TOP HEADLINES

• Ukraine's defense minister has told critics of the speed of its three-month-old counteroffensive to "shut up", a sign of Kyiv's growing frustration over leaks from Western officials who say its billion-dollar assault was falling short of expectations. Dmytro Kuleba said such criticism was "spitting into the face" of Ukrainian servicemen. READ MORE BELOW

• Russia will block the final declaration of this month's G20 summit unless it reflects Moscow's position on Ukraine, leaving participants to issue a non-binding communique, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said. 

• A newly released video of Yevgeny Prigozhin allegedly shows the Wagner group boss in Africa discussing rumours about his wellbeing and threats to his life just days before his death. "For those who like to speculate about my liquidation, my private life, my work (in Africa), or anything else: everything's fine," Prigozhin said.

• Russia has created an underwater barrier of submerged ships to deter attacks on a bridge that connects the Russian mainland to the occupied Crimean peninsula, the UK's defense ministry said in its latest intelligence update. The bridge has become a regular target of attack in the conflict.

• Russian-backed authorities have started holding regional elections in parts of Ukraine as Moscow tries to shore up political power in areas it is attempting to integrate into Russia. Ukrainian officials condemned the elections as illegal, saying they were a sign that Moscow couldn't be negotiated with.

• A Ukrainian drone attacked a town in western Russia which is home to one of the country's biggest nuclear power stations, though there was no damage reported to the plant, Russian officials said.

• Meanwhile, Russian air defenses shot down a Ukrainian drone that was approaching Moscow, while two drone strikes caused damages to an administrative and a residential building in the Kursk region as Kyiv steps up its attacks deep within Russia.

• The UK's biggest defense contractor BAE Systems has set up a local entity in Ukraine and signed deals with the government there to help ramp up Kyiv's supply of weapons and equipment. "The best weapons that are currently helping our warriors defend Ukraine should be produced in Ukraine," the President Zelenskyy tweeted after a meeting with BAE's CEO.

• U.S. prosecutors have charged a Russian-German man with smuggling large quantities of microelectronics technology with military applications to Russia, for eventual use in the Ukraine conflict.

• UN chief Antonio Guterres said he had sent Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "a set of concrete proposals" aimed at reviving a the Black Sea grain export deal. His letter comes ahead of a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan where they are set to discuss the collapsed agreement. 

• The Ukrainian capital plans to build up more fortifications because the risk of Russian attack remains, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, announcing that Kyiv would allocate more than $21 million to reinforce its defenses. 

IN DETAIL

Ukraine tells critics to 'shut up'

Ukraine has told critics of the pace of its three-month-old counteroffensive to "shut up", a signal of Kyiv's growing frustration over leaks from Western officials who say its forces are advancing too slowly.

Since launching a long-awaited counteroffensive using many billions of dollars of Western military equipment, Ukraine has recaptured more than a dozen villages. However, it has yet to penetrate Russia's main defenses.

Stories in the New York Times, Washington Post and other news organisations last week quoted U.S. and other Western officials as suggesting the offensive was falling short of expectations. Some faulted Ukraine's strategy, accusing it of putting its forces in the wrong places.

Moscow says the Ukrainian campaign has already failed. Ukrainian commanders say they are moving slowly on purpose, degrading Russia's defenses and logistics to reduce losses when they finally attack at full strength.

"Criticizing the slow pace of (the) counteroffensive equals ... spitting into the face of (the) Ukrainian soldier who sacrifices his life every day, moving forward and liberating one kilometre of Ukrainian soil after another," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Thursday.

"I would recommend all critics to shut up, come to Ukraine and try to liberate one square centimeter by themselves," he said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Spain.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN that Ukrainian commanders deserved the benefit of the doubt.

"Ukrainians have exceeded expectations again and again," he said. "We need to trust them. We advise, we help, we support. But... it is the Ukrainians that have to make those decisions."

After months of fighting their way through heavy minefields, Ukraine's forces have finally reached the main Russian defensive lines in recent days, south of the village of Robotyne which they captured last week in Western Zaporizhzhia region.

Attempting to find a way around Russia's anti-tank ditches and rows of concrete pyramids known as dragon's teeth, a Ukrainian breakthrough would provide the first test of Russia's deeper defenses, which Ukraine hopes will be more vulnerable.

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