UPDATES: 'Mushroom Cloud' Rises Over Ukraine-Controlled Avdeevka After Blast Near Chemical Plant

Germany has blocked Spain’s plan to send dozens of old Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Business Insider reports.

The El Pais newspaper reported earlier this month that the Spanish government had considered sending up to 40 Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine. The old German-made tanks were taken from the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

German government sources told Business Insider on Saturday that, under pressure from Berlin, Madrid had to reduce its offer and is now considering sending about ten tanks at most, which need to be repaired. Even this number is under question and no application has been submitted to the federal government for the delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

In April, Madrid sent 200 tonnes of munition, military hardware and transport vehicles to Ukraine. At that time, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that his country was not considering a transfer of heavy weapons to Ukraine.

Civilians are starting to leave a besieged chemical plant in the city of Sievierodonetsk in the Lugansk People’s Republic, the republic’s envoy to Russia said on social media.

Rodion Miroshnik said earlier in the day that up to 500 civilians were feared trapped underneath the compound after escaping firefights. Some 300-400 Ukrainian troops in control of the Azot factory have been stopping civilians from leaving.

"Civilians are leaving Azot through the second passage. This passage is not controlled by militants [Ukrainian forces]. Our joint forces are meeting them [civilians] and taking them to safety," Miroshnik wrote.

A Czech citizen participating in the hostilities in Ukraine on the side of Kiev died, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Saturday.

"I can confirm that one Czech citizen died in Ukraine, this happened in the Donetsk region. On Sunday, the body of this citizen should be transported to Kharkov region," the minister was quoted as saying by the Czech Television broadcaster.

According to Lipavsky, the Czech diplomatic service is investigating the circumstances of the mercenary's death in cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities and is looking to contact his relatives.

The mercenary, who went to fight Russia in Ukraine with Prague's permission, died as a result of a mortar shelling, the broadcaster's correspondent said.

In March, Czech presidential spokesman Jiri Ovcacek said that the government had received more than 300 applications for permission to serve with the Ukrainian armed forces. On 11 May, the spokesman said that President Milos Zeman issued permission to 103 Czech citizens to join the Ukrainian military.

In late May and early June, Ovcacek said that the Czech president turned down the requests of 218 citizens to join the Ukrainian troops due to the negative recommendations of the country's defence and interior ministries.

Canada has been stocking up with weapons supplied from the United States as it struggles to deliver on its promise to send hundreds of millions worth of military aid to Ukraine, a Canadian lawmaker said.

Yvan Baker, the chair of Canada-Ukraine parliamentary friendship group, told Ukraina.ua television channel on Friday that the Canadian armed forces had only a limited arms stockpile and a modest defence budget.

Canada has supplied Ukraine with heavy weaponry worth $200 million since February and has recently greenlighted a further $400 million in military assistance. Baker said the expenses were huge.

Russian Ambassador Oleg Stepanov has criticized Canada for choosing what he referred to as the most destructive way possible to handle the conflict in Ukraine. He said supplies of heavy weapons to Ukraine only added fuel to the fire.

Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Foreign Minister Natalya Nikonorova said on Saturday that the trial of a South Korean citizen who fought on the side of Ukraine was being prepared in Seoul.

"We know that a verdict against a mercenary from South Korea, their citizen who fought on the side of Ukrainian armed forces, is being prepared," Nikonorova told the Solovyov Live show.

The minister noted that the said soldier of fortune would be tried in South Korea since "he escaped from the country."

Nikonorova added that there were many mercenaries fighting on the Ukrainian side. Therefore, she said, charges could follow against other mercenaries soon after they surrender.

On Thursday, the DPR supreme court ruled that Moroccan citizen Saadoun Brahim and UK nationals Sean Pinner and Aiden Aslin should be punished with the death penalty. According to DPR laws, they will be executed by shooting. All three soldiers of fortune pleaded guilty to participating in hostilities on the side of Ukraine; Aslin also pleaded guilty to taking training to commit acts of terrorism. The convicted foreign contract fighters have a month to appeal against the decision in a higher court.

The first Russian passports were issued in the Zaporozhye Region, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the military-civilian administration of the region, said on Saturday.

"The first Russian passports have already been issued in the Zaporozhye Region. This is a landmark and historical event for us. Another step towards our return home to Russia's composition," Rogov said.

According to the official, the ceremony of issuing passports was held in Melitopol, and was timed to coincide with the upcoming Russia Day on Sunday.

The Russian aerospace forces have destroyed a hub of foreign mercenaries in the Ukrainian region of Kharkov with high-precision missiles, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Saturday.

"A hub of foreign mercenaries in the vicinity of the Andreevka village in the Kharkov Region has been destroyed with air-launched high-precision missiles," Konashenkov told a briefing.

The spokesman added the Russian military hit other 48 hubs of Ukrainian troops and military equipment killing some 170 soldiers and destroying five tanks, six units of artillery, eight special military vehicles and an ammunition depot.

Gas traffic via the Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to Europe could decrease by almost 3% to some 140 million cubic meters on Saturday, according to the data of the pipeline's operator Nord Stream AG.

According to gas requests for Saturday, Nord Stream is planning to be supplying about 5.8 million cubic meters per hour, totaling some 140 million cubic meters per day. This is 2.7% below the transit on Friday and an almost 18% drop in transit compared to May.

Europe continues to pump gas into underground storage facilities. According to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), the European facilities were half full as of June 9 with an average filling level standing at 50.76%, or about 53.9 billion cubic meters.

In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government and Gazprom to switch to ruble payments for gas deliveries to the countries that imposed sanctions on Russia over its special military operation in Ukraine.

Gazprom has already suspended gas deliveries to the importers in Bulgaria, Poland, Finland, and the Netherlands after they rejected the new payment arrangement.

Nevertheless, the ambassador said that the contact with the soldiers is established and negotiations on the safe exit of civilians from the territory of the plant are currently underway. Miroshnik added that the Ukrainian troops "will be guaranteed their lives and adequate treatment in accordance with international requirements if they release the hostages and lay down their arms."