Ukraine live briefing: Wagner’s Prigozhin returns to Russia; Rights group urges Washington not to provide Kyiv with cluster munitions

Though the Kremlin said it “does not follow” Prigozhin’s movements, and would not comment on his return to Russia country, a St. Petersburg businessman, speaking Wednesday on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, confirmed his presence in the country and said authorities had returned funds to him.

Human Rights Watch on Thursday called on both Russian and Ukrainian forces to “immediately stop” using cluster munitions, Human Rights Watch said in a statement Thursday, and urged the United States not to transfer them to Ukraine, as Washington is poised to do. The group published new evidence suggesting that Ukrainian forces have injured civilians by use of the widely banned munitions — which Russian forces have used far more extensively, also causing civilian deaths. Cluster munitions, which scatter bomblets, are “indiscriminate weapons” that continue to cause harm long after the end of a conflict, the rights group said.

Here’s the latest on the war and its impact across the globe.

Key developments

• Prigozhin “is in St. Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus,” Lukashenko said in response to a question during a meeting with journalists Thursday, the state-owned BelTA news agency reported.
• Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 reported that two jets associated with Prigozhin arrived in Belarus on June 27, one from southern Russia and one from St. Petersburg. Another group that tracks military and flight movements in Belarus, the Belarusian Hajun Project, also reported that flight tracking data indicated that the two Prigozhin-linked jets flew back to St. Petersburg later that day. There is no evidence that he was on board.
• The Kremlin “does not follow [Prigozhin’s] movements,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Thursday after Lukashenko said the Wagner boss was in Russia. “We have neither the opportunity nor the desire to do so,” Peskov said.
• Lukashenko said an offer still stands for Wagner to station its troops in Belarus, a prospect likely to cause concern to neighboring NATO countries. “We offer them several former military camps that were used in the Soviet era,” he said, according to a transcript released by his office. Without giving specifics, he added that Wagner “has a different vision for their placement” and that the issue of relocating Wagner forces has not yet been resolved.
• After chairing a meeting Thursday of delegations from Turkey, Finland and Sweden, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said “we reaffirmed that Sweden’s membership is within reach” — but added that “there are some unsolved issues.” Those issues would be worked on over the weekend before they meet again Monday — the day before the 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania begins, he said. “Any further delay in Sweden’s membership would be welcomed by the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] and President Putin,” he said, adding that Sweden has made “amended its constitution and introduced new anti-terrorist legislation.”
• Ankara opposes Sweden’s candidacy over what it sees as the country’s support of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Turkey considers a terrorist group. Recently, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signaled that a Quran-burning protest in Sweden, which was allowed by police, would fuel Ankara’s opposition.

Battleground updates

• In Ukraine, six people were killed and 34 others were injured in an overnight Russian cruise missile attack on the western city of Lviv, regional governor Maksym Kozytsky said Thursday on Telegram. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi called it the largest attack on civilian infrastructure in the city since the war began. Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, shared a video of the damage, labeling it “another night of terror” that targeted civilians far from the front lines.
• The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine called the strike on Lviv a “vicious Russian missile attack,” adding: “Russia’s repeated attacks on civilians are absolutely horrifying.” Ambassador Bridget Brink said in her Thursday tweet that the United States “will continue to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend itself.” Rescue operations continue in Lviv, where about 30 houses were damaged and more than 50 cars hit in the attack, said the regional governor, Kozytsky. He called for greater air defenses, declaring: “We need F-16s!”
• Fierce fighting continues in the Russian-held town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Telegram. She asserted that Ukraine’s push in the east is going strong. Russian units in some areas on the front lines have begun to vacate their positions, she said, without providing evidence.
• The International Atomic Energy Agency did not discover mines or explosives during recent inspections at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine, the U.N. watchdog agency said Wednesday. In a statement, it requested further access, including to the rooftops of some reactor buildings, to complete its review. Moscow has accused Kyiv of planning to attack the plant “using a warhead stuffed with nuclear waste” — an accusation denied by Ukraine, which earlier alleged that Russian forces have placed “objects resembling explosives” on the roof of the plant.

Global impact

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Bulgaria on Thursday to hold “substantial talks” with Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov, he tweeted. He will also meet with government officials and lawmakers to discuss security guarantees and “Euro-Atlantic integration” ahead of NATO’s July 11 summit, he said. Bulgaria has been an ally and supplier of arms to Ukraine during the war.
• The United States supports Sweden’s membership to NATO, Biden told Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson during a meeting at the White House on Wednesday. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called his Turkish counterpart the same day to urge Turkey’s support on the matter.
• An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin was appointed to lead the country’s state news agency, Tass, as Moscow tightens its control over local media. Andrei Kondrashov, a former election spokesman for Putin, will head Russia’s oldest news agency, Reuters reported.
• Zelensky urged President Biden to invite his country into NATO’s fold “now” during an interview with CNN that aired late Wednesday. Zelensky said an invitation to the bloc would invigorate his forces even if membership happens at a later date. He also blamed a lack of “relevant weapons” for a delayed launch of Ukraine’s counteroffensive operation, which he had hoped to begin “much earlier,” he said.

From our correspondents

Kremlin warns of ‘sabotage’ at Ukrainian nuclear plant under Russian control: The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine — seized by Russian forces shortly after the invasion — is at the center of a growing spat between Moscow and Kyiv, raising fears of a disaster, report Fredrick Kunkle, Francesca Ebel and Natalia Abbakumova.

While both sides dialed up the rhetoric, an analysis published Wednesday by the Institute for the Study of War said it was unlikely that Moscow would create a nuclear disaster. The escalation in provocative statements is probably intended to accuse Ukraine of irresponsible behavior near the plant as NATO prepares to meet next week, the D.C.-based think tank said.

Catherine Belton contributed to this report.