit.

LEGAL * According to online postings, the U.S. Air National Guardsman accused of leaking sensitive material about the Ukraine crisis to a small group of gamers had been posting months earlier and to a far larger chat group, the New York Times reported on Friday.

RIA news agency said that a Moscow court ordered the arrest in absentia of Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev, whose Bellingcat research has outraged Russia.

ECONOMY * Russia’s richest people added $152 billion to their wealth last year, supported by high natural resource prices, rebounding from enormous losses after the Ukraine war, Forbes Russia said.

Latvia said the U.N. World Food Programme is shipping a first consignment of Russian fertilizers seized last year to Kenya. Russia’s approval of the shipment and its impact on extending the Black Sea accord permitting Ukraine to ship grain were unclear.

The Financial Times reported that Ukrainian state-owned gas company Naftogaz has held negotiations with Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), Halliburton (HAL.N), and Chevron (CVX.N) about projects in Ukraine as the Kyiv government strives to attract foreign energy investment.