Russia-Ukraine latest: Zelenskyy warns of nuclear threat at plant

Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe and its land is changing hands.

Ukraine might not look like a good financial investment after more than a year of war with no end in sight but Harvard, Saudi Arabia, a handful of oligarchs and the United States investment manager The Vanguard Group see it differently.

They are just a few of the investors who have been buying up Ukrainian land – and its rich, fertile soil – en masse, while many Ukrainian farmers argue it should stay in Ukrainian hands.

• Satellite photos, reports suggest Belarus is building an army camp for Wagner fighters

  Satellite images analysed by The Associated Press show what appears to be a newly built military-style camp in Belarus, with statements from a Belarusian armed group and officials suggesting it may be used to house fighters from the Wagner mercenary group.

  The images provided by Planet Labs PLC suggest that dozens of tents were erected within the past two weeks at a former military base outside Osipovichi, a town 230km (142 miles) north of the Ukrainian border. A satellite photo taken on June 15 shows no sign of the rows of white and green structures that are clearly visible in a later image, dated June 30.

  Aliaksandr Azarau, leader of the anti-Lukashenko BYPOL armed group of former military members, told The Associated Press by phone on Thursday that construction of a site for Wagner mercenaries was under way near Osipovichi.

  Up to 8,000 fighters from Wagner’s private military force may be deployed in Belarus, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s border force told Ukrainian media on Saturday. Speaking to the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper, Andriy Demchenko said Ukraine would strengthen its 1,084km (674 miles) border with Belarus in response.

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  1 Jul 2023 – 19:54

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  Ukraine gains stronghold on Russian-controlled bank of Dnipro

  The Ukrainian military has secured a bridgehead on the Russian-occupied eastern bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, according to the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence.

  In military strategy, a bridgehead refers to, among other things, an area on the ground on the enemy-controlled side of a river that, if successfully taken over, can secure a stronghold for further advances.

  For about a week, the Ukrainians have been moving troops to the river’s eastern bank near the destroyed Antonivka Bridge near the city of Kherson, the UK Defence Ministry said in its daily intelligence briefing on the war.