Ukraine-Russia war – live: Explosions rock Kyiv as Putin fires overnight strikes on Ukrainian cities
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At least two people were killed as loud explosions rocked Ukraine’s capital and adjoining cities in the early hours today after Russian forces rained missiles on Kyiv and other areas.
The mass missile attack on Ukraine comes after several weeks and ahead of Kyiv’s planned counteroffensive.
“A young woman and a three-year-old child has been killed,” Borys Filatov, mayor of the central city of Dnipro, said on Telegram.
Officials said air raid sirens were activated around 5am as explosions were reported across the country.
Dnipro, Kremenchuk and Poltava in central Ukraine and in Mykolaiv in the south and another online source reported an explosion in the Kyiv region.
The attack from Vladimir Putin’s forces invading Ukraine comes just a day after the Kremlin said it would welcome anything that could bring the end of the conflict closer.
In early March, Russia had attacked Ukraine with “almost all types” of cruise missiles and drones during a mass attack across the war-torn nation.
Key points
Mass missile attack kills 2, injures 5 in Ukraine
Wagner chief says Bakhmut ceasefire was just ‘humour’
Russia digs in as Ukraine prepares to attack
Putin installs ‘Devil’s Teeth’ defence on front line
‘We are on the verge of a new world war,’ Russia’s Medvedev says
Mass missile attack kills 2, injures 5 in Ukraine
04:53 , Arpan Rai
At least two people were killed after loud explosions rocked Ukraine’s capital and adjoining cities in the early hours today, officials said. Russian forces rained missiles on Kyiv, and other areas from central Ukraine to southern Mykolaiv.
"A young woman and a three-year-old child have been killed," Borys Filatov, mayor of the central city of Dnipro, said on Telegram.
Air raid sirens were activated around 5am as explosions were reported across the country.
Dnipro, Kremenchuk and Poltava in central Ukraine and in Mykolaiv in the south and another online source reported an explosion in the Kyiv region.
The mass missile attack on Ukraine comes after several weeks and ahead of Kyiv’s planned counteroffensive.
An apartment building in the central town of Uman was also seen on fire.
At least five have been injured in the attack, regional governor Ihor Taburets said on Telegram.
Wagner chief says Bakhmut ceasefire was just ‘humour’
04:11 , Arpan Rai
Russia’s Wagner mercenary group head said he had been joking when he offered to suspend artillery fire on Ukrainian forces in besieged Bakhmut.
“A decision has been taken to suspend artillery fire so that American journalists can safely film Bakhmut and go home,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message:
He later added: “Guys, this is military humour. Humour, and nothing more ... it was a joke.”
At least 4,000 civilians have been killed in the fighting in Bakhmut, according to estimates from Kyiv, and thousands more soldiers from both sides.
Alastair Jamieson reports:
‘It was a joke’: Wagner group chief says Bakhmut ceasefire was just ‘humour’
Building ablaze in central Ukrainian town
04:09 , Arpan Rai
An apartment building has been found ablaze early today in the central Ukrainian town of Uman. Police in the region said emergency services were operating.
The pictures, posted on various news and other websites, showed flames shooting out from a heavily damaged building in the town. Parts of the building had collapsed.
Zoya Vovk, a police spokesman in the surrounding region, said emergency teams were operating.
No immediate casualties have been reported so far.
Putin and Erdogan speak before inauguration of Turkish nuclear plant
04:00 , Katy Clifton
Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan held talks by telephone yesterday, their offices said, before the two countries marked the inauguration of Turkey’s first nuclear power reactor.
The Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey’s southern Mersin province has been built by Russia’s state nuclear energy company Rosatom.
Mr Erdogan thanked Mr Putin during their call for his help on the power plant, the Turkish leader’s office said. They also discussed the Black Sea grain initiative and the situation in Ukraine, it said.
Mr Putin said they agreed to deepen economic, trade and agricultural cooperation.
Both presidents took part virtually in a ceremony marking the loading of nuclear fuel into the first power unit at Akkuyu.
The $20 billion, 4,800 megawatt (MW) project to build four reactors in the Mediterranean town of Akkuyu will allow Turkey to join the small club of nations with civil nuclear energy.
Wagner chief says Bakhmut ceasefire was just ‘humour’
03:52 , Arpan Rai
Russia’s Wagner mercenary group head said he had been joking when he offered to suspend artillery fire on Ukrainian forces in besieged Bakhmut.
“A decision has been taken to suspend artillery fire so that American journalists can safely film Bakhmut and go home,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message:
He later added: “Guys, this is military humour. Humour, and nothing more ... it was a joke.”
At least 4,000 civilians have been killed in the fighting in Bakhmut, according to estimates from Kyiv, and thousands more soldiers from both sides.
Alastair Jamieson reports:
‘It was a joke’: Wagner group chief says Bakhmut ceasefire was just ‘humour’
Italian judge drops case on alleged Russian funding to League party
02:01 , Katy Clifton
An Italian judge agreed yesterday to drop a case in which a former adviser to League leader Matteo Salvini and two other people were being investigated for alleged illicit party funding from Russia, according to a court document.
The League is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition government.
Milan prosecutors had in January asked the judge to dismiss the case in a statement explaining that they had failed to gather sufficient evidence to pursue the investigation after Moscow failed to respond to requests for assistance submitted by the Italian judicial authority.
In the court document reviewed by Reuters, the office of Milan judge Stefania Donadeo notified the lawyers of the three suspects that a decree of dismissal had been filed on Thursday.
Putin claims Russia’s drone industry could be worth 1tn roubles
Friday 28 April 2023 00:01 , Katy Clifton
President Vladimir Putin has claimed the Russian drone industry could soon be worth 1 trillion roubles ($12.25 billion) once a plan to boost production is put into place.
Late last year Mr Putin said Russia must increase its output of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and create infrastructure for their widespread use in military and civilian applications.
Mr Putin said he and executives involved in drone production had looked over figures that showed the industry could in the near future be worth 500 billion roubles. Everyone agreed this was a very conservative estimate, he said.
“Most likely, if we are all together, along with the state, we’ll work actively and it will be 1 trillion rubles,” he said in remarks that were shown on state television.
Ex-Wagner commander cleared of violence against Oslo police
Thursday 27 April 2023 23:01 , Katy Clifton
A former commander of Russia’s Wagner group seeking asylum in Norway has been convicted of being involved in a bar fight and of carrying an air gun but was acquitted of committing violence against police.
Andrei Medvedev, 26, was handed down a suspended sentence of 14 days, with a probation period of two years.
“I want to thank the court for a fair ruling,” Medvedev told Reuters, adding he was looking to the future. “I am studying Norwegian and I hope I will get asylum.”
Medvedev crossed the Russian-Norwegian border in January and has spoken out about his time fighting in Ukraine.
On Tuesday he pleaded guilty to fighting outside an Oslo bar on February 22 and preventing a police officer from doing his or her duty. He also pleaded guilty to carrying an air gun in public on a separate occasion on March 14.
But Medvedev had pleaded not guilty to a fourth charge, the most serious one, of committing violence against a police officer. He was acquitted on that charge on Thursday.
Nearly 98% of combat vehicles pledged ‘have been delivered’
Thursday 27 April 2023 22:00 , Katy Clifton
NATO allies and partner countries have delivered more than 98 per cent of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine during Russia’s war, the military alliance’s chief has said, giving Kyiv a bigger punch as it contemplates launching a counteroffensive.
Along with more than 1,550 armoured vehicles, 230 tanks and other equipment, Ukraine‘s allies have sent “vast amounts of ammunition” and also trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian brigades, NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said.
More than 30,000 troops are estimated to make up the new brigades. Some NATO partner countries, such as Sweden and Australia, have also provided armoured vehicles.“This will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory,” Mr Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.
US guardsman in military leak case ‘wanted to kill a ton of people'
Thursday 27 April 2023 20:45 , Katy Clifton
The Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents kept an arsenal of guns and said on social media that he would like to kill a “ton of people”, prosecutors have said.
The judge at 21-year-old Jack Teixeira’s detention hearing put off an immediate decision on whether he should be kept in custody until his trial or released to home confinement or under other conditions. Teixeira was led away in handcuffs pending that ruling.
The prosecution today put forward a submission of what it says are Teixeira’s social media posts, stating in November that he would “kill a (expletive) ton of people” if he had his way, because it would be “culling the weak minded”.
The court filings raise new questions about why Teixeira had such a high security clearance and access to some of the nation’s most classified secrets. They said he may still have material that has not been released, which could be of “tremendous value to hostile nation states that could offer him safe harbour and attempt to facilitate his escape from the United States”.
The leak stunned military officials, sparked an international uproar and raised fresh questions about America’s ability to safeguard its secrets. The leaked documents appear to detail US and Nato aid to Ukraine and US intelligence assessments regarding allies that could strain ties with those nations.
Some show real-time details from February and March of Ukraine‘s and Russia’s battlefield positions and precise numbers of battlefield gear lost and newly flowing into Ukraine from its allies.
ICYMI: Bianca Jagger hails Independent TV’s Ukraine documentary
Thursday 27 April 2023 19:01 , Katy Clifton
Bianca Jagger attended the UK premiere of Independent TV’s documentary on war crimes in Ukraine earlier this week, hailing it as a “powerful and moving” piece of reporting.
The 77-year-old veteran human rights defender joined more than 100 people at the Frontline Club in central London to watch The Body in the Woods.
The film follows the story of international correspondent Bel Trew’s bid to find out the identity of a young Ukrainian man shot dead by Russian soldiers. She stumbled across his corpse lying in woodland with his hands tied behind his back.
You can watch the documentary and read more about the UK premiere here.
US sanctions Russia’s domestic security service
Thursday 27 April 2023 18:15 , Katy Clifton
The US has imposed sanctions on Russia’s domestic security service FSB and the intelligence unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), accusing them of being responsible or complicit in the wrongful detention of Americans overseas.
The sanctions also targeted four senior commanders within IRGC’s IO, although among them were at least one individual who had already been subject to previous US sanctions. FSB was also subject to previous US sanctions.
Speaking to reporters in a briefing call on the condition of anonymity, senior Biden administration officials said the move aimed to show that there would be consequences for those who tried to use US citizens for political leverage or seek concessions from Washington.
“Our action is a warning to those around the world who would wrongfully detain U.S. nationals of the potential consequences of their actions,” a senior administration official briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity said.
“Today’s sanctions are one of a series of efforts - some public like this, some private - to secure the release of U.S. Nationals wrongfully held overseas, to promote accountability for the culprits, and by doing so, to prevent and deter the next set of cases from arising in the first place.”
I was only joking about Bakhmut ceasefire, says Wagner chief
Thursday 27 April 2023 17:06 , Joe Middleton
The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group said he had been joking when he offered to suspend artillery fire on Ukrainian forces in besieged Bakhmut.
Wagner has been spearheading Russia’s assault on the Ukrainian city since last summer in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war, but Ukrainian forces have so far thwarted its attempts to take full control.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message: “A decision has been taken to suspend artillery fire so that American journalists can safely film Bakhmut and go home.”
Alastair Jamieson reports.
‘It was a joke’: Wagner group chief says Bakhmut ceasefire was just ‘humour’
Why does Russia want to block Ukraine from joining Nato?
Thursday 27 April 2023 16:40 , Matt Mathers
Tensions along Russia’s border with Ukraine finally erupted into open warfare on 24 February 2022 as Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in the eastern regions of the neighbouring state, confirming fears that had lingered since the preceding December that he was amassing troops intent on an invasion.
The Kremlin leader said he believed that Russia had to take decisive action to extinguish a threat to its national security and that Moscow planned to carry out the “demilitarisation and de-Nazification” of Ukraine by toppling its leadership, also promising to put an end to eight years of war in which government forces have been battling pro-Russian separatists.
Joe Sommerlad reports:
Why does Russia want to block Ukraine from joining Nato?
Ex-Wagner commander hopes for asylum after being cleared of violence against Oslo police
Thursday 27 April 2023 16:00 , Matt Mathers
A former commander of Russia’s Wagner group seeking asylum in Norway was convicted on Thursday of being involved in a bar fight and of carrying an air gun but was acquitted of committing violence against police.
Andrei Medvedev, 26, was handed down a suspended sentence of 14 days, with a probation period of two years.
"I want to thank the court for a fair ruling," Medvedev told Reuters, adding he was looking to the future. "I am studying Norwegian and I hope I will get asylum."
Putin, Erdogan speak by phone before inauguration of Turkish nuclear plant
Thursday 27 April 2023 15:10 , Matt Mathers
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan held talks by telephone on Thursday, their offices said, before the two countries marked the inauguration of Turkey’s first nuclear power reactor.
The Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey’s southern Mersin province has been built by Russia’s state nuclear energy company Rosatom.
Erdogan thanked Putin during their call for his help on the power plant, the Turkish leader’s office said. They also discussed the Black Sea grain initiative and the situation in Ukraine, it said.
Putin said they agreed to deepen economic, trade and agricultural cooperation.
Both presidents took part virtually in a ceremony marking the loading of nuclear fuel into the first power unit at Akkuyu.
Russia rejects US request to visit detained reporter over visa snub
Thursday 27 April 2023 14:30 , Matt Mathers
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it had rejected a request from the US embassy to visit detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in response to Washington’s refusal to grant visas to a group of Russian journalists.
The ministry said it had summoned a senior US diplomat to hand over a formal note of protest against a decision by the United States to not grant visas to a group of Russian journalists meant to accompany Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to the United Nations in New York this week.
There was no immediate comment on the Russian move from the US Embassy.
Ukraine wants pope to help get children back from Russia
Thursday 27 April 2023 13:58 , Matt Mathers
Ukraine’s prime minister said he has asked Pope Francis during a private Vatican audience to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia.
Denys Shmyhal, briefing reporters on his half-hour audience with the pontiff, said he has also invited Francis to visit Ukraine.
"I asked the Vatican and the Holy Father for help in getting back children taken by force by Russia," the prime minister said.
Kremlin welcomes Xi-Zelensky call
Thursday 27 April 2023 13:30 , Matt Mathers
The Kremlin said on Thursday it welcomed anything that could bring the end of the Ukraine conflict closer when asked what it thought of a phone call a day earlier between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
But it said it still needed to achieve the aims of its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
NATO allies send 1,500 combat vehicles, 230 tanks to Ukraine
Thursday 27 April 2023 13:00 , Matt Mathers
NATO countries have delivered more than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine amid its war with Russia, the military alliance’s chief said Thursday, giving Kyiv a bigger punch as it appears poised to launch a counteroffensive.
Along with more than 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks and other equipment, member nations have sent Ukraine "vast amounts of ammunition" and also trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian brigades, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.
More than 30,000 troops are estimated to make up the new brigades.
"This will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.
Russian Defence Ministry says forces take four blocks in Bakhmut - RIA
Thursday 27 April 2023 12:27 , Matt Mathers
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday that its forces had taken four blocks in north-western, western and south-western Bakhmut, Russia state-owned news agency RIA reported.
Reuters could not independently confirm the claim. Russian forces have been struggling for months to capture the city in eastern Ukraine.
Bakhmut fighting in pictures
Thursday 27 April 2023 11:54 , Matt Mathers
Russia digs in as Ukraine prepares to attack
Thursday 27 April 2023 10:00 , Matt Mathers
The anti-tank ditches near Ukraine’s occupied southeastern town of Polohy stretch for 30 km (19 miles). Behind are rows of concrete “dragon’s teeth” barricades. Further back are defensive trenches where Russia’s troops will be positioned.
The defences visible in satellite imagery taken by Capella Space are part of a vast network of Russian fortifications sweeping down from western Russia through eastern Ukraine and on to Crimea built in readiness for a major Ukrainian attack.
Thousands of Ukrainian troops have been training in the West to use different military assets on the battlefield in a combined way ahead of a counteroffensive Ukrainian officials say will come when its forces are ready.
Reuters has reviewed satellite images of thousands of defensive positions inside both Russia and along Ukrainian front lines that show it is most heavily defended in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and the gateway to the Crimean Peninsula.
Six military experts said the defences, mostly built in the wake of Ukraine’s rapid autumn advances, could make it harder for Ukraine this time and that progress would hinge on its ability to carry out complex, combined operations effectively.
“It’s not the numbers for the Ukrainians. It’s can they do this kind of warfare, combined arms operations?” said Neil Melvin, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). “The Russians have shown they can’t do it and they’ve gone back to their old Soviet method of attrition.”
Military object found in Poland probably belongs to Polish army-RMF FM
Thursday 27 April 2023 09:33 , Matt Mathers
The military object found in a forest in Poland was probably not fired from another country, but belonged to the Polish army, private broadcaster RMF FM reported on Thursday quoting unofficial information.
Polish authorities said earlier on Thursday that the remains of a military object were found in northern Poland near the city of Bydgoszcz, confirming earlier media reports of the discovery of some kind of object in the area.
Russians pound frontline positions in Bakhmut, Ukraine military says
Thursday 27 April 2023 08:29 , Matt Mathers
Russian forces pounded the city of Bakhmut, the months-old focal point of their attempts to capture the eastern Ukrainian industrial region of Donbas, and the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force said Ukrainian troops were pouring in ahead of an "inevitable" counter-offensive.
The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces, in a report on Facebook, said fighting gripped Bakhmut and nearby areas. It said Russian forces had failed to advance on two villages to the northwest. At least a dozen localities came under Russian fire.
Separately, Serhiy Cherevatiy, spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern group of forces, told national television on Wednesday that in the past 24 hours, Russian forces had attacked 324 times using artillery and multiple rocket launchers.
"The Russians are destroying buildings in Bakhmut to prevent our soldiers from using them as fortifications," Cherevatiy said.
‘Hyundai Motor to exit Russia, selling its plants’
Thursday 27 April 2023 07:30 , Namita Singh
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co plans to exit Russia and sell its manufacturing plants there to a Kazakh company, South Korean media reported yesterday.
South Korean TV network MBC reported that negotiations to sell Hyundai’s factories in Russia are in the final stage, adding that the automaker has been waiting for a final approval from the Russian government.
“It is true that there are ongoing discussions regarding the sale, but nothing has been decided,” Hyundai Motor said, according to the TV network.
Hyundai Motor suspended operations at its Russian operation last year. In March, the automaker said it was reviewing “various options” for its Russian operation.
In a statement to Reuters, Hyundai Motor said it was reviewing various scenarios for the future of its business in Russia, adding no decision had been made so far.
Ukrainians mark Chernobyl disaster amid nuclear threats
Thursday 27 April 2023 07:00 , Namita Singh
Workers at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant yesterday marked the 37th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear disaster amid an ongoing war and nuclear threats, somberly laying flowers at a monument for victims.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky used the day to repeat his warnings about the potential threat of a new atomic catastrophe in Ukraine amid the war with Russia, drawing a parallel between the Chernobyl accident in 1986 to Moscow’s brief seizure of that plant and its radiation-contaminated exclusion zone following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Last year, the occupier not only seized the (Chernobyl) nuclear power plant, but also endangered the entire world again,” Mr Zelensky said in a Telegram post in English.
Report:
Ukrainians mark Chernobyl disaster amid nuclear threats
Why is China trying to act as mediator in Russia’s war with Ukraine
Thursday 27 April 2023 06:30 , Namita Singh
Chinese leader Xi Jinping yesterday said that Beijing will send an envoy to Ukraine to discuss a possible “political settlement” to Russia’s war with the country.
Beijing has previously avoided involvement in conflicts between other countries but appears to be trying to assert itself as a global diplomatic force after arranging talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March that led to them restoring diplomatic relations after a seven-year break.
Mr Xi told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call that a Chinese envoy would visit Ukraine and “other countries” to discuss a possible political settlement, according to a government statement reported by state TV.
But why does this matter? Read this report to find out:
China tries to act as mediator in Russia's war with Ukraine
What is the significance of the Ukraine-China call
Thursday 27 April 2023 06:00 , Martha Mchardy
China said it will not “add fuel to fire” in the first call between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese president Xi Jinping since the Russian invasion.
China is the only major government that has friendly relations with Moscow as well as economic leverage as the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas after the United States and its allies cut off most purchases.
Beijing, which sees Moscow as a diplomatic partner in opposing U.S. domination of global affairs, has refused to criticise the invasion and used its status as one of five permanent U.N. Security Council members to deflect diplomatic attacks on Russia.
Zelensky earlier said he welcomed a Chinese offer to mediate.
Xi’s government has pursued a bigger role in global diplomacy as part of a campaign to restore China to what the ruling Communist Party sees as its rightful status as a political and economic leader and to build an international order that favours Beijing’s interests.
That is a sharp reversal after decades of avoiding involvement in other countries’ conflicts and most international affairs while it focused on economic development at home.
In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran issued a surprise announcement, following talks in Beijing, that they would reopen embassies in each other’s capitals following a seven-year break. China has good relations with both as a big oil buyer.
Last week, Foreign Minister Qin Gang told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts that his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks.
Wednesday’s statement warned against the dangers of nuclear war, suggesting Beijing might also have been motivated by what it sees as the growing danger of a more destructive conflict.
Mediating between Ukraine and Russia would increase China’s presence in Eastern Europe, where Beijing has tried to build ties with other governments. That has prompted complaints by some European officials that China is trying to gain leverage over the European Union.
US, Europe eyeing ways to improve Ukraine’s grain exports
Thursday 27 April 2023 05:30 , Namita Singh
US and European officials yesterday toured Ukraine’s southern port of Izmail that’s important in bringing Ukrainian grain to the world – and could become critical if a deal with Russia to allow grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports expires.
From Izmail, which has been upgraded since the start of the war with the help of US and other funding, grain is taken by barge down a branch of the Danube through Romania to its Black Sea port of Constanta for shipment onward.
US ambassador Bridget Brink said after looking over the port facilities with Ukrainian and EU officials, as well as Ukrainian grain companies, that they were exploring ways to increase the exports from Danube ports.
More in this report:
US, Europe eyeing ways to improve Ukraine's grain exports
Bianca Jagger hails Independent TV’s ‘powerful and moving’ Ukraine documentary after UK premiere
Thursday 27 April 2023 05:00 , Martha Mchardy
Bianca Jagger attended the UK premiere of Independent TV’s documentary on war crimes in Ukraine on Tuesday evening, hailing it as a “powerful and moving” piece of reporting.
The 77-year-old veteran human rights defender joined more than 100 people at the Frontline Club in central London to watch The Body in the Woods.
The film follows the story of international correspondent Bel Trew’s bid to find out the identity of a young Ukrainian man shot dead by Russian soldiers. She stumbled across his corpse lying in woodland with his hands tied behind his back.
Jagger said the documentary made her draw comparisons between Ukraine’s efforts to identify its victims and build war crimes cases with the decades of work spent documenting atrocities in countries that made up former Yugoslavia.
Tara Cobham reports:
Bianca Jagger hails Independent TV’s ‘powerful’ Ukraine documentary at UK premiere
Russians pound frontline positions in Bakhmut, Ukraine military says
Thursday 27 April 2023 04:42 , Namita Singh
Russian forces pounded the city of Bakhmut, the months-old focal point of their attempts to capture the eastern Ukrainian industrial region of Donbas, the Ukraine armed forces said.
The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces, in a report on Facebook, said fighting gripped Bakhmut and nearby areas. It said Russian forces failed to advance on two villages to the northwest. At least a dozen localities came under Russian fire.
Separately, Serhiy Cherevatiy, spokesperson for Ukraine’s eastern group of forces, told national television yesterday that in the past 24 hours Russian forces had attacked 324 times using artillery and multiple rocket launchers.
“The Russians are destroying buildings in Bakhmut to prevent our soldiers from using them as fortifications,” Mr Cherevatiy said.
On Tuesday, he said there had been a record number of attacks on a section of the front further north - near the city of Kupiansk, in northeastern Ukraine.
The governor of the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv said Russian missiles had hit an apartment building and a private house in the city of the same name.
One person was killed and 15 were injured, Vitaliy Kim wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Belarusians wary of being drawn into war with Ukraine
Thursday 27 April 2023 04:00 , Martha Mchardy
For Ruslan, an engineer in the Belarus capital of Minsk, Russia‘s war in neighboring Ukraine suddenly seemed closer than ever when a conscription office recently sent him a summons for military training.
It’s part of an effort that will see thousands of men in Belarus attend drills amid fears that the staunch Moscow ally could be drawn into the fighting.
“They are telling us that Belarus won’t enter the war against Ukraine, but I hear Russian warplanes roar over my house heading to the Machulishchi air base outside Minsk,” the 27-year-old told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. He asked not to be fully identified out of concern for his personal safety.
Read the full story:
Belarusians wary of being drawn into war with Ukraine
Wimbledon set to make £500,000 Ukraine donation after Russian ban U-turn
Thursday 27 April 2023 03:00 , Martha Mchardy
Wimbledon will offer substantial financial support to Ukrainian players and causes this summer after reversing the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes.
At the spring press conference to announce plans for this summer’s tournament, organisers revealed that £1 for every ticket holder – expected to be more than £500,000 in total – will be donated to Ukrainian relief.
Meanwhile, the All England Club and the Lawn Tennis Association will provide two hotel rooms per Ukrainian player free of charge and training facilities for the duration of the summer grass-court season as well as funding a day at the tournament for 1,000 Ukrainian refugees.
Read the full story:
Wimbledon set to make £500,000 Ukraine donation after Russian ban U-turn
Ukraine launching tech cluster to boost military capability
Thursday 27 April 2023 02:00 , Martha Mchardy
The Ukrainian government is launching an initiative Wednesday to streamline and promote innovation in the development of drones and other technologies that have been critical during Russia‘s war in Ukraine.
As part of the initiative dubbed BRAVE1, the government hopes to bring state, military, and private sector developers working on defense issues together into a tech cluster that would give Ukraine a battlefield advantage.
“Considering the enemy that is right next to us and its scale, we definitely need to develop the military tech so that we can defend ourselves,” Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, said.
Read the full story:
Ukraine launching tech cluster to boost military capability
In pictures: Destruction in Bakhmut as war rages in
Thursday 27 April 2023 01:00 , Martha Mchardy
Russian airstrike destroys Ukrainian history museum
Thursday 27 April 2023 00:00 , Martha Mchardy
At least one person died and 10 people were injured after a Russian missile hit a history museum in Kupiansk, Ukraine, on Tuesday (25 April), Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“There are still people under the rubble... All those guilty of these war crimes will definitely be brought to justice,” the Ukrainian president said.
Mr Zelensky posted footage on social media showing devastated buildings and emergency services on scene.
At least three people were hospitalised, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Tucker Carlson receives a job offer from Russian state TV after Fox News firing
Wednesday 26 April 2023 23:00 , Martha Mchardy
It didn’t take long for Tucker Carlson to land a job offer after losing his primetime slot on the most-watched cable news network in the country.
Within hours after Fox News announced that the network agreed to “part ways” with the far-right nationalist pundit on Monday morning, Russian state media personalities and propaganda outlets opened their doors.
RT – the Russian state broadcaster formerly known as Russia Today, which is banned in dozens of countries, inducing across Europe – offered him a platform. “Hey @TuckerCarlson, you can always question more with @RT_com,” the outlet wrote on Twitter.
Read the full story:
Russian state-owned media offers Tucker Carlson a job
US and Europe eyeing ways to improve Ukraine’s grain exports
Wednesday 26 April 2023 22:00 , Martha Mchardy
U.S. and European officials on Wednesday toured Ukraine’s southern port of Izmail that’s important in bringing Ukrainian grain to the world — and could become critical if a deal with Russia to allow grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports expires.
From Izmail, which has been upgraded since the start of the war with the help of U.S. and other funding, grain is taken by barge down a branch of the Danube through Romania to its Black Sea port of Constanta for shipment onward.
U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink told The Associated Press after looking over the port facilities with Ukrainian and EU officials, as well as Ukrainian grain companies, that they were exploring ways to increase the exports from Danube ports.
Ukrainian grain supplies are critical to millions of people around the world, and Wednesday’s visit comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov again this week threatened to abandon the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July.
Read the full story:
US, Europe eyeing ways to improve Ukraine's grain exports
House members propose resolution calling for bold victory in Ukraine
Wednesday 26 April 2023 21:00 , Martha Mchardy
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers are introducing a resolution calling for the United States to support an outright victory for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Republican Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina emphasised the need to not make the mistakes of history.
“We must not repeat the error of Sept. 1, 1939,” he said in reference to efforts to prevent the Nazis from invading Poland. The resolution would require a full review from the House Foreign Affairs Committee before it goes to the House floor. Yahoo! News first reported on the resolution.
Read the full story:
House members introduce resolution defining what victory in Ukraine would look like
Italian reporter hurt and Ukrainian fixer killed in Kherson ambush
Wednesday 26 April 2023 20:54 , Martha Mchardy
A reporter for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica was injured and his Ukrainian fixer died on Wednesday when they were ambushed in southern Ukraine, most likely by Russian snipers, the paper said in an article on its website.
La Repubblica said correspondent Corrado Zunino and fixer Bogdan Bitik were fired on near a major bridge in the southern city of Kherson after passing through a series of Ukrainian checkpoints. Russian forces left the western part of the city last year but regularly shell it from the eastern portion.
La Repubblica said the two men had been ambushed, “most likely by Russian snipers”.
Separately, the office of Ukraine’s prosecutor-general said a foreign reporter had been injured and a Ukrainian civilian died but did not name them. It said Russians shelled Kherson, and the reporter received a gunshot wound to the shoulder.
Zunino said in the article he had been injured in four places and was being treated in a Kherson hospital. The newspaper published a photo of what it said was his bullet proof vest, with damage from a projectile clearly visible.
Russia’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At least five journalists have died since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022
Jailed Russian opposition leader Navalny to face new trial
Wednesday 26 April 2023 20:30 , Martha Mchardy
A court in Moscow held a hearing Wednesday to set the stage for imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to face a new trial on extremism charges that he has described as a Kremlin-ordered effort to extend his time behind bars.
Navalny, who exposed official corruption and organized massive anti-Kremlin protests, was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.
He initially received a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for a parole violation. Last year, he was sentenced to a nine-year term for fraud and contempt of court. He is currently serving time at a maximum-security prison 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of Moscow.
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Jailed Russian opposition leader Navalny to face new trial
Italy's Meloni urges quick start of Ukraine's EU entry talks
Wednesday 26 April 2023 20:00 , Martha Mchardy
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday urged European allies to accelerate Ukraine‘s European Union membership bid, as Rome hosted a bilateral conference on the war-torn country’s reconstruction attended by hundreds of Italian and Ukrainian businesses.
“The future of Ukraine must include an always wider capacity of integrating with the European dynamics and institutions,” Meloni said, in joint statements with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on the sidelines of the conference.
“The smartest way to thank Ukrainians for what they are doing is to accelerate their chance of being part of the European institutions. We need to acknowledge Kyiv’s enormous efforts to reform its system and bring it closer to targets required by the EU Commission,” Meloni added, urging a quick start of negotiations needed to grant Ukraine full EU membership.
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Italy's Meloni urges quick start of Ukraine's EU entry talks
Fire damages Russian cultural centre in Cyprus as Moscow cites ‘terrorist attack’
Wednesday 26 April 2023 19:47 , Martha Mchardy
A fire damaged a Russian cultural centre in the Cypriot capital Nicosia on Wednesday, prompting Moscow to denounce what it called a “terrorist attack.”
The cause of the fire was under investigation, fire brigade spokesman Andreas Kettis said.
The fire broke out around noon in the complex, which is in the heart of the commercial centre of Nicosia, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky. It was contained in just under two hours.
The centre, which was being renovated, is thought to have strong links to the Russian embassy in Cyprus, and is a popular venue for art exhibitions and plays.
Yevgeny Primakov, head of Rossotrudnichestvo, the Russian government’s cultural promotion agency, said foul play was clearly responsible, TASS reported.
“We qualify this as a terrorist attack since it is an attack on a civilian, peaceful building, clearly with the aim of not only causing damage, but also intimidating both our employees and the people who come to this cultural centre,” it cited him as telling the Russia-24 TV channel.
Earlier this month Cyprus said it was investigating how a number of its nationals ended up on U.S. and British sanctions lists over allegations of cooperating with Russians under sanctions. Some of those restrictions were imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Brazil's Lula stands ground on Ukraine in Spain
Wednesday 26 April 2023 19:30 , Martha Mchardy
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with Spain‘s prime minister Wednesday for talks aimed at making progress on an intercontinental trade deal, but his differences with the European Union on the war in Ukraine remained evident.
The 27-member EU completed negotiations in 2019 on a wide-ranging trade deal with Mercosur, a South American bloc that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. But ratification stalled during the presidency of Lula’s predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, due to concerns over environmental standards and price protections for European farmers.
Lula and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez held a news conference after the signing of bilateral agreements Wednesday. The warmth between the two left-wing leaders was evident, but their divergent views on Ukraine left a note of tension in the room.
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Brazil's Lula stands ground on Ukraine in Spain
Watch: British and German warplanes intercept Russian spy jets flying over Baltic Sea
Wednesday 26 April 2023 19:00 , Martha Mchardy
Xi holds first call with Zelensky since Russia’s invasion – and promises delegation to Kyiv
Wednesday 26 April 2023 18:45 , Martha Mchardy
China’s President Xi Jinping has held his first call with Ukraine‘s President Volodymyr Zelensky, since Russia invaded – offering to send an envoy to Kyiv and other capitals for talks on resolving the war.
Beijing has not condemned the invasion – or shied away from its close ties with Moscow – and Mr Zelensky quickly played up the significance of the “long and meaningful” call in which Mr Xi is said to been willing to help facilitate peace talks aimed at achieving a ceasefire as soon as possible. Kyiv also announced the appointment of a new ambassador to Beijing.
Mr Zelensky tweeted: “I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations.”
Chris Stevenson reports:
Xi holds first war call with Zelensky – and promises delegation to Kyiv
In pictures: Ukrainians mark Chernobyl disaster
Wednesday 26 April 2023 18:30 , Martha Mchardy
Watch: Volodymyr Zelensky pays tribute to victims of Chernobyl disaster on 37th anniversary
Wednesday 26 April 2023 18:20 , Martha Mchardy
France joins US in welcoming Ukraine-Chinal call
Wednesday 26 April 2023 18:10 , Martha Mchardy
France has joined the US in welcoming the first call between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese president Xi Jinping since the Russian invasion.
President Emmanuel Macron’s office said the French leader had pushed Xi to hold this call with Zelenskiy during his visit to Beijing this month.
Russia changes head of peacekeepers in Karabakh
Wednesday 26 April 2023 18:05 , Martha Mchardy
Russia appointed a new head of its peacekeeping force in Nagorno-Karabakh, the RIA news agency said on Wednesday, citing the Russian defence ministry.
No reason for the change was given. Russia sent peacekeepers to the South Caucasus region in 2020 when it brokered a truce in a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but tensions between the two countries remain high
Ukrainians mark Chernobyl disaster amid nuclear threats
Wednesday 26 April 2023 18:00 , Martha Mchardy
Workers at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on Wednesday marked the 37th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear disaster amid an ongoing war and nuclear threats, somberly laying flowers at a monument for victims.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used the day to repeat his warnings about the potential threat of a new atomic catastrophe in Ukraine amid the war with Russia, drawing a parallel between the Chernobyl accident in 1986 to Moscow’s brief seizure of that plant and its radiation-contaminated exclusion zone following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Last year, the occupier not only seized the (Chernobyl) nuclear power plant, but also endangered the entire world again,” president Zelensky said in a Telegram post in English.
UN confirms JPMorgan processed payment for Russian bank
Wednesday 26 April 2023 17:53 , Martha Mchardy
The United Nations confirmed on Wednesday that JPMorgan processed a payment for the Russian Agricultural Bank.
“I wouldn’t dispute that there was that there was a transaction involving JPMorgan that happened that happened earlier this month, but I don’t have any details to provide about that at this stage,” Deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters.
The United States gave JPMorgan permission to process payments for agricultural exports via the Russian Agricultural Bank, but the arrangement was no substitute for reconnecting the bank to the SWIFT system, two Russian sources told Reuters earlier on Wednesday.
Russian fighter jet crashes into lake after bursting into flames
Wednesday 26 April 2023 17:45 , Martha Mchardy
A Russian fighter jet has crashed into a lake after bursting into flames during a training exercise, according to Russian state media.
The MiG-31 fighter jet crashed in the northern Murmansk region on Wednesday, TASS news agency said, citing Russia’s defence ministry.
The incident took place 10km away from the town of Monchegorsk, near Russia’s Rizh-Guba island.
One of the plane’s two jet engines exploded during a training exercise and the pilot then lost control before the plane plummetted into a nearby lake, state media reported.
Emily Atkinson reports:
Russian fighter jet crashes into lake after bursting into flames
China tries to act as mediator in Russia's war with Ukraine
Wednesday 26 April 2023 17:30 , Martha Mchardy
Chinese leader Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that Beijing will send an envoy to Ukraine to discuss a possible “political settlement” to Russia’s war with the country.
Beijing has previously avoided involvement in conflicts between other countries but appears to be trying to assert itself as a global diplomatic force after arranging talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March that led to them restoring diplomatic relations after a seven-year break.
Xi told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call that a Chinese envoy would visit Ukraine and “other countries” to discuss a possible political settlement, according to a government statement reported by state TV.
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China tries to act as mediator in Russia's war with Ukraine
Ukrainians will get arms in time for counter-offensive, US general says
Wednesday 26 April 2023 17:01 , Martha Mchardy
Ukraine’s military will get the weaponry it needs in time for an upcoming counter-offensive against invading Russian forces, the top U.S. general in Europe told Congress on Wednesday.
General Christopher Cavoli, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, cited as an example that more than 98 percent of the combat vehicles promised to Kyiv had already been delivered.
“I am very confident that we have delivered the materiel that they need and we’ll continue a pipeline to sustain their operations as well,” general Cavoli told a hearing at the House Armed Services Committee.
‘Anything could be discussed’ once Russia and Ukraine sit down to talk peace - Brazil’s Lula
Wednesday 26 April 2023 16:37 , Martha Mchardy
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday called again for a “peace group” to broker an agreement between Russia and Ukraine, saying anything could be discussed once the nations sat down to talk peace.
“There are a lot of things to be discussed - Crimea, other territories, NATO,” president Lula said during a trip to Spain when asked about Crimea. He said it was not up to him to say who owned Crimea. “That is a discussion between Russia and Ukraine.”
China says it won’t ‘add fuel to fire’ in first war call with Zelensky
Wednesday 26 April 2023 16:22 , Martha Mchardy
China says it will not “add fuel to fire” in the first call between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese president Xi Jinping since the Russian invasion.
During the phone call, which president Zelensky described as “long and meaningful”, the Chinese president told Mr Zelensky that China would send special representatives to Ukraine and hold talks with all parties seeking peace, Chinese state media reported.
“As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible major country, we will neither sit idly by, nor pour oil on fire, still less seek to profit from it,” the Chinese president said.
President Xi, the most powerful world leader to have refrained from denouncing Russia’s invasion, said China will focus on promoting peace talks, and make efforts for a ceasefire as soon as possible
The White House welcomed the call, which it said it had no advanced knowledge of, but said it was too soon to tell whether it would lead to a peace deal.
“That’s a good thing,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said. “Now, whether that’s going to lead to some sort of meaningful peace movement, or plan, or proposal, I just don’t think we know that right now.”
President Xi made a state visit to Moscow last month and since February, he has promoted a 12-point peace plan for Ukraine, greeted sceptically by the West but cautiously welcomed by Kyiv as a sign of Chinese interest in ending the war.
