TOP HEADLINES

• Russia has doubled its 2023 defense spending target to more than $100 billion - a third of all public expenditure - a government document showed, as the costs of the war in Ukraine spiral and place growing strain on Moscow's finances. READ MORE BELOW

• Russia said it had thwarted Ukrainian sea and air drone attacks on a naval base in the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula. The number of attacks has increased from both sides since Moscow exited a deal last month that had allowed Ukrainian grain exports via the shipping hub during the conflict. READ MORE BELOW

• Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has visited a combat zone in Ukraine to inspect a command post and meet senior military officers, the army said. Shoigu got an update on the situation on the front and "thanked commanders and soldiers... for successful offensive operations" in Lyman in eastern Ukraine, it said, without mentioning when the visit took place.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv's troops were faced with brutal fighting all along the front but were prevailing nonetheless. "The occupiers are trying to stop our guys with all their might. The attacks are very brutal," Zelenskyy said.

• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took aim at Russia at the UN Security Council, accusing Moscow of "blackmail" over its recent withdrawal from a key grain initiative. America's top diplomat, chairing a meeting about food insecurity at the UN's headquarters in New York, told the 15-member Council that "hunger must not be weaponized." 

• Russia does not believe a U.S. promise that Washington will help ensure Moscow can freely export food if it returns to the Black Sea grain deal, state news agency RIA quoted the Kremlin as saying.

• Russia has enlisted over 230,000 additional personnel into the army since the start of the year, Moscow's Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said. Moscow has conducted an aggressive military recruitment campaign this year as it seeks to stave off an ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive and hold territories it has captured during the conflict. 

• German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius ruled out supplying Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles, saying it was "not a top priority" right now. Ukraine asked Germany in late May to provide it with Taurus air-to-surface cruise missiles which have a range in excess of 500 kilometers (310 miles), but the government has so far rebuffed the request. 

• Ukraine's anti-corruption watchdog said it detained an armed forces official accused of helping draft-age men flee the country in exchange for a cash payment. Since Kyiv introduced martial law after Russia's offensive last year, able-bodied men between 18 and 60 have been forbidden from leaving the country and may be called up for military service at any time. 

IN DETAIL

Moscow doubles annual defense budget to $100bn

Russia has doubled its 2023 defense spending target to more than $100 billion - a third of all public expenditure - according to a government document seen by Reuters, as the costs of the war in Ukraine spiral and place growing strain on Moscow's finances.

The figures shed light on Russia's spending on the conflict at a time when sector-specific budget expenditure data is no longer published.

They show that in the first half of 2023 alone, Russia spent 12 percent, or 600 billion roubles, more on defense than the 4.98 trillion roubles ($54 billion) it had originally targeted for 2023.

Defence spending in the first six months of 2023 amounted to 5.59 trillion roubles, 37.3 percent of a total 14.97 trillion roubles spent in the period, the document showed. Russia's budget plan envisages 17.1% of total funds spent on "National Defence".

Russia thwarts attacks on Black Sea naval base

Russia said it had thwarted Ukrainian sea and air drone attacks on a naval base in the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula. The number of attacks in the sea has increased from both sides since Moscow exited a deal last month that had allowed Ukrainian grain exports via the shipping hub during the conflict between the two countries.

"Tonight, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the use of two unmanned sea boats, attempted an attack on the Novorossiysk naval base of the Russian Armed Forces," the defense ministry said on Telegram.

Russian ships destroyed the naval drones, it said. It was the first such attack targeting the port city. The Black Sea port of Novorossiysk hosts the terminus of a pipeline that carries most Kazakh oil exports through Russia.

The fuel artery's operator Caspian Pipeline Consortium said it was continuing to ship oil to moored tankers at the terminal, Russian state media reported.

But "a temporary ban has been established on the movement of ships in the port", said the company, as quoted by Interfax news agency.

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