"Over the past day, without participation of the Ukrainian side, 21,662 people, including 3,312 children, were evacuated to the territory of the Russian Federation from dangerous areas of Ukraine and the Donbas republics," Col. Gen. Mizintsev said at a briefing.
He added that since the start of Russia's special military operation, more than 1.9 million people, including over 310,000 children, have been evacuated to Russia.
"The referendum will be held this year. It is planned for the fall," Stremousov said. "We are preparing for the referendum. Organizational issues are under way. After the referendum, we will become a full-fledged constituent member of the Russian Federation. After a very short period, we will feel that we are full-fledged citizens of the great country of Russia. We are following the path of Crimea."
"As the allied forces are moving across the territory of Azot, civilians who have remained in the shelters of the plant for the last weeks are starting to leave them. Today, about two dozen civilians went out on their own to the second gate of the plant, which is not controlled by militants," Miroshnik said.
"Now they are already safe. Exit of civilians and the laying down of arms by militants is held back by constant Ukrainian artillery shelling of Severodonetsk from the suburbs of Lisichansk," he wrote on Telegram.
When asked whether the two captured Americans are the prisoners of war," Peskov said. "I wouldn’t start explaining the juridical side of their capture. So, they have committed crimes. They are not a Ukrainian army. They are not a subject to the Geneva conventions."
Peskov emphasized that the actions of the captured Americans will be investigated, but also pointed out that they are "soldiers of fortune" and have been involved in illegal activities such as firing and shelling Russia’s military personnel and endangering their life.
"They should be held responsible for those crimes that they have committed and those crimes have to be investigated. They are being held in due place to ensure that the investigation of their crimes is being completed," he said.
When asked whether the two captured Americans are being held by the authorities of the Donetsk People’s Republic or Russia’s authorities, Peskov said, "By [the] due authorities."
"Not on this trip, not likely," Biden said when asked whether he will visit Ukraine during the upcoming trip to Europe.
On Monday morning, the Armed Forces of Ukraine delivered three strikes on three Chernomorneftegaz drilling platforms installed at the Odessa field in the Black Sea.
"At the moment, 94 people have been evacuated, 15 servicemen remain guarding the operating drilling platforms," Aksyonov said on Telegram.
Seven people went missing after the attack of Ukrainian troops on the towers of Chernomorneftegaz, he added.
"Unfortunately, information about 3 wounded and 7 missing is confirmed. I guarantee that their search will continue. The Government of the Republic of Crimea will soon contact the families and friends of those missing and injured," Aksyonov said.
"Great to welcome [European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen] before the #NATOSummit in Madrid next week. #NATO & the #EU stand together with the Ukrainians, as they continue to defend themselves ... We will continue supporting our close partner #Ukraine for the long haul," Stoltenberg said on Twitter.
The two officials met at NATO headquarters in Brussels, without making a press appearance after the meeting.
The meeting is the latest in a series of consultations held by NATO ahead of the leaders' summit in Madrid from June 29-30, where the alliance is expected to adopt a new Strategic Concept outlining its core security policies and challenges for the next decade.
Last Friday, state-owned Lithuanian Railways stopped the transit of goods between Russia and its Baltic Sea territory, the Kaliningrad region, citing EU restrictions. According to the Russian diplomat, Lithuania’s ban on transit will ban the Baltic country itself and its citizens.
"We went to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry today, we asked them a lot of questions. We talked about railway conventions, we said that you can't do this in a day, that you need to warn [us in advance]. It was simply read to us from a piece of paper that Lithuania, they say, has nothing to do with it, this is all the European Union, and what we are doing, we are simply doing what the European Union tells us," Ryabokon told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster.
Last Friday, state-owned Lithuanian Railways stopped transit of goods between Russia and its Baltic Sea territory, citing EU restrictions. Kaliningrad Governor Anton Alikhanov said that oil products were not subject to limitations and the transit will continue unhindered through August 10. Earlier on Monday, Andrey Klimov, the chair of the Russian upper house commission for the protection of state sovereignty, said that NATO is using Lithuania to begin the blockade of the Russian region, forcing the country to defend itself in the face of the direct aggression.
"I do not know exactly, but you cannot compare the situation of Kaliningrad with the situation in Ukraine with respect to the war. The rest of the world will not be affected by what is happening in Kaliningrad, but the rest of the world is very much affected by what is happening in Ukraine," Borrell said upon his arrival to the EU Foreign Affair Council, when asked whether Lithuania's blockade of Kaliningrad could exacerbate tensions with Russia.
"There are Poles who cross the Polish-Ukrainian border one way and the other, declaring different purposes of their visits, such as business or tourism. Of course, the Ministry of the Interior and Administration has information about the number of Polish citizens. These are thousands of people who go to Ukraine for various purposes. At the same time, I have no information regarding those fighting there," Przydacz told the RMF FM radio.
On Friday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that most of mercenaries in Ukraine came from Poland. As of June17, they counted 1,831, including 378 killed and 272 repatriated.
"He [Khan] is calling for Government to provide the support that is needed for local authorities to help refugees — including providing £10,500 [$12,800} to local authorities for each Ukrainian refugee in their area to ensure there is suitable help and support to guard against them becoming homeless," City Hall said in a statement.
"That is why today Sadiq has launched the Migrant Londoners Hub to welcome those newly arrived in the city and support those with immigration needs with information about their rights, entitlements, and services available," the statement read, adding that this program "includes announcing more than £1.1m funding earlier this year" to meet the needs of migrants.
Khan also commented on UK Home Secretary Priti Patel's decision to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda, calling for an end to this "callous and inhumane" policy, arguing that it detracts from addressing the current problems with refugees.
"It is not Lithuania doing anything, it is European sanctions that started working from the 17th of June. The industry that is imposing the sanctions at this point is the railroads. They inform their clients that from the 17th of June, the sanctioned goods, steel and other goods made from iron ore, will no longer be allowed to transit Lithuania. It is done with consultation with the European Commission and under the European Commission guidelines," Landsbergis said upon his arrival to the EU Foreign Affairs Council.
On Monday, Andrey Klimov, the chair of the Russian upper house commission for the protection of state sovereignty, said that the EU needs to fix the situation with Kaliningrad's blockade, otherwise Russia will have a free hand to resolve the issue by any means deemed necessary.
The ministry summoned the Lithuanian charge d'affaires earlier in the day.
"The head of the diplomatic mission was strongly protested in connection with the ban on the rail transit of a large range of goods through the territory of Lithuania to the Kaliningrad region, imposed by Vilnius without prior notification of the Russian side. We demanded the immediate lifting of these restrictions," the ministry said in a statement.
Russia regards the actions of Lithuania as openly hostile, the ministry said, adding that such measures violate the international obligations of Vilnius.