'Substantial victory' for Kyiv conceded on Russian state TV: Report

Russian state television broadcast an interview on Friday acknowledging that Kyiv had achieved a “substantial victory”, after Ukrainian forces burst through the frontline in a lightning advance.
 

The Ukrainian breakthrough near Kharkiv was the fastest advance reported by either side for months, and one of the biggest shifts in the war’s momentum.
 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said troops had ‘liberated dozens of settlements’ and reclaimed more than 1,000 square km (385 square miles) of territory in Kharkiv region in the east as well as Kherson in the south in the past week.
 

 European Union finance ministers backed a $5 billion loan for Ukraine to help its keep schools and hospitals running. The loan is part of an overall 9 billion euro package announced in May.

EU ministers float idea of broad gas price cap to stem energy crisis

EU energy ministers are discussing the idea of capping the price of all imported gas — not just Russian fuel — as a way of stemming the crisis.
 

Member states are reluctant to move to cap the price of Russian gas only. There are concerns Moscow would retaliate by cutting off the remaining gas it’s still sending to Europe, particularly at a time the bloc is trying to secure new supplies of gas to replace Russian fuel.
 

Ministers also support skimming off energy companies’ excess profits, and moving to provide liquidity for traders caught with ballooning margin calls.
 

Gas prices, almost nine times higher than their average levels for this time of the year, have been volatile this week as traders assess deep supply concerns against government efforts to contain the crisis. Natural gas prices dropped. 
 

Benchmark futures fell as much as 8.2 per cent. Bloomberg