Ukraine updates: UK says Moscow, Kyiv suffering heavy losses

This blog is now closed, thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Ukraine-Russia war for June 18:

This blog is now closed, thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Ukraine-Russia war for June 18:

• The United Kingdom says Russia and Ukraine are suffering high numbers of military casualties as Kyiv fights to dislodge the Kremlin’s forces from occupied areas.
• Ukrainian forces say they have destroyed a “significant” ammunition depot near the Russian-occupied port city of Henichesk in the southern region of Kherson.
• South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the war in Ukraine must stop.
• Russia says the African peace plan is difficult to realise.
• UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will ask investors and businesses at a London summit next week to match Ukraine’s “bravery on the battlefield” with financial support.