Ukraine raised its flag once again over Snake Island in the Black Sea on Monday.

Military officials in Kyiv said the blue and yellow flag was raised after Russian forces withdrew from the strategic outpost last week.

“The military operation has been concluded, and… the territory (Snake Island) has been returned to the jurisdiction of Ukraine,” Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern military command, told a news conference.

Ukraine claims it has driven the Russian forces out after an artillery and missile assault.

Our foreign editor David Harding reports:

Prime minister Boris Johnson has suggested that the G7 is looking at the possibility of using the Danube river to get grain out of Ukraine “in smaller quantities”.

His comments came in response to a question posed by Labor MP Stella Creasy in which she asked the PM to confirm whether he is looking at breaching the Montreux Convention “about larger forces in the Black Sea”.

Mr Johnson said: “She is right to raise that. No, we are not looking at that. There are alternative solutions that don’t involve the presence of UK or other warships in the Black Sea.

“Though they might involve a tougher approach, but what we are also looking at is the possibility of using the rivers, using the Danube in particular, to try to get… using the railways to try to get the grain out in smaller quantities than we would be able to do with a giant maritime convoy through the Black Sea.

“So we are looking at all the possible options, including smaller packets of grain coming out that way.”

Are the penalties against Russia useful? Yes, they are already hitting Vladimir Putin and his accomplices hard, and their effects on the Russian economy will increase over timewrites Josep Borrell Fontelles.

Since Russia deliberately violated international law by invading Ukraine, the EU has adopted six packages of sanctions against Moscow. Our measures now target nearly 1,200 individuals and 98 entities in Russia as well as a significant number of sectors of the Russian economy.

Some may ask, do these sanctions really have an impact on the Russian economy? The simple answer is yes. Although Russia exports a lot of raw materials, it also has no choice but to import many high value-added products that it does not manufacture. For all advanced technologies, it is 45 per cent dependent on Europe and 21 per cent on the United States, compared with only 11 per cent on China.

The UK will introduce new economic, trade and transport sanctions on Belarus over its support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) also said it had sanctioned six Russians who were spreading disinformation.

The Belarus package will include import and export bans on goods worth around £60 million pounds, including on exports of oil refining goods, advanced technology components and luxury goods, and imports of Belarusian iron and steel.

Britain will also ban more Belarusian companies from issuing debt and securities in London.

“The Belarus regime has actively facilitated Putin’s invasion, letting Russia use its territory to pincer Ukraine – launching troops and missiles from their border and flying Russian jets through their airspace,” the FCDO said in a statement.

Resourceful Ukrainians are using batteries from discarded vape pens as a way to power drones on the front line. Bel Trew reports from a lab in Kyiv where production has begun.

Ukrainian officials have shared footage of the moment they say the Russian military dropped phosphorus bombs on Snake Island.

This video, posted on Facebook on Friday (1 July) by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, is black and white footage showing bombs dropping on an island.

The claims come just one day after Russia said that it withdrew its troops from the island, also known as Zmiinyi Island.

Commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said the bombs were flown over the island from Crimea.

The SNP’s Westminster leader has called on Boris Johnson to support efforts to get grain out of Ukraine, telling the Commons on Monday afternoon: “This is now not just about stopping war, it is about stopping famine too.

Ian Blackford continued: “I am sure the prime minister will agree that all of these global efforts will only begin and only work if there is trust between global leaders.

“Can the prime minister therefore explain that in this moment of many crises how exactly breaking international law and threatening to start a trade war with out neighbors helps anyone?”

Mr Johnson replied: “What the countries around the world see is the UK offering consistent leadership in the matter of standing up for the rule of law and standing up against Putin’s aggression, and that is, I promise you, that is what has been raised. with me.”